Abstract:

Throughout history, literature has been a way of experiencing and getting to know territory. The arrival of new technologies has completely changed the way in which information is disseminated, including literary information. This article focuses on a collective work by a professional team of the University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia (Uvic-UCC): the project called "Endrets. Geografia Literaria dels Països Catalans" [Literary Geography of Catalan Countries]. This is an encyclopedia project that brought together teachers, students and professionals for its production with the aim of combining literature, places and authors with information technology and communication. The project, through the related counties, cities and towns, aims to recover and record memory spaces, places, houses, monuments, heritage buildings and sites that have been centres of interest for Catalan writers. The website is based on a database that feeds the three basic sections that make up this literary geography site: a section with a comprehensive selection of Catalan authors, their works and the corresponding literary locations.

The project started in October 2009 when the Catalan Encyclopedia Foundation and the Rector of the Uvic-UCC signed a collaboration agreement between the two institutions so that these entities would provide images that linked the article Endrets to the Catalan Encyclopedia. The literary geographic information included in the project provides a wealth of viewing, as it is part of what we call a "data visualization systems". It is used for several subjects in the Education, Translation and Human Sciences College, Business and Communication College and Manresa Social Sciences College at the Uvic-UCC. Students use the project as an educational tool in order to read, carry out research, do tasks and exercises and plan physical activities in the geographical territory.

The string of literary sites, assigned to towns and cities, allow specific routes to be programmed to the taste of each user, either around the places associated with an author or based on geographic and artistic monuments of each region. The project is the first attempt to map the literary geography of Catalan countries using new technologies, a project born with the objective of retrieving and recording memory spaces, places, houses, monuments, heritage buildings and mythical places that have been focus points for Catalan writers from the troubadours and Ramon Llull until today.

This content is intended for a large variety of users, from students of different institutions (only accessible in the Catalan language at the moment) to a growing population of hiking tourists, different cultural groups, and for those who are just curious. It is possible to discover, perhaps for the first time, literary aspects and places from the point of view of Catalan authors. In short, it is an invitation to dive into the rich history of Catalan literature and a guide to learn geography. Although they may often have been ignored or underestimated, the Catalan language and culture maintain a prominent place next to other languages and cultures of our civilization. The project has been designed as an educational software experience which is expected to be the first of a series focusing on different cultural and educational matters of the Catalan Countries.

Keywords:

Literary information, Catalonia, Poetry, Authors, Educational Software Experience, University of Vic-Central University of Catalonia.