Karen Wikander

  

As I look back at my life thus far, there are two things that have shaped decisions made and paths chosen. The first being the luxury of having grown up in a small town at Lake Tahoe. The second being my time with the Electronic Text Center at the University of Virginia. When I began my doctoral career at the University of Virginia, I believed that I would be heading down the traditional path of literary study, print publication, and potential academic positions.  It was in my first year at UVa, while serving as a graduate assistant to Professor David Vander Meulen, that I was seconded to the Electronic Text Center at Alderman Library.  This began my induction into the world of digital humanities – a world that, in 1996, was a bit more esoteric than it is now.  My work with the Electronic Text Center, stretching from 1996 to 2004, allowed me to mature academically in an environment that believed in uniting technology and teaching.  Since that time, I have been trying to create a professional career that embraces both of my passions -- teaching and the digital humanities. As a result, my CV includes stints at UVa, at Oxford University with the Oxford Text Archive, with the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities working on their online state encyclopedia project, and currently with Nevada Humanities, running their Online Nevada Encyclopedia.