The Digital Humanities as a Toolkit for Literary Theory: Three Case Studies of the Operationalization of the Concepts of “Late Style,” “Authorship Attribution,” and “Literary Movement”
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13136/2281-4582/2018.i12.395Keywords:
big data, digital humanities, literature, stylometric analysisAbstract
Digital Humanities (DH) offers contemporary literary criticism a unique and constantly expandable set of “big data” that can be investigated through statistical analysis. Indeed, computational methods can be viewed as a “toolkit,” a unique array of instruments that allow the generation of new analytical data on literary texts. Through quantitative analysis of digitized texts, DH produces data that literary critics can use in qualitative analysis. Three case studies of computational analysis of “Late Style” (J. W. Goethe, Robert Musil, Franz Kafka), of “attribution of authorship” (Robert Musil) and of “literary movement” (German Romanticism and Heinrich von Kleist) are presented, demonstrating that the DH approach allows concepts in literary theory to be “operationalized,” i.e., translated from a theoretical to an empirical level. The methods exemplified in the three case studies provide a potential model for bridging the gap between literary theory and stylometric analysis.References
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---. “Klaviersonnen über Schluchten des Gemüts: Robert Musil und die Musik.” Das Plateau, 120 (2010): 4-
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Eco, Umberto. Lector in Fabula: La Cooperazione Interpretativa nei Testi Narrativi. Milan: Bompiani, 1979.
Eder, Maciej, Mark Kestemont, and Jan Rybicki. “Stylometry with R: A Package for Computational Text Analysis.” The R Journal 8.1 (2016): 107-121. https://journal.r-project.org/archive/2016/RJ-2016-
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Koepsell, Killian, and Carlos Spoerhase. “Neuroscience and the Study of Literature: Some Thoughts on the Possibility of Transferring Knowledge.” Journal of Literary Theory 2:2 (2008): 363-374.
Lauer, Gerhard. “Introduction: Empirical Methods in Literary Studies.” Journal of Literary Theory 9.1 (2015): 1-4.
Margolin, Uri. “On the Vagueness of Critical Concepts.” Poetics 10:1 (1981): 15-31.
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Moretti, Franco. Distant Reading. London: Verso, 2013a.
---. “Operationalizing”: or, the Function of Measurement in Modern Literary Theory, Pamphlet of the Stanford Literary Lab.”, December 2013b, 1-15. https://litlab.stanford.edu/LiteraryLabPamphlet6.pdf.
Orlandi, Fernando. “Nota Editoriale.” Robert Musil: La Guerra Parallela. Ed. Fernando Orlandi. Rovereto: Reverdito, 1987.
Patton, Michael Quinn. Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods. London: Sage, 1990.
Pierazzo Elena, Tiziana Mancinelli. Che Cos'è un'Edizione Scientifica Digitale?. Roma: Carocci, 2018.
Rebora, Simone, and Massimo Salgaro. “Is Late Style Measurable? A Stylometric Analysis of Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s, Robert Musil’s, and Franz Kafka’s Late Works.” Elephant&Castle, 18, 2018, 4-39.
Rebora, Simone, Berenike Herrmann, Gerhard Lauer, and Massimo Salgaro. “Robert Musil, a War Journal, and Stylometry: Tackling the Issue of Short Texts in Attribution of Authorship.” Digital Scholarship in the Humanities fqy055, https://doi.org/10.1093/llc/fqy055, 2018.
Ronzon, Francesco. Sul Campo: Breve Guida alla Ricerca Etnografica. Roma: Meltemi, 2008.
Roth, Marie-Louise. Robert Musil: Ethik und Ästhetik. Munich: List, 1972.
Said, Edward W. On Late Style: Music and Literature Against the Grain. New York: Pantheon, 2006.
Salgaro, Massimo. “Albert Ritter, der Ghostwriter in der Redaktion der Tiroler Soldatenzeitung—ein Biographisches Profil.” Oberleutnant Robert Musil als Redakteur der Tiroler Soldaten Zeitung. Eds. M.
Di Mino, E. Locher, and M. Salgaro. München: Fink Verlag, in press.
Schaunig, Regina. Der Dichter im Dienst des Generals: Robert Musils Propagandaschriften im Ersten Weltkrieg. Klagenfurt, Austria: Kitab, 2014.
Schöch, Christof, Daniel Schlör, Gebhard Zehe Albin, Martin Becker Henning, and Andreas Hotho. “Burrows’ Zeta: Exploring and Evaluating Variants and Parameters.” DH2018 Book of Abstracts. Mexico City: ADHO, 2018: 274-278.
Tausczik, Yla R., and James W Pennebaker. “The Psychological Meaning of Words: LIWC and Computerized Text Analysis Methods.” Journal of Language and Social Psychology 29 (2010): 24-54.
Van der Weel, Adriaan. Changing Our Textual Minds: Towards a Digital Order of Knowledge Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2011.
Arntzen, Helmut. Musil-Kommentar Sämtlicher zu Lebzeiten Erschienener Schriften außer dem Roman “Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften.” Munich: Winkler, 1980.
Ajouri, Philip, Katia Mellmann, and Christoph Rauen, eds. Empirie in der Literaturwissenschaft. Münster: Mentis, 2013.
Broch, Herrmann. “Mythos und Altersstil.” Schriften zur Literatur 2: Theorie, Ed. P.M. Lützeler. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp, 1995. 212-234.
Bryman, Alan. Quantity and Quality in Social Research. London: Uniwin Hyman, 1988.
Burrows, John. “Delta’: A Measure of Stylistic Difference and a Guide to Likely Authorship.” Literary and Linguistic Computing, 17.3 (2007): 267–287.
Ciotti, Fabio. “Toward a Formal Ontology for Narrative.” MATLIT: Materialidades da Literatura, IV, 1 (2016): 29-44. doi: 10.14195/2182-8830.
Corbetta, Piergiorgio. Metodologia e Tecniche della Ricerca Sociale. Bologna: Il Mulino, 2014.
Corino, Karl. “Robert Musil, Aus der Geschichte eines Regiments.” Studi Germanici 11 (1973): 109-115.
---. Robert Musil: Eine Biographie. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt, 2003.
---. “Klaviersonnen über Schluchten des Gemüts: Robert Musil und die Musik.” Das Plateau, 120 (2010): 4-
21.
Dinklage, Karl. Robert Musil: Leben, Werk, Wirkung. Zürich: Rowohlt, 1960.
Eco, Umberto. Lector in Fabula: La Cooperazione Interpretativa nei Testi Narrativi. Milan: Bompiani, 1979.
Eder, Maciej, Mark Kestemont, and Jan Rybicki. “Stylometry with R: A Package for Computational Text Analysis.” The R Journal 8.1 (2016): 107-121. https://journal.r-project.org/archive/2016/RJ-2016-
007/index.html. Last visited 31 May 2018.
Ganascia, Jean-Gabriel. “The Logic of the Big Data Turn in Digital Literary Studies.” Frontiers in Digital Humanities, 2015. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdigh.2015.00007. Last visited 10/10/2018.
Hammond, Adam. “The Double Bind of Validation: Distant Reading and the Digital Humanities’ “Trough of Disillusionment.” Literature Compass 14:8 (2017): 1-13.
Herrmann, Julia Berenike, Katrin Van Dalen-Oskam, and Christoph Schöch. “Revisiting Style, a Key Concept in Literary Studies.” Journal of Literary Theory 9.1 (2015): 25-52.
Jannidis, Fotis, and Gerhard Lauer. “Burrows’s Delta and its Use in German Literary History.” Distant Readings: Topologies of German Culture in the Long Nineteenth Century. Eds. M. Erlin and L.
Tatlock. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2014, 29-54.
Juola, Patrick. “Large-Scale Experiments in Attribution of Authorship.” English Studies 93.3 (2012): 275-283.
Kastenbaum, Robert. “Program of the Thirty-Eighth Annual Scientific Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America.” In Nasar, Jack and Farokhpay Mitra, “Assessment of Activity Priorities and Design
Preferences of Elderly Residents in Public Housing: A Case Study,” The Gerontologist 25.3 (1985): 251-257.
Kleinwort, Malte. Der Späte Kafka: Spätstil als Stilsuspension. Paderborn: Fink, 2013.
Koepsell, Killian, and Carlos Spoerhase. “Neuroscience and the Study of Literature: Some Thoughts on the Possibility of Transferring Knowledge.” Journal of Literary Theory 2:2 (2008): 363-374.
Lauer, Gerhard. “Introduction: Empirical Methods in Literary Studies.” Journal of Literary Theory 9.1 (2015): 1-4.
Margolin, Uri. “On the Vagueness of Critical Concepts.” Poetics 10:1 (1981): 15-31.
McMullan, Gordon and Sam Smiles, eds. Late Style and its Discontents: Essays in art, Literature, and Music.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
Moretti, Franco. Distant Reading. London: Verso, 2013a.
---. “Operationalizing”: or, the Function of Measurement in Modern Literary Theory, Pamphlet of the Stanford Literary Lab.”, December 2013b, 1-15. https://litlab.stanford.edu/LiteraryLabPamphlet6.pdf.
Orlandi, Fernando. “Nota Editoriale.” Robert Musil: La Guerra Parallela. Ed. Fernando Orlandi. Rovereto: Reverdito, 1987.
Patton, Michael Quinn. Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods. London: Sage, 1990.
Pierazzo Elena, Tiziana Mancinelli. Che Cos'è un'Edizione Scientifica Digitale?. Roma: Carocci, 2018.
Rebora, Simone, and Massimo Salgaro. “Is Late Style Measurable? A Stylometric Analysis of Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s, Robert Musil’s, and Franz Kafka’s Late Works.” Elephant&Castle, 18, 2018, 4-39.
Rebora, Simone, Berenike Herrmann, Gerhard Lauer, and Massimo Salgaro. “Robert Musil, a War Journal, and Stylometry: Tackling the Issue of Short Texts in Attribution of Authorship.” Digital Scholarship in the Humanities fqy055, https://doi.org/10.1093/llc/fqy055, 2018.
Ronzon, Francesco. Sul Campo: Breve Guida alla Ricerca Etnografica. Roma: Meltemi, 2008.
Roth, Marie-Louise. Robert Musil: Ethik und Ästhetik. Munich: List, 1972.
Said, Edward W. On Late Style: Music and Literature Against the Grain. New York: Pantheon, 2006.
Salgaro, Massimo. “Albert Ritter, der Ghostwriter in der Redaktion der Tiroler Soldatenzeitung—ein Biographisches Profil.” Oberleutnant Robert Musil als Redakteur der Tiroler Soldaten Zeitung. Eds. M.
Di Mino, E. Locher, and M. Salgaro. München: Fink Verlag, in press.
Schaunig, Regina. Der Dichter im Dienst des Generals: Robert Musils Propagandaschriften im Ersten Weltkrieg. Klagenfurt, Austria: Kitab, 2014.
Schöch, Christof, Daniel Schlör, Gebhard Zehe Albin, Martin Becker Henning, and Andreas Hotho. “Burrows’ Zeta: Exploring and Evaluating Variants and Parameters.” DH2018 Book of Abstracts. Mexico City: ADHO, 2018: 274-278.
Tausczik, Yla R., and James W Pennebaker. “The Psychological Meaning of Words: LIWC and Computerized Text Analysis Methods.” Journal of Language and Social Psychology 29 (2010): 24-54.
Van der Weel, Adriaan. Changing Our Textual Minds: Towards a Digital Order of Knowledge Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2011.
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