Program Descriptions
The followings document offers short synoptic descriptions of the numerous working programs the Walker Percy Project is developing as a part of its Master Plan. Divided by project area, many of the programs are already underway as indicated.
(1) Advisory Committee
The objectives of the Advisory Committee are to plan long-term activities associated with the project and to explore ways in which the project can promote non-electronic activities and events. Goals include fostering the development of an academic conference as associated with a university, an annual festival in Covington, LA, the founding of a journal, the collaborative creation of a PBS documentary, and the planning of the Online Conference. The Advisory Committee is a Phase Two program that is designed both to provide ongoing guidance for the Walker Percy Project and to plan the development of Phase Three. Several members have already been appointed to this committee.
(2) Annotations
(3) Archival Service
This section of the project is dedicated to providing Percy scholars a place to archive their prior published Percy-related essays, book reviews, and books (or excerpts), as well as university-approved dissertations and theses. Scholars who archive their materials will be assured that their writings will be readily accessible on a permanent basis, and, in some cases, more visible to those who may benefit from them. In time, the Walker Percy Project will offer an advanced search system of all texts archived within the project. Scholars who archive their work are also invited to submit an abstract of their work to the Annotations section.
(4) Book Reviews
The purpose of the Book Review section is to provide an online resource for those interested in books about Walker Percy and his work and to encourage participation by the community in the Walker Percy Project. This program works with publishers and reviewers to provide online access to reprints of reviews originally published in the print media, including reviews in newspapers, magazines and scholarly journals. The program will also solicit reviews from readers, both those in academic and non-academic environments, connected with the project. The section will also maintain an index of other online sources for book reviews, including those currently available through the New York Times and Chicago Tribune web sites. This comprehensive hypertext index of book reviews will be interfaced with the Bookstore and Current Books sections of the project.
Related: See Bookstore, Archival Service
(5) Bookstore
The Bookstore provides a mechanism which allows visitors to access information about books and order them through the Internet. These books include novels and works by Walker Percy, biographies of Percy, and critical studies of his work. The contextual information for these books will be drawn in part from the books themselves through reprinting of tables of content, prefaces, and selected passages. Other resources hyperlinked to the Bookstore pages will include material in the Annotations, the New Books, and the Online Bibliography. The Bookstore can be used by general readers, reader groups and educators to select and order the works most appropriate to their needs. This service is provided in connection with Amazon Books.
(6) CD-ROM
The goal of the CD-ROM program is publish a large interactive digital archive of material on Walker Percy. Current CD-ROM technology allows almost 700 MB of digital information, which is sufficient for several full-length books or hundreds of high resolution digital images, to be stored on a single disk. New developments in this technology, such as Digital Video Disk, promise to increase this storage capacity by several factors. CD-ROMs are an effective medium for content delivery since they can contain such large amounts of data, are easily stored, can be electronically searched, can include elements which interact with the reader, and are relatively inexpensive to reproduce once production costs have been accounted for.
The CD-ROM project is scheduled for Phase Three. The content of the CD-ROM will be developed in conjunction with the Advisory Committee and other contributors to the Walker Percy Project. The content will include text, digital images and video, links to Internet sites, and interactive elements. The director of the project, Henry P. Mills, has established a rapport with a multimedia company, Interactive Architex, which has expressed an interest in producing the project.
(7) Chat
Online chat offers a means for individuals to involve themselves in discussion of topics related to Walker Percy and to connect with other members of the project14s community. Chat rooms are online forums which allow real-time text-based discussion between users connecting from anywhere in the world. Most discussion is informal, though special sessions can be organized in which guest speakers (authors, biographers, or other figures) lead discussions and answer questions about their work and ideas. Chat can also be used to synchronize activities, such as those of an online conference, and provides an informal forum for the distribution of information. Chat rooms promote writing skills.
(8) Current News and Events
This section will provide an online area of current information for students, scholars, and general readers about online and real-world community activities and projects relating to Walker Percy. The program seeks to detail in one central place the wide variety of opportunities for Percy readers to become involved in public events associated with him. Current and past events to be reflected in this section include the recent stage adaptation of Percy14s Lost in the Cosmos, the annual symposium held by the St. Tammany Parish Library, and the possibility of a Tri-Star Pictures production of Percy14s The Moviegoer.
(9) Demonstration Materials
(10) Educational Learning Units
The goal of this program is to collect and disseminate educational materials which represent the spectrum of Percy reading strategies from secondary through post-graduate education. The materials will be assembled from submissions by teachers and professors and will include items such as lesson plans, course syllabi and descriptions, and exam questions. This section will also allow instructors to contact each other and collaborate directly in developing materials or in planning collaborative class projects. As a historical archive, the Educational Learning Units will represent a cumulative spectrum of inquiry on the work of Walker Percy and its place in the educational curriculum.
(11) Electronic Discussion Archives
The Electronic Discussion Archives provide a permanent record of all community discourse which occurs through the Walker Percy Project. The archive is a keyword-searchable repository of all discussion generated on Percy-L and the Slow Reading List. These archives serve as a resource for both general readers and scholarly researchers who wish to access and consult previous discussions by the project14s community. The archives serve to document the history of involvement and community-growth fostered through the project as well as the intersection of current events with issues addressed by Percy14s work.
(12) Feature Essays
The Feature Essays section offers general readers a window onto the world of Percy scholarship while also providing educators with a resource that can be used in developing a curriculum to teach Percy. This section consists of key essays in Percy scholarship which expose readers to the humanities and cultural context of Percy14s work. Selections will include items such as journal articles and prefaces to biographies. This section will serve as a natural extension of material presented in the introductory essays and will be hyperlinked to the Bookstore, Annotations and the Bibliography. Numerous essays by leading Percy scholars are already viewable in the project at http://sunsite.unc.edu/wpercy/essays.html
(13) Friends Fund
The Friends Fund is a mechanism for generating support for the project. The fund allows users to donate funds to the Walker Percy Project and receive public acknowledgment for their support. The project groups support into four categories and offers incentives for donating. For $100, for example, the contributor becomes a "Moviegoer" and receives a copy of Walker Percy: A Comprehensive Descriptive Bibliography, which includes detailed descriptions of scholarship to 1988 and copies of all the original cover jackets of Percy14s books. All friends will receive an annual mailing with updates and news of the project14s activities. A current listing of "Friends of the Project" is viewable at http://sunsite.unc.edu/wpercy/friends.gallery.html
(14) Guestbook
The Guestbook provides an opportunity for visitors to the project to offer feedback and to learn about and participate in other areas of the project. The Guestbook is an online questionnaire that solicits a brief profile of the visitor and allows the visitor to submit special concerns or ask questions. Visitors to the Guestbook are also invited to join the project14s mailing list and are informed about other activities of the project. The Guestbook represents a first level of involvement for participants in the Walker Percy Project. Over 200 people have signed the guestbook since it was added to the project in the fall of 1996.
(15) Hypertext Bibliography
The goal of the Hypertext Bibliography is to create a comprehensive online bibliography of secondary materials on Walker Percy as collaboratively developed by scholars. Three major bibliographies have appeared to date: Kramer et al. (1983), Hobson (1988), and Mills (1996). The Mills bibliography has already been made available on the project14s Web site. The project has also received permission to publish the Hobson bibliography and is currently seeking funds and further permissions to accomplish this goal. Additional references will be gathered through Percy scholars who become involved in the project, including references from works published abroad and submitted by the International Steering Committee. The bibliography will be hypertextually linked to other resources on the project14s Web site, and special focus bibliographies will be developed for individual works and key topics. The hypertext bibliography is a major Phase Two goal as defined in the Master Plan.
Related: See Annotations, Bookstore
(16) Interactive Allegorical Portrait
This special feature of the project attempts to create a progressive multimedia learning tool which functions as a nexus to ideas central to Walker Percy14s work. The portrait is a clickable "image map" which pulls up annotations explaining the elements of the portrait and which provides hyperlinks to other relevant material on the web site. Clicking on the icon of the book jacket of The Moviegoer, for example, will bring up a brief annotation about the book as well as links to the Bookstore. a summary of the novel, and critical essays about the novel. The portrait is created in the tradition of other allegorical representations and is inspired specifically by Percy14s book Lost in the Cosmos. The Interactive Allegorical Portrait is interactive, multisensory, iconic and playful, and provides an experimental and unique interface to the Walker Percy Project. A prototype of the portrait is viewable at http://sunsite.unc.edu/wpercy/iap.html
(17) International Steering Committee
The initial goal of the International Steering Committee is to develop a checklist of international scholarship on Walker Percy to be published as a part of the project. This will include:
Δ a listing of Percy works translated into different languages
Δ a bibliography of international scholarly writings (by country)
Δ a bibliography of related international periodical literature (by country)
A secondary goal of the committee will be the translation of the introductory materials of the Walker Percy Project into languages other than English. Each language represented can also have information about why Percy is relevant to a given country, its own literary tradition, or its culture. A call for interest for such a committee is already being publicized through the project at http://sunsite.unc.edu/wpercy/international.html, and scholars from both Germany, Spain, Poland, and India have already expressed interest in joining.
(18) Interviews
This module seeks to provide a resource for readers to observe Percy discussing his ideas and work in interview contexts. This online module will offer selections of Percy taken from a variety of different literary and journalistic interviews and will include lengthy passages of Percy talking about his work and ideas. While initially the interview module will consist of reprints of previously published and unpublished interviews, the module will later incorporate digitized sound of interviews which were recorded. Permissions to include several interviews online in the project have already been received.
(19) Introductory Materials
The Introductory Materials section provides visitors to the site who are unfamiliar with Walker Percy a brief introduction to his life and work. The section currently contains a brief biography, a listing of important dates in Percy14s life, a photograph of Percy, a quotation by Percy, and a brief introduction to Percy14s place in American letters and philosophy written by Henry P. Mills. Specific information about Percy14s novels works are available through a clickable image map of the covers for his novels, which brings up a brief plot summary of each novel clicked that is clicked on. The section also contains a prominent link to the interactive allegorical portrait and will eventually include a slide show tour.
(20) Jefferson Lecture Module
This section of the project is dedicated to documenting what was perhaps Percy14s greatest honor and the highest formal recognition of the importance of his work. This online module will consist of a reprint of the lecture, drafts of the lecture, an interview taken at the time, and commentary by Percy scholars and other parties involved with the Jefferson Lectures. Since Percy used the lecture to present a semiotic model of mankind, this section will be cross-indexed with and hyperlinked to the project14s materials on Percy14s work in the field of semiotics. A video version of the lecture is possible content for the CD-ROM.
(21) Memorabilia Program
(22) Memorials and Remembrances
(23) Moviegoer Module
The Moviegoer module will be a special online content section that presents a history of the writing, publication, and reception of Percy14s most well-known novel, in particular as it is associated with items contained in the Knopf archive at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. The Moviegoer was Walker Percy14s first novel and the winner of the 1962 National Book Award. This section of the project will include a multimedia overview of the over 125 pages of materials contained in the archive, including photographs, contracts, news releases and promotional materials. The section will be a resource for scholarly inquiry or for those wishing to produce film or stage adaptations of the novel. The area could also serve as a central resource for future "moviegoers," given Tri-Star Pictures' plans to adapt the book as a film in the near future.
(24) Multimedia Gallery
The purpose of the Multimedia Gallery is to collect and provide online access to visual and auditory recordings of Percy14s interviews and public appearances, as well as recordings of scholars and colleagues discussing his work and place in American letters. Such materials will include selections from the Jefferson Lecture, the Today Show, The Southern Review interview, and Firing Line, where Percy appeared with Eudora Welty. The gallery will initially consist of digitized sound and video clips and will also be used to explore permissions and materials for full-length versions of these items as delivered through CD-ROM and future Internet technology.
(25) New Books
The New Books section provides a central online location for Percy scholars and general readers to track new publications on Walker Percy. This section will provide a narrative overview of current scholarship and will consist of a yearly breakdown of new books that includes descriptions, reviews, excerpts, and a link to the bookstore where the reader may order the book. The new books section will be a specialized bibliography presented in a user-friendly format that includes images of the books. See http://sunsite.unc.edu/wpercy/books.html
(26) Newsgroup Forums
Newsgroup Forums provide a means for individuals to ask questions and receive information on topics related to Walker Percy and to participate in extended discussions of topics of interest. Newsgroup Forums are online posting boards where discussion of topics is arranged into threads,34 which are sequences of postings on the same topic. Along with Chat, newsgroup forums offer another means for informal participation in Percy discussion. Threaded forums provide a discussion environment that is well-suited to participants who are unable to attend regular discussion sessions, have poor typing skills, or are uncomfortable with real-time interaction online. Topics for the forums can be formulated and guided by the project14s editorial board, and the forums can also be used by educators to manage class discussions on discrete Percy topics. All discussion on the forums is archived and searchable.
(27) Online Conference
The Online Conference will be a virtual meeting of scholars and other interested parties as enabled through network technology. The conference is the focal point for the project14s experimentation with online discussion and interaction forums, including Percy-L, the Slow Reading List, Newsgroup Forums, and Chat. In time, both audio and video broadcast will become feasible over the Internet. Using each of these structures, the conference will feature speakers and special content presentations as followed by open discussion and focus meetings. The conference represents a major goal of Phase Three of the Walker Percy Project14s master development plan. The Online Conference is also meant to prefigure and to help scholars organize future types of scholastic interaction.
(28) Percy-L
Percy-L is the project14s primary online discussion forum at the present and is used for both scholarly and general inquiry into topics related to Walker Percy. Messages posted on Percy-L are sent via email to a central distribution point and then forwarded to all members of the list. The list is open to anyone and currently has over 120 members worldwide. Any topic can be introduced on Percy-L. For example, students can post messages to the list and receive responses from leading Percy scholars, and upcoming events are regularly announced on the list. As list members receive email messages daily, Percy-L is a push34 activity that encourages frequent interaction with other readers and with other elements of the Walker Percy Project. All Percy-L discussion is archived at the following address: http://sunsite.unc.edu/wpercy/hypermail.
(29) Percy Places
The goal of this section is to provide an online selection of photographs of places associated with Walker Percy as accompanied by descriptive information. This section will include images of restaurants and bookstores in Covington, LA, houses in which Percy lived, his burial site, and places where significant manuscript collections are stored. Percy Places will be used to educate readers of all levels about places they might want to visit and will provide them with the appropriate contact information to plan an itinerary. The section will lead people to understand the significance of the featured places and encourage historic preservation of important buildings and locales.
(30) Photograph Gallery
The objective of the Photograph Gallery is to archive and publish on the Internet photographs relating to Walker Percy and his work. The gallery will include portraits of Percy in a variety of contexts and locales, as well as a photographic series on aspects of his life and writing career, including significant Percy places, book jackets of his published works, and manuscripts and letters. The Photograph Gallery program will work together with the Multimedia Gallery program to explore permissions for offering future electronically-distributed and interactive materials for public use.
Related: See QTVR, Percy Places
(31) Physical Archives
The Physical Archives ensures that all physical media collected by the Walker Percy Project will be available to future researchers and other interested parties. These archives are a repository of both primary and secondary materials associated with Percy scholarship and with the development and history of the Walker Percy Project, including seminar brochures, photographs, playbills, journal issues, videotape and books. These archives will be donated to a university or other educational institution at a future date.
Related: See Memorabilia Program, Demonstration Materials
(32) Professional Materials and Information
(33) QTVR
The purpose of the QuickTime Virtual Reality module is to provide a virtual simulation of significant places associated with Walker Percy for those who cannot otherwise visit these places. QTVR is a multimedia tool which allows a user to view a virtual panorama of a room or outside space. QTVR objects, as applied to indoor or outdoor spaces, are created from series of photographs taken from a central point and then assembled into a single digital image which simulates a 3-D environment. The QTVR object is then controlled by the user through movement of the computer mouse. This section of the project will contain QTVR representations of Walker Percy14s library and the view of the bayou from the back of his house. See http://sunsite.unc.edu/wpercy/qtvr.html for a sample.
(34) Scholars' Network
This area of the project will allow Percy scholars from around the world to record information in a central, public-accessible space about their particular scholarly interests in Walker Percy and related subjects. It will enable scholars to "network" with and/or collaborate more freely with other scholars sharing their interests. Included in the database will be the following: contact information (e-mail and postal); the scholar's general area of expertise; keywords describing his or her interest in Percy; and a brief paragraph describing each scholar's research interests, Percy-related publications, and ongoing interest in Percy Studies. All submissions will be electronic as accessed through the project and can be updated by the user. A call for information for this area of the was released in April of this year and will continually be made as the project extends its publicity campaign.
(35) Search Tools
The Search Tools section of the project provides visitors a number of means to look up specific information available on the Web site or to gain an overview of the site14s offerings and structure. The site currently contains an index and a keyword-search engine. The index is an alphabetical listing of all major pages and sections of the site which permits a visitor to search by page title, author name, or article name. The search engine, which is provided in conjunction with InfoSeek, allows users to type in a keyword and search the whole site for pages that contains those words. Pages which match are returned as a series of links accompanied by the opening text to the page and the URL. The search section also provides the user with links to other important literary resources and databases available over the Internet. In the future, the Walker Percy Project plans to offer a clickable map of the Web site that will provide visitors a graphical overview of the organization of the site.
(36) Self-supporting Organization
This program is internally focused toward developing the Walker Percy Project as a self-sustaining, independent organization. It includes all matters related to the project's incorporation as a non-profit, filing of 501c3 papers, writing of the Master Plan, program planning and staff coordination, fundraising activities, and long range planning. The program strives to develop the Walker Percy Project as a business entity, while documenting all the necessary steps for use in the Demonstration Materials program. The program will also consider ways in which internships, scholarships and other opportunities might occur in which individuals can contribute to the larger momentum of the project over time.
(37) Semiotics Module
(38) Slide Show / Project Tour
The Slide Show provides visitors with an online overview of the Walker Percy Project and an introduction to Walker Percy. It will contain biographical and thematic overviews of his work and place in American letters as appropriate to newcomers as well as introduce users to the technology and goals of the Walker Percy Project. It will seek to create a graphical introduction which explains major themes in Percy14s work, the structure of the Walker Percy Project, and user opportunities for involvement in it.
(39) Slow Reading List
The Slow Reading List provides a forum for general readers to participate in the discussion of works by or relating to Walker Percy. This program will consist of a separate moderated discussion list (see Percy-L) as advertised through the project. Discussion on this list will progress sequentially through one Percy work at a time, resulting in a segmented, focused discussion of a given work. Discussion topics will be scheduled ahead of time and at a rate that casual readers can follow, probably one long or two short chapters per week. Authors of secondary works or scholars with particular expertise in relevant areas will be invited to participate as discussion leaders. The list can also be used in conjunction with special events internal or external to the project. A reading of The Moviegoer, for example, could precede the performance of a play or release of a movie based on the novel.
Related: See Percy-L
(40) Stories Forum
The Stories Forum is an area where general readers may share inspirational stories and/or personal notes about their encounters with Percy and his work. The idea for the forum grew out of the regular submissions to staff of anecdotes of this kind. This project area is dedicated to providing a public space where Internet visitors can submit their "Percy stories" and have them permanently archived for others to enjoy and learn from. Calls for submission to the Percy Stories Forum were included in the April mailout campaign of this year, and numerous submissions are viewable at http://sunsite.unc.edu/wpercy/stories.html.
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