Description: This UPREP will introduce an undergraduate student to Open Educational
Resources (OER) and to the English 203 libguide, both of which are living documents and
require regular attention. For the OER, we will continue to revise and expand chapters during
the Fall 2024 semester. For the 203 libguide, we will continue to gather data on frequently-used
texts in literature classes and ensure that reputable copies of those texts are included,
whenever possible according to copyright law, in the libguide. In addition to work on these
existing resources, we will also begin to compile material to expand the “Writing and Research”
chapters of the 203 and Sci-Fi OERs into a standalone “Writing about Literature” handbook
OER. Finally, we will also find a professional conference to attend together, the registration (and
any additional) fees for which will come out of my UPREP bursary. Because time is short, we
will probably attend a virtual conference, but an in-person conference such as 4Cs should not
be ruled out, depending on the student’s availability and interest. We will meet weekly to make
plans and discuss progress.

Student Involvement: Student and Dr. Carly-Miles will meet weekly to discuss progress
regarding ongoing 203 OER revisions, expansion of the 203 libguide, and initial work on
expanding OER "Writing about Literature" chapters into an OER handbook. Student will assist
with compiling a list of texts used in English department syllabi and then either locating viable
copies of those texts in the public domain or requesting they be purchased with unrestricted
borrow licenses from the library.

Required Skills & Interest: Interest in reading and writing about literature ; availability to meet weekly.

Benefits to Student & Faculty: Faculty will benefit from assistance in these projects; student
will benefit from learning about open education resources and from considering aspects of
writing about literature as we work towards creating/compiling a handbook on that subject.
Student will also benefit from attending (either virtually or in person) a professional conference
in the fall.

Use of Abbott funds: Funds will be used for conference registration, travel fees if necessary to
travel to conference, and one working lunch for student and faculty at the end of the UPREP period.

Project Description: The Beowulf's Afterlives Bibliographic Database (BABD) is the most
comprehensive record of texts, representations, and adaptations of Beowulf from 1705 to the
present, in all languages, genres, and media forms. It contains over 1000 entries and is growing
continually. Work developing its content is ongoing, and a UPREP student may contribute both
to this aspect of the project and to enhancing the data it already contains, as described below.

Student Involvement: The student’s work is expected to include information-gathering,
cataloguing, and fact-checking, but a major part of the student’s duties in this semester would
be locating authoritative URIs (Uniform Resource Identifiers) for persons listed in the database,
using such tools as VIAF (the Virtual International Authority File) or Wikidata, and applying these
to existing database entries.

Required Skills & Interest: The primary needed qualifications are diligence and attentiveness
to detail, and all who have these characteristics are encouraged to apply. No experience with
URI application is expected (training will be provided). Prior interest in medieval literature is
helpful but not necessary. An enhancing qualification might be competence in one or more
non-English languages.

Benefits to Student & Faculty: The benefit to me is help with aspects of this project that I can
share out and manage while I focus primarily on the aspects that require more advanced
academic expertise. The student will benefit from direct engagement with ongoing research,
gaining a firsthand look at a type of faculty research that is not always readily visible from a
student perspective.

Use of Abbott Funds: If this proposal were selected for the John Paul Abbott Grant, the funds
might be used toward access to rare materials that need to be seen for us to catalog them
appropriately. If the student completes a 485 project of suitable quality, I would work to arrange
an opportunity for him or her to present on this research jointly with me at a neighboring Texas
university, in which case some of the funds could offset modest travel expenses for a day trip to
Houston, Austin, or Huntsville.

Comments: Description for website:
I seek an assistant for the ongoing development of the Beowulf's Afterlives Bibliographic
Database (BABD), which is the most comprehensive record of texts, representations, and
adaptations of Beowulf from 1705 to the present in all languages, genres, and media forms. The
work will include information-gathering, fact-checking, and locating the correct Uniform
Resource Identifiers for persons listed in the database (for this, training will be provided). The
UPREP may be paired with a Directed Study (ENGL 485) for course credit.

The minimum qualifications are diligence and attentiveness to detail, and all who have these characteristics are encouraged to apply.

Project Description: The prospective UPREP student would help with promoting and
advertising creative writing events, speakers, clubs, and other relevant activities.

Student Involvement: The student would help use social media and other strategies for
connecting with the A&M community to help inform students, staff, and faculty about creative
writing at A&M, especially activities organized by the English Department and assisting the
Creative Writing Coordinator. Designing flyers that feature creative writing events and contests
would be part of the expected involvement.

Required Skills & Interest: Effective English communication and social media tools familiarity
and interest in creative writing--also some degree of competence with designing flyers for print
and digital sharing.

Benefits to Student & Faculty: The UPREP student's contribution will help increase attendance
and participation from students and overall student, faculty, and staff awareness of the English
Department's creative writing impact at A&M. It's also an opportunity for the student to gain
experience with effective communication for promotional purposes in education and to stay
informed about and to help encourage development of the creative writing community for Texas
A&M.

Use of Abbott Funds: To help fund any software or hardware devices that might assist the
UPREP student with the promotion and advertising of creative writing activities, speakers, and
events.

Comments: Interest and enthusiasm for creative writing at Texas A&M is key for this position, as
well as commitment to ongoing outreach to the A&M community to increase the audience for
creative writing events and activities.