The Skype conference with Paul Schacht was very cool. This was the first time that had ever used Skype for a conference or a learning purpose, and it's actually an effective tool. Paul had a lot of good things to say and having him in our class helped because it put another perspective on the project getting started on.
Based on what Paul said it sounds like the available online material about Thoreau is limited, and by doing a project like this, it will provide countless opportunities for Thoreau scholars who would like more than juts pdfs and boring html. Paul said that the Internet allows putting text out there in all it's fluidity and incorporates a narrative of changes. Reading the many different revisions of Walden side by side will lead to plenty of research and discoveries that scholars may have never noticed. They can also look at Thoreau's edits and sometimes determine his mood or intent, and that is pretty incredible.
Paul said that in the next few years they hope to add more texts to "Readers Thoreau" and foster discussion on Walden and other texts. The discussion's would be monitored but with the limited audience they wouldn't have to worry about "trolls" but they would have to keep an eye on scholars jumping down other scholars' throats.
Overall this meeting we had with Paul was beneficial for me and I think for the class. He is obviously passionate about what he does and he had all the answers to our questions. I can only hope I like this project as much as he does when all is said and done.
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