The Cambridge World Shakespeare Encyclopedia: An International Digital Resource for Study, Teaching, and Research

FAIN: HD-50843-09

University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA 90089-0012)
Bruce Smith (Project Director: April 2009 to August 2011)
Katherine A. Rowe (Co Project Director: April 2009 to August 2011)

Participating institutions:
University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA) - Applicant/Recipient
Bryn Mawr College (Bryn Mawr, PA) - Participating Institution

A collaborative effort by Cambridge University Press (CUP) and the Center for Transformative Scholarship (CTS) at the University of Southern California to develop an encyclopedia dedicated to Shakespearian studies that aggregates research data and allows users to map paths through the resources.

The Cambridge World Shakespeare Encyclopedia, an innovative digital reference source and workspace, is designed for collaboration among scholars, teachers, students and performers worldwide. This project addresses three challenges for the transnational humanities today. It aggregates a wealth of dispersed resources in an encyclopedic, rational and dynamic way, mapping paths of discovery. It proposes a public-private partnership that balances copyright constraints with open access to primary and secondary materials. It combines user-generated content with peer review, modeling new modes of publication for the field. An international team is developing core content, commissioned by Cambridge University Press, who will build and host the site, making it sustainable. The Center for Transformative Scholarship (USC) will support prototype design and planning. The International Shakespeare Association will partner on the project, advancing intellectual exchange among its global membership.