Research Question
This project applies digital tools and methods to investigate the canonicity and popularity of the books read for the first edition of the OED and the quotations chosen for the final dictionary publication. Some scholars have criticized the OED for bias towards the literary canon, and the role that bias played in the standardization of the English language, but is this criticism fair? Were books and quotations chosen by the OED editors because of their canonicity? Was the literary canon the same in the nineteenth century as it is today? How has today's literary canon been shaped by history, and what role did dictionaries play in that process (if any)?
Research Team
Sebastian Ahnert (Cambridge)
Sarah Ogilvie (Oxford) (Principal Investigator)
Student Research Assistants
Sandhini Argawal (Stanford)
Vihan Lakshman (Stanford)
May Peterson (Stanford)
Gabe Previte (Stanford)
Image Credit: Jon McCormack
