Visual Archives

I am interested in learning more about visual archiving. Some applications of technology appear far more useful than others. Digital narrative strikes me simply as an effort to apply new technology to old forms, rather than a true literary advancement. It does seem to mimic though, the current narrative style of short fiction: beginning, middle, no end. Hypertext shifts provide the same indecisive close. Online archives, on the other hand, organize materials in ways which are often extremely useful, as in the case of William Blake's "Songs of Innocence and Experience." It's hard to imagine the difficulties faced by scholars in the past, forced to travel across the globe to make comparisons between the different versions without ever seeing them side by side. I am interested in exploring further different archives for individuals and complete collections. I am thinking of pursuing this for a project.