The Cather Project
310 Andrews Hall ·
University of Nebraska-Lincoln ·
Lincoln, NE 68588-0396 ·
402.472.1919
Founded in 2002 by members of the University
of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of English, the Cather Project supports research and teaching that focuses on the life and work of Willa Cather. The Cather Project
is a University of Nebraska-Lincoln "Project of Excellence" and is housed on the third floor of Andrews Hall.
Alongside the familiar patterns of humanities research and teaching, our project has four distinct components:
- The Willa Cather Archive: We maintain a strong and growing presence in the field of humanities computing. On this site you will find information
about the Project and our activities and a wealth of biographical and scholarly resources relating to Cather and her work.
The Cather Archive, which is regularly updated and searchable, publishes unique scholarship and electronic versions of scholarship and Cather-authored
texts that have already appeared in hard copy. Additionally, the Cather Archive provides access to primary source material
from the Cather collections at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries and elsewhere. Materials appearing on this site have been peer-reviewed and vetted in accordance with traditional scholarly
standards.
- The Willa Cather Scholarly Edition (WCSE): The Cather Project
partners with the University of Nebraska Press to
publish the Willa Cather Scholarly Edition,
the major scholarly edition of Cather's work. Each volume contains an extensive
apparatus, featuring textual commentary, explanatory notes, and a "Historical Essay" on the genesis of the particular text.
As we edit each text (and as far as copyright allows) electronic versions will be made available online. Encoded in XML format,
these e-texts will be fully searchable, and will provide a further generation of Cather scholars with a major resource. The
CSE is produced in compliance with the MLA guidelines on scholarly editions.
- Cather Studies: The Cather Project
is also responsible for Cather Studies, the leading forum for scholarship on her work. So far, there have been five editions of Cather Studies, which you can find in digital form via this site. Three further editions of Cather Studies are planned for the remainder of this decade.
- The Willa Cather International Seminar: We co-sponsor, along with the Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial
and Educational Foundation in Red Cloud, Nebraska, the The Willa Cather International Seminar, the
main forum for Cather scholars, enthusiasts, and graduate students to convene and discuss her work and to pursue new areas
of inquiry. We have a long tradition of hosting innovative programs in a range of interesting places associated with Cather
(from Quebec City to New Mexico), and of incorporating cutting-edge scholarship into an environment that is friendly and welcoming
to newcomers. Many of the people currently engaged with Cather introduced their ideas to the wider scholarly community at
these seminars, and we continue to encourage all those working on Cather, wherever they are in the world, to attend these
events. You can find more information on the 2005 Seminar (Lincoln and Red Cloud, Nebraska) here. Events have been scheduled every two or three years, and a further seminar will take place in 2007 or 2008—venue to be
decided.
—Guy Reynolds, Director