New Books in Science, Technology, and Society

Michael Gavin, "Literary Mathematics: Quantitative Theory for Textual Studies" (Stanford UP, 2022)

Sep 9, 2024

Michael Gavin is an author exploring the blend of quantitative methods and textual studies. He discusses how 'Literary Mathematics' sheds light on historical trends through data analysis. Gavin uses case studies from Early English Books Online to illustrate the power of quantitative approaches in literature. He reveals how vector-space models and geospatial analyses unlock deeper insights into text and context. By embracing mathematics, he challenges traditional notions of textuality, encouraging a reevaluation of literary studies.

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Intro

00:00 • 2min

Literary Mathematics: Bridging Literature and Data

01:37 • 15min

Transformative Insights: Utilizing Early English Books Online for Literary Research

16:42 • 3min

Understanding Vector Space Models in Language and Literature

19:59 • 5min

Transformative Insights in Language and Textual Studies

25:22 • 3min

Exploring Geographical Writing and Literary Mathematics

28:00 • 22min

Across the humanities and social sciences, scholars increasingly use quantitative methods to study textual data. Considered together, this research represents an extraordinary event in the long history of textuality. More or less all at once, the corpus has emerged as a major genre of cultural and scientific knowledge. In Literary Mathematics: Quantitative Theory for Textual Studies (Stanford UP, 2022), Michael Gavin grapples with this development, describing how quantitative methods for the study of textual data offer powerful tools for historical inquiry and sometimes unexpected perspectives on theoretical issues of concern to literary studies.

Student-friendly and accessible, the book advances this argument through case studies drawn from the Early English Books Online corpus. Gavin shows how a copublication network of printers and authors reveals an uncannily accurate picture of historical periodization; that a vector-space semantic model parses historical concepts in incredibly fine detail; and that a geospatial analysis of early modern discourse offers a surprising panoramic glimpse into the period's notion of world geography. Across these case studies, Gavin challenges readers to consider why corpus-based methods work so effectively and asks whether the successes of formal modeling ought to inspire humanists to reconsider fundamental theoretical assumptions about textuality and meaning. As Gavin reveals, by embracing the expressive power of mathematics, scholars can add new dimensions to digital humanities research and find new connections with the social sciences.

Michael Gavin is Associate Professor of English at the University of South Carolina and author of The Invention of English Criticism, 1650-1760 (2015)

Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube channel. Twitter.

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