The Voltaire Foundation is delighted to announce the award of a generous research grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The grant of $704,000 for a period of 18 months will enable the preliminary phase of Digital Scholarly Editions of the European Enlightenment (Digital Enlightenment). Building on the Voltaire Foundation’s existing expertise in producing print critical editions, this project will explore the challenges of producing high-quality scholarly editions digitally. In the first phase, we will produce digital prototypes of critical editions of Voltaire (based on the Complete Works of Voltaire, now near completion on paper) and d’Holbach (a born-digital edition).
“These editions will set a benchmark for best practice in the field, and promote a revaluation of the digital critical edition,” said Professor Nicholas Cronk, Director of the Voltaire Foundation. “The long-term aim of Digital Enlightenment is to create a digital resource containing definitive and interconnected scholarly editions that will have a transformative effect in Enlightenment studies.”