I ended up sick over the last week or so and while my brain was uninterested in doing anything (what is 1+1? The world may never know), I found myself missing the Samuel Johnson Dictionary Project work! This is not an unusual phenomenon though – as unusual as missing work might be. My journey with the project actually started a few years ago, which still feels like an odd thing to be able to say but here we are.
So where did it all begin? I was drawn to the dictionary project mostly out of my love for old things, which is also why I want to be a historian, but even more importantly I genuinely believe in the creation of digital archives as a means of democratizing access to history. I posted about this last week when discussing access to online sources locked behind a paywall versus a free resource like the Samuel Johnson Dictionary. This led me to volunteer with the project way back in Fall of 2022. At first, I proofread transcriptions, then moved into matching quotations, and now I have the privilege of working with the project as an intern researching the origins of Spectator quotes. Hence why I am writing this post!
This might sound like a ‘sponsored post,’ but I count myself lucky to be at a university that has so many public history projects going on; even more lucky that there are projects that allow students to participate in digitizing history. Everyone who works on this project will become a part of the story of bringing this resource to others and I think that it is incredibly valuable as an experience.
Regarding contribution, in a conversation with my supervisor (is this a new segment?) we discussed how much of what we take for granted are actually very important things to consider when we think about historic contributions. The Samuel Johnson Dictionary, despite its name, wasn’t created by a single person – Sammy needed help too! We often think about a single person as the architect of historic documents (especially when it’s just their name on it), but the reality is that not only are there many people supporting their efforts directly, it also takes a great deal of privilege to be able to devote so much time to something like writing a novel or, in this case, a dictionary. Time not spent fetching water, fixing meals, or working many hours or multiple jobs. Switching to a more modern view, it reminds me of my privilege in being able to volunteer on this project and be at a university: I wouldn’t be able to do this without the support I have now and the programs that helped along the way – it’s something I couldn’t have done just a few years ago and, as a first-generation student, something others in my family didn’t get to do.
This is why I say that I’m incredibly lucky in being able to pursue my passion in life, even if it is much later than many, and I hope to see more people involved in history, public or traditional, in the future. This work is so important and we need as many people from as many walks of life as possible; everyone’s input is valuable and the more voices, the richer the field.