An American Dream Expanded/Credits: Difference between revisions

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Jules Carry

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-===Acknowledgements and Appreciations<ref>By [[J. Michael Lennon]] from the original book publication, 2004.</ref>===
+This project was constructed by [[User:Grlucas|Gerald Lucas]] (Editor) and the graduate student editors of NMAC 5108: Roger C. Byrd, Sandy Callaway, Jennifer Huynh, Dana McGonagill, Miriam Qureshi, Sherita Sims-Jones, Matthew Smith, Josef Vice, and Rian Williams. Original documents, including his 2004 book ''Norman Mailer’s Letters on ''An American Dream'', 1963–1969'', were generously supplied by J. Michael Lennon. Dana Casper provided Wiki and research support.
+===Acknowledgments and Appreciations for the Project Mailer Version===
+During the spring semester of 2019, my graduate course, [[grl:Writing and Publishing in Digital Environments, Spring 2019|NMAC 5108 Writing and Publishing in Digital Environments]], helped publish this Digital Humanities project. Builders of “[[An American Dream Expanded|''An American Dream'' Expanded]] collected, edited, and posted artifacts from the years surrounding the publications of Norman Mailer’s 1965 novel ''[[An American Dream]]''. The major artifact and primary focus of our work was the 2004 collection [[AAD:Letters|''Norman Mailer’s Letters on ''An American Dream'', 1963–1969'']], edited by Mailer’s official biographer [[J. Michael Lennon]].
+Acting as editor, I gave students an overall format and organization, and they ''translated'' the book into a digital document using MediaWiki — the same software used by Wikipedia. This involved posting each letter (75 in all); editing, annotating, and linking each; formatting the overall project; and making the digital book work with the rest of the web site. In addition to the letters, students posted other documents and images that had to do with the publication and reception of ''An American Dream'', like full-text scholarly essays and reviews, advertisements, various book covers, and other snippets that give insight into Mailer’s artistic and logistical processes.
+One of the challenges of such a project is that there is no established format for a digital book — if that term is even germane for a project such as this. While this endeavor is certainly as scholarly and challenging as publishing a book, it adds the additional hurdle of presenting the information in such a what that it takes advantage of the the platform in a logical way that both utilizes the platform's strengths and mitigates the hurdles of access. I think the students have done a great job: it certainly helps that it looks like Wikipedia — a platform that most of us are used to using with greater frequency.
+While this work is challenging, it is ultimately very rewarding. Several of the students, while overwhelmed at first with the twin tasks of learning the nuances of the wiki language and translating paper artifacts into a cohesive digital project, all were able to offer substantial additions to the project — most going above and beyond the class requirements to make ''AAD'' Expanded as strong, as useful, and as elegant as it could be. I am both proud and pleased of their collaborative commitment and effort to improve the quality of Project Mailer. As an educator in the digital age, I think this is exactly the kind of knowledge-building projects that much of higher education should emphasize, as it provides crucial digital literacies, promotes the continued importance of the Humanities, and allows students to realize the validity of their contributions as professionals.
+I’d like to offer deepest appreciations to [[Mike Lennon]] for his indefatigable support and enthusiasm for ''An American Dream'' Expanded. He has been an inspiration and an endless source of knowledge and resources: it’s from him that most of the original material for this project came from. He once called Mailer Proteus; if that’s true, then Mike’s some sort of Mailerian muse: a fount and guarantor of all things Mailer. I, too, would like to thank [[Maggie McKinley]] for her support as the president of the Norman Mailer Society and all of our endeavors here. Dana Casper, the graduate librarian at Middle Georgia State University, offered her support and guidance to me and the class, and [https://wikiedu.org Wiki Education] also provided training and other resources for new editors.
+The work of my students has been stellar, especially [[User:Dillbug|Sandy Callaway]], [[User:Dmcgonagill|Dana McGonagill]], [[User:Mango Masala|Miriam Qureshi]], [[User:Sherita Sims-Jones|Sherita Sims-Jones]], and [[User:JVbird|Josef Vice]]. Their efforts were consistent, enthusiastic, and went well beyond the class requirements. They are examples of just how a collaborative project should be accomplished, evidence throughout the talk pages. While tentative at first, all of them adopted the Wikipedia mantra to “be bold” in their edits, and when needed, they asked questions, discussed their approaches, and came to a consensus. Based on their work here and on Wikipedia, I am confident that all of them grew from wiki neophytes to competent editors over the course of the last two months. This project would not have been the same without them.
+[[File:Ellipsis.png|center|50px]]
+===Dedication<ref>Dedication and Acknowledgements by [[J. Michael Lennon]] from the original book publication, 2004.</ref>===
+For Donna, Stephen, Joseph and James.
+With a Special Appreciation to the students of English 397, Norman Mailer Seminar, at Wilkes University: Helene Caprari, Monica Cardenas, Justin D'Angelo, Patricia Dibble, Katherine Green, Mark James, Marcia McGann, Sabrina McLaughlin, Jessica Skutack and Gregory Specter.
+===Acknowledgements and Appreciations for the Letters===
 My first debt is to [[Norman Mailer]], who gave full access to his Archive and generously supported the preparation of this edition. He has also read his letters collected here, provided countless details for the head notes and introduction, and corrected many errors of fact and interpretation. I am deeply grateful for his help and friendship. The ten students of my English 397 Norman Mailer seminar at Wilkes University made major contributions. During the spring 2003 semester they helped select the letters and gave extra time on weekends for this work. In addition, members of the seminar key stroked the manuscript, proofread the result and did supplementary research on the historical period, the novel’s background and reception and Mailer’s correspondents. Seminar members also compared the two versions of the novel in various ways, which was of great help in evaluating the changes Mailer made when he revised it for book publication. They also helped me (especially Marcia McGann) organize and re-file the letters from the mid-sixties in a systematic way. The seminar also provided great encouragement and engaged me in regular dialogue about the problems, large and small, encountered in preparing this edition. I am happy to express my gratitude to Helene Caprari, Monica Cardenas, Justin D’Angelo, Patricia Dibble, Katherine Green, Mark James, Marcia McGann, Sabrina McLaughlin, Jessica Skutack and Gregory Specter. Jacqueline Mosher, Humanities Division secretary at Wilkes, also deserves applause for her above-and-beyond support.
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 ===Notes===
 {{reflist}}
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Credits, An American Dream Expanded}}
 [[Category:Written by J. Michael Lennon]]
 [[Category:Written by Gerald R. Lucas]]