DHTC-online

Ekaitz Ruiz de Vergara Olmos |  Contact |  Francisco García Jurado |  Contact | Departament: Classical philology | Faculty: Philology

Versión en español English version

Brief description

The DHTC-online is a digital tool derived from the Diccionario Hispánico de la Tradición y Recepción Clásica (published by Guillermo Escolar, Madrid, 2021). This Dictionary brought together the efforts of numerous international researchers to provide the public, within the framework of the national research project «Diccionario Hispánico de la Tradición Clásica» (FFI2017-83894-P), with an almost exhaustive overview of the key concepts, movements, authors, works, and periods that have shaped the discipline of classical tradition and reception. The DHTC-online builds on these research findings to make its contents openly accessible, available freely and free of charge to all internet users, with particular attention to the educational sector.

How does it work?

The homepage features the introduction, outlining the theoretical and methodological approaches that guided the compilation of the Dictionary. Its contents are organised into individual entries, available in alphabetical order. The DHTC-online includes an internal search tool, linked to Google, which facilitates the quick location of keywords by navigating transversally through all the materials of the Dictionary. A list of contributors is also provided, including the institutional affiliations of all researchers who authored the various entries. The DHTC-online has been designed to be intuitive, accessible, and navigable from all types of digital devices, prioritising text readability over other considerations.

What problem does it solve?

This digital tool provides access to the most exhaustive conceptual mapping available in any language of the discipline of the classical tradition and reception. In this way, the user can have immediate access to reliable and contrasted information, written by international specialists in the field. For students, who often search for information on the Internet and are not concerned about its sources or its veracity, the DHTC-online is an essential resource for their education.

What future products will it develop?

The main applications of DHTC-online are linked to teaching, both at university and non-university levels. However, this tool can also be used for all kinds of initiatives related to literature and classical tradition. The field of cultural management increasingly demands more resources, and digital humanities constitute one of the foundations for responding to this demand with reliable and effective content. Thus, this tool can be useful for all types of cultural initiatives such as bookstore events, book presentations, publishing initiatives, exhibitions, recitals, podcasts, reading workshops, cultural contests, literary tourism, etc.

Competitive advantages compared to other research

The materials of the Dictionary are innovative, although they naturally fit within a tradition of prior research on the same topics. However, the idea of creating a Dictionary that exhaustively compiles the concepts, characters, works, and periods of the discipline constitutes an unprecedented initiative. The manuals and reference works commonly in use did not fulfill this function. Furthermore, with the launch of DHTC-online, the Dictionary also becomes the first fully open and free digital resource in the field of classical tradition and reception, representing a qualitative leap compared to what had been done so far in this area.

Where has it been developed?

In addition to the national research project from which it originates—led by the UCM as its executing institution— the DHTC-online has also been developed thanks to a UCM teaching innovation project, «Aplicaciones didácticas del Diccionario Hispánico de la Tradición Clásica: el DHTC-en línea», carried out during the 2024–2025 academic year. The aim of this initiative was to explore the potential of the Dictionary and its digitalisation for university teaching, particularly in courses on literature and classical tradition. This project was implemented in the classrooms of the Faculty of Philology at UCM by some of the scholars who contributed to the Dictionary..

And moreover…

The potential applications of the DHTC-online extend beyond university and non-university teaching to other fields such as cultural management, where digital humanities and technological innovation are playing an increasingly significant role. In this regard, the tool serves as a reliable, up-to-date, and well-documented starting point for anyone interested in literary and classical tradition studies. It allows users to establish their own pathways through the materials of the Dictionary, offering a valuable digital resource for acquiring knowledge and skills, conducting academic research, preparing exams and assessments, documenting and disseminating information, and more.