The presented project pertains to a nascent field of science known as digital humanities, which is an interdisciplinary domain that emerges from the confluence of Humanities and Computational Technologies.
Semantic publishing is a form of quantitative research in the digital humanities, that aims to preserve, protect and study cultural heritage.
Tbel Abuserisdze, a famous writer of the XIII century, has not been chosen as the object of the present research by chance. His creative works are preserved in the authentic form in the authorized manuscript of 1233 (A-85), which gives us a complete picture of both the historical epoch and the author's public, scientific-pedagogical and literary work. Tbel Abuserisdze's original scientific, poetic and prosaic texts are distinguished by genre and thematic diversity, original style and the scale of intertextuality, which is why they attract the interest of researchers from various fields.
The objective of this project is to produce a semantic edition of the texts, conduct research based on this edition, and establish a standard model that can serve as a foundation for future databases of ancient Georgian texts. To achieve this objective, the following tasks will be addressed:
1) During the initial phase of the project, the Georgian version of a semantic edition of Tbel Abuserisdze's five original texts will be created. This process will involve digitization, structuring, conversion to TEI/XML format, integration of a comprehensive search system and interdisciplinary research tools.
2) In the subsequent reporting period, based on the Georgian version of the semantic edition, English translations of Abuserisdze's texts and a bilingual database will be developed.
3) During the final reporting period, parallel texts (sentences, phrases, words) will be aligned within the bilingual semantic edition, and an interdisciplinary monograph based on the semantic edition will be completed and published.
The relevance and significance of this project stems from the fact that it will be the first time in Georgian scholarly circles that a semantic edition of these texts will be produced, and that interdisciplinary research will be conducted based on this edition.
This project offers a valuable contribution to the academic community engaged in researching medieval Christian literature, as it presents a unique opportunity for scholars to explore Tbel Abuserisdze's literary and scientific legacy through an English translation, which was hitherto unavailable.
The creation of the first Georgian semantic edition will give sustainability to the development of digital humanities in Georgia.