Submerged Rocks, or Reading an Edition on a Small Screen

Paulius Subačius

doi:10.18290/rh25732.2s

Published : 2025-12-29

Vol. 73 No. 2 Zeszyt specjalny (2025)

Submerged Rocks, or Reading an Edition on a Small Screen

Paulius Subačius

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7301-9210

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18290/rh25732.2s

Abstract

Anyone who uses sophisticated digital nautical charts is aware of the dangers posed by the standard ‘zoom’ function. Users of the digital scholarly editions do not risk their lives. However, the conflict between the amount of information and the size of the screen can lead to an intellectual disaster. In manuscript and print culture, the size of the page and the layout of the text determined the publication’s function. E-readers and smartphones have become how students engage with historical and literary sources. Due to the size of the screens, this creates information gaps and/or spikes, which become more pronounced the more sophisticated the source and its edition. The proliferation of mobile apps for scholarly editions of classical texts encourages scepticism about whether new possibilities have also resulted in losses.

Keywords:

digital edition, handheld device, interface, reader experience, commentaries, apparatus, multiple textuality

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