Workshop on Textual Models

• Date: Tuesday, March 25, 2025
• Time: 9:45 AM to 6:00 PM (Paris time),
• Place: University of Rouen Normandie, Council Room (3rd floor), UFR of Letters and Human Sciences, Lavoisier Street, Mont-Saint-Aignan.
• The workshops in the second part of the day can be attended from Montreal: from 9:30 AM to 1:00 PM (Toronto time), University of Montreal, Pavillon Lionel Groulx, room C-8132.
• Online participation is possible.

The Chair of Excellence in Digital Publishing at the University of Rouen Normandie and the Revue 3.0 Partnership at the University of Montreal are organizing a workshop on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, for the entire day at the University of Rouen Normandie and in the afternoon at the University of Montreal, focusing on textual modeling with an introductory lecture by Marcello Vitali-Rosati and three workshops.

What is a text?

This is a central question in the humanities. To read, understand, and interpret, we must first know what a text is, or rather, what the particular text under study is. Paradoxically, this knowledge, fundamental to the humanities, often remains implicit. It seems to concern only the editorial dimension, perceived as a field of techniques and practices whose importance is acknowledged but rarely theorized or considered in its theoretical dimension.

The concept of textual modeling highlights the theoretical and hermeneutic aspects embedded in editorial practices. Modeling a text means developing a deep theoretical understanding, making it explicit, formalizing it, and implementing it in a specific material form, whether digital or not. This knowledge is evident in scholarly practices within philological and literary fields as well as in more general academic writing and publishing environments, from note-taking tools to modular and multi-modal publishing chains, and specific text format choices.

We propose to explore these textual modeling practices in a day comprising a theoretical introductory lecture and three hands-on workshops.

Programme

The first part takes place only at the University of Rouen Normandie (Paris time zone).

• 9:45-10:15 – Welcome, coffee, and introduction
  Tony Gheeraert and Marcello Vitali-Rosati will introduce the day, alongside postdoctoral researchers Edgar Lejeune and Antoine Fauchié from the Chair of Excellence in Digital Publishing, and Giulia Ferretti, coordinator of the Revue 3.0 Partnership.
• 10:15-11:15 – Introductory Lecture: The Gods of Publishing - Marcello Vitali-Rosati
  Aristotle’s well-known anecdote tells of foreigners visiting Heraclitus. Seeing him warming himself by the fire, they hesitate at the door—could a philosopher engage in such a trivial act? Heraclitus invites them in, saying, "There are gods here too." Who are the gods of publishing? In this introductory lecture, Marcello Vitali-Rosati, holder of the Chair of Excellence in Digital Publishing, will reflect on the theoretical issues related to the material implementations of textual models.
• 11:30-13:00 – Workshop 1: Editing with Ekdosis - Mathilde Verstraete
  Mathilde Verstraete, a PhD candidate at the University of Montreal, has been using Ekdosis (www.ekdosis.org) for several years to encode critical editions and generate various formats for scholarly dissemination (XML-TEI, PDF). In this workshop, she will introduce Ekdosis’s origins and functionalities, provide a demonstration, and guide participants through practical exercises.
• 13:00-14:30 – Lunch Break (Free Time)
  Several dining options are available on-site at the University of Rouen Normandie (Mont-Saint-Aignan).

The second part takes place simultaneously at the University of Rouen Normandie and the University of Montreal (5-hour time difference, as Quebec transitions to daylight savings time before France).

• 14:30-16:00 – Workshop 2: How Do You Take Notes? - Clara Grometto and Nolwenn Pamart
  There are numerous alternatives to traditional word processors. Clara Grometto and Nolwenn Pamart, PhD candidates at the Chair of Excellence in Digital Publishing, will explore several tools that rethink writing, content structuring, and publication formats, particularly in note-taking contexts. Participants will discover and practice using various tools that emphasize open-source software, interoperability, and structured content.
• 16:15-17:45 – Workshop 3: Le Pressoir for Creating Enhanced Books - Antoine Fauchié and Edgar Lejeune
  Le Pressoir (pressoir.org) is a publishing chain that generates enriched web-format books and PDFs, applying semantic document structuring principles and single-source publishing (one source for multiple output formats). In this workshop, Antoine Fauchié and Edgar Lejeune, postdoctoral researchers at the Chair of Excellence in Digital Publishing, will introduce Le Pressoir: installation, configuration, and first steps.
• 17:45-18:00 – Closing Remarks by Marcello Vitali-Rosati
  Marcello Vitali-Rosati will conclude the day by summarizing the discussions and workshop activities.

Participation Details

This event will be held in person at two locations:

• All day at the University of Rouen Normandie: Council Room (3rd floor), UFR of Letters and Human Sciences, Lavoisier Street, Mont-Saint-Aignan (France)
• Afternoon workshops also at the University of Montreal: Pavillon Lionel Groulx, room C-8132 (Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

This workshop requires active participation. The teams from the Chair of Excellence in Digital Publishing and the Revue 3.0 Partnership will be available to assist with various exercises. Participants may need to install certain programs or software in advance. The workshops combine demonstrations with hands-on practice, so bringing a laptop is recommended, though observation without participation is also possible.

Registration

Free but mandatory registration, subject to availability. Register via this form:
https://framaforms.org/inscription-a-la-journee-de-travail-sur-les-modelisations-textuelles-mardi-25-mars-2025-rouen
If you prefer not to use the form, you can email antoine.fauchie@univ-rouen.fr with your first name, last name, email, and status.

CONTACTS

For questions about the event, contact Antoine Fauchié: antoine.fauchie@univ-rouen.fr

Event Coordination:

• Antoine Fauchié, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Rouen Normandie: antoine.fauchie@univ-rouen.fr
• Giulia Ferretti, PhD candidate at the University of Montreal and coordinator of the Revue 3.0 Partnership: giulia.ferretti@umontreal.ca

Scientific Responsibility:

• Tony Gheeraert, professor at the University of Rouen Normandie, scientific director of the Chair of Excellence in Digital Publishing.

The Chair of Excellence in Digital Publishing—for a new digital scholarly publishing infrastructure—at the University of Rouen Normandie (ceen.hypotheses.org) is funded by the Normandy Region and held by Marcello Vitali-Rosati.

The Revue 3.0 Partnership: Writing, Transmitting, Discovering (revue30.org) is directed by Marcello Vitali-Rosati and funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.