Humanities scholars currently have access to unprecedented quantities of machine-readable texts, and, at the same time, the tools and the methods with which we can analyse and visualise these texts... Show moreHumanities scholars currently have access to unprecedented quantities of machine-readable texts, and, at the same time, the tools and the methods with which we can analyse and visualise these texts are becoming more and more sophisticated. As has been shown in numerous studies, many of the new technical possibilities that emerge from fields such as text mining and natural language processing can have useful applications within literary research. Computational methods can help literary scholars to discover interesting trends and correlations within massive text collections, and they can enable a thoroughly systematic examination of the stylistic properties of literary works. While such computer-assisted forms of reading have proven invaluable for research in the field of literary history, relatively few studies have applied these technologies to expand or to transform the ways in which we can interpret literary texts. Based on a comparative analysis of digital scholarship and traditional scholarship, this thesis critically examines the possibilities and the limitations of a computer-based literary criticism. It argues that quantitative analyses of data about literary techniques can often reveal surprising qualities of works of literature, which can, in turn, lead to new interpretative readings. Show less
Timmer, Nanne; Ruisánchez, José Ramón; Klinger, Diana; Cino, Waldo Përez et al. 2013
'Dit boek bundelt veertien essays over de culturele productie van de contemporaine Latijns-Amerikaanse stad. Vanuit diverse invalshoeken wordt de stad en haar schrijven geanalyseerd. De nieuwe en... Show more'Dit boek bundelt veertien essays over de culturele productie van de contemporaine Latijns-Amerikaanse stad. Vanuit diverse invalshoeken wordt de stad en haar schrijven geanalyseerd. De nieuwe en veelvoudige stedelijke routes die hierdoor ontstaan – door en over elkaar heen – zijn de lijnen die de chaotische postmoderne stad in beeld brengen. Die verbeelding voedt zich zowel uit vergane steden als futuristische beelden, en maakt zo verschillende vormen van interventie in de polis zichtbaar. De ruimte wordt opnieuw vormgegeven via kunst en literatuur. Romans met nieuwe cartografieën, performances in São Paulo en Santiago de Chile, performance poetry in México, getuigenissen van geweld en van migratie in steden als Medellín en Lima, blogs van virtuele gemeenschappen uit Havanna en San Juan, zijn enkele van de uitingsvormen die worden belicht in dit boek. Dit alles rond de onderliggende vraag: hoe de gemeenschap die komen gaat zichzelf betekenis geeft te midden van een onzekere tijd wat betreft belonging en identiteit.' Show less
This dissertation presents a thematic analysis of Joyce Carol Oates’s (1938) novels written since 1990 about the middle- and upper classes of America. The goal of the study is to examine the ways... Show moreThis dissertation presents a thematic analysis of Joyce Carol Oates’s (1938) novels written since 1990 about the middle- and upper classes of America. The goal of the study is to examine the ways in which these novels represent the reality of contemporary America. The dissertation draws on sociological and cultural studies of American society in the second half of the 20th century. The study shows that Oates constantly reflects on the past, from the post-war period to more recent decades, reexamining not only the cultural constructs of previous generations, but also our current attitudes toward them. An important conclusion of the study is that Oates appears to be criticizing a lack of character strength, stability, reliability and moral decency in the middle and upper classes, qualities that are often associated with the Protestant world-view, while simultaneously criticizing the limitations that this same Protestant ethic imposes on her characters. She reassesses the meaning of success in the corporate, political and celebrity world and pleads for humbleness and simplicity. Through the different literary techniques that she embraces in her work and plots taken from real life Oates remains a social critic and an artist closely bonded to her society. Show less
