In “Conjectures on World Literature”, Franco Moretti
advocates “distant reading” which is the analysis of literature not by studying
particular texts, but by aggregating and analyzing massive amounts of data. The
analysis uses a computer to quantify text in order to see trends on a global
scale that are not visible through close reading enabling scholars to trace global
sweeps of forms and influences in literature.
For Moretti, distance “is a
condition of knowledge: it allows you to focus on units that are much
smaller or much larger than the text: devises, themes, tropes—or genres and
systems. “ The Conjunctures article
spawned many conversations and counter arguments, some of which were addressed
by Moretti in “More Conjectures”.
As mentioned in class, Paige Morgan’s Visible Prices project appears to be “distant reading” in action. “Visible
Prices (VP) is a searchable database of literary and historical economic
information compiled from novels, poetry, newspaper advertisements, ledgers,
trade periodicals, and other literary or historical records. It’s designed to
take advantage of the massive influx of historical material coming onto the
web, and make it more useful. If you’re reading Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, and you see that Jane is
offered £30 annually as salary to become Adele’s governess, the sum of £30 is
basically meaningless. But what if you could search, and find out everything
else from around 1847 that cost £30? This type of search would also allow you
to start seeing how literary authors were using prices in their works — whether
novels, poems, or plays.”
While looking for an illustration for this post I found
many literature and intro to DH syllabi with “distant reading” projects built
into the curriculum using tools such as Voyant
Tools, which displays results through text and displays statistical
information for a text and ManyEyes, which
provides numerous visualization options to best highlight the important trends
in a work. I was thinking of “distant
reading” as a new concept but since its inception in 2000, has “distant reading”
become part of the standard literature pedagogy? I’m wondering if you have used
it in your own studies or are currently introducing undergraduates to the
practice—or is it still considered a theory without practical tools?
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ReplyDeleteBeyond my impulsive use of ctrl+F, I have not used distant reading in my research or teaching. Based on the Literary Lab Pamphlets, it seems that in order to produce a meaningful distant reading, you must apply the skill of close reading at a very high level. Is data analysis close reading? Can we accumulate data and consider the gathering process and the outcome of a database distant reading, or is interpretation required? Finally, how would undergraduate students benefit from exposure to this methodology?
ReplyDeleteIt seems that the step to connect distant reading practices to a *meaningful* will always require some level of interpretation. After all, this is what they do in the social sciences: The data don't "speak for themselves"; they must be interpreted. £30 is meaningless out of context, yes. And putting that price in context can certainly be a step toward illuminating a text. But why assume that the author was also aware of the prices in the same way? Why assume the price correlates to a real world relation? These are tedious questions in one sense... Yet they are there nonetheless, and there's still some level of interpretation required to traverse them.
ReplyDeleteDistant reading is clearly an affront to existing notions of art itself. The stuff of literature is supposed to be imbedded deep in the text, extracted only through the sweat and labor of close reading. Everything is contained in the smallest thing. The idea that we need large-scale aggregated data to discern what's "really" going on is unappealing to me.
ReplyDeleteBut I know better than to dismiss that which is abrasive to my preconceptions. There are clearly insights to be gained from some of these macro lit studies, as we can expect from any new field that challenges old assumptions. I'm excited about the ways distant reading can encourage us to look at texts from unexpected angles. As a field, it could very well deepen and will certainly BROADEN our comprehension of all literature.