University of San Francisco Workshop


Practice and Theory of "Distant Reading" -- An Introductory Workshop on Digital Humanities Methods"

(1 March 2015, Cowell Hall 214)


In this beginner's hands-on workshop and discussion, Alan Liu will introduce the idea of "distant reading" and some of the commonly used digital humanities methods and tools used to pursue it in digital literary studies, digital history, sociology, and other humanities and social science disciplines. Methods covered include text analysis, topic modeling, and social network analysis. Workshop participants will try their hand at one or more tools used for these methods, aiming not for mastery or even competence but just to capture an interesting “souvenir,” e.g., a screenshot. (For the purposes of the workshop, even failed attempts can produce an interesting souvenir.)  Liu will then lead a broader discussion based on the souvenirs about the opportunities and limitations of digital humanities methods. (A Web site for the workshop with detailed agenda and resources will be made available in advance to enrolled workshop participants.)