A Great Society: The Presidential Address March 18, 2005 Harvard Club, New York City

The Society for Textual Scholarship is a great Society that has accomplished its important original mission. Having achieved what its founders intended, the Society should set a new course to enhance its relevance. After reviewing the history of STS, the talk suggests that if we continue to debate theories of textuality among ourselves, we are in danger of becoming a clubby debating society. Instead of arguing about abstract rules for editing, we should now focus on promoting understanding of the significance of textual criticism and editing among our students, colleagues, and the broader public.