Digital Renaissance Editions

About Digital Renaissance Editions

Digital Renaissance Editions aims to expand the range of early English drama available to a world-wide audience for study, teaching, and performance, and to inspire a greater appreciation and understanding of the drama and its various contexts. In order to achieve these ambitious goals, the project relies upon the efforts and expertise of dedicated scholars and developers working with the highest standards of scholarship, design, and usability in mind.

Digital Renaissance Editions is not only conceived as complementing the mission of the Internet Shakespeare Editions from which it draws its inspiration, but deeply indebted to its pioneering work in developing the publishing platform, editorial guidelines, and virtual infrastructure upon which both projects rely.

In order to maintain standards of content and web design, the Internet Shakespeare Editions has launched a campaign, Making Waves, to raise funds to ensure future sustainability and continued open access for both projects. Your contribution will make a difference.

Site Overview

We publish in three main areas: text, context, and performance:

(1) Early English plays by dramatists other than Shakespeare are being edited (some for the first time) specifically for the electronic medium by an international team of scholars. Editions will include photo-facsimiles and diplomatic transcriptions of early textual witnesses (whether print or manuscript), as well as modern-spelling texts fully annotated to a deep scholarly level. Editions are accompanied by critical and textual introductions with supplementary and supporting materials. All content is subject to rigorous peer review to ensure scholarly quality.

(2) A Critical Companion of newly commissioned essays on topics relevant for a deeper understanding and appreciation of the early English drama and its various contexts. In covering a range of topics in depth, these multimedia essays will serve the needs of scholars and students alike.

(3) A Performance Database of digitized performance materials serves as a record of current and historical performances of early English drama, providing a dynamic view of the way these plays have been interpreted over time and in different cultures.

You will find a map of the site here.

The academic development of Digital Renaissance Editions is overseen by distinguished Editorial and Advisory Boards, with members from universities in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Editorial Board is led by our Coordinating Editor, Brett Greatley-Hirsch (University of Leeds), and four General Textual Editors, Eleanor Lowe (Oxford Brookes University), Sarah Neville (Ohio State University), Aaron T. Pratt (Trinity University), and Will Sharpe (Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham).

The projectʼs continuing research and development relies upon the contributions of many scholars, actors, research students, programmers, and web developers. The history and vision of the project is discussed on this page.

Critical Companion

Section Editors and academics to serve as an editorial board for the Critical Companion will be approached in 2017–18. Proposals from potential contributors are welcomed.

Performance Database

The DREʼs Performance Database is overseen by a similarly distinguished Editorial Board of theatre practitioners and scholars.

Technical Development

The DRE relies on the publishing platform developed by the Internet Shakespeare Editions. A discussion of the project's technical development and strategies is available.

Acknowledgements

The DRE is grateful to the many institutions and individuals that keep the project active and growing. Our acknowledgements page provides a full list of contributors.

Contact Details

Please use our feedback form, or email us at brett.hirsch@uwa.edu.au.

Conventional Mail:

   Brett Greatley-Hirsch   
   Coordinating Editor, Digital Renaissance Editions
   School of English
   University of Leeds
   Leeds, LS2 9JT
   United Kingdom