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The autobiography is generally regarded as the most important genre in African American literary history. In the emancipatory struggle for freedom, equality and justice in a nation characterized by racism and segregation, authors have repeatedly resorted to self-narration and its means of social, cultural, political and aesthetic self-positioning. The fact that all these texts have something to say to each other in one way or another has been well researched; however, the fact that the books containing the texts have created an equally fascinating culture of communication among themselves has so far received little attention. A closer look at individual publications reveals that those elements of a publication, which Gérard Genette has classified as „paratext," lead a remarkable life of their own beyond the actual texts and their intertextual relationships. In order to better understand the communicative structures and relevant literary and cultural-historical object relations within the genre that is still characterized by marginalization and resistance, and to open it up to different perspectives in research and teaching, a digital database makes it possible to record and link relevant paratextual elements of African American autobiographies (such as covers, titles, blurbs, etc.) using various taxonomies and keywording models. The aim is to enable researchers, teachers ,and students to shed light on still unknown chapters in the often precarious histories of publication, distribution, and reception; to understand aesthetic and design decisions and compare them with social, political, and cultural developments of the time; to recognize dynamics of competition and distinction between authors, sometimes across generations; and to reveal editorial and publishing power structures. Using a number of examples, the lecture seeks to shed light on the potential of a digital database for the archiving and provision of paratextual elements of the African American autobiography.

Institution

• Digital Humanities Lab
• HCDS