ENGL 2095 - Literature by the Numbers

This course serves as an introduction to one aspect of what has come to be called digital humanities: by revealing patterns not normally perceptible through traditional reading methods, the computer-aided statistical analysis of texts has proven to be the most exciting and controversial methodological development in 21st-century literary criticism. Although we often think of literature as the occasion for subjective responses (appreciation; favorite books; personal reflection; reader response, etc.), this class will ask what objective readings might look like, and how the quantitative analysis of literature can both challenge and be put in the service of more traditional interpretive and humanistic arguments.