“A state in which different things occur in equal or proper amounts or have an equal or proper amount of importance”—this is Merriam-Webster’s definition of balance. The issue that suggests that close reading and distant reading dwell in a sort of unfavorable contrariety is really a matter of concern over how to balance their unique … Continue reading Balance
It occurs to me that one consideration regarding close and distant reading is that there are limitations of “zoom” based on the work itself. The closeness or distance with which a work can be read must be commensurate with the level of minute detail and symbolic density (for close reading) or abstract generalization (for … Continue reading Close and Distant Readings Commensurate with Close and Distant Writings
In class, I made the assumption that distant reading only refers to the digital methods of textual analysis we’re being introduced to. When Dr. Purcell corrected me, saying that distant reading might also apply to the wide breadth of reading a traditional researcher focused on a particular canon does, the issue got a bit more … Continue reading It’s All Just Reading
One of the core values of the humanities, especially the part that focuses on literature is “close reading”. Close reading is a careful interpretation of text with emphasis on particular details such as individual words, syntax, and the order in which sentences and ideas unfold as they are read. This practice helps the reader get a better … Continue reading Close and Distant Reading: A Look Into the Future
In the history of humankind, there’s only been a very brief span in which individuals could be well-read enough to be familiar with every book written; this happened so long ago that the concept today seems completely ridiculous and laughable. Since that time, we have constantly struggled with which books to read in our limited time, … Continue reading Close and Distant Reading
Distant reading: it’s something that I’m sure we have all done. Quiz on an assigned reading? Let’s speed read it. Want to refresh your knowledge of a given subject? Let’s glance over it. Distant reading is something that we likely do every day. But how is there any merit to it whatsoever? Close reading is … Continue reading How Beneficial is Distant Reading
Distant and close reading techniques for discovering new information from known texts have their advantages and disadvantages. Distant reading is a technique that is used to scan large amount of texts for information. This is a technique that is useful when one wants to examine volumes of work over an extended time period. Computer programs … Continue reading Distant vs. Close Reading
The old lament “So many books, so little time” that allegedly originated from Frank Zappa addresses a problem that the digital humanities hope to alleviate. However, as it begins to fix the problem of time consumption, there are concerns being raised over the research deficiencies that also follow. A close reading is the act of … Continue reading So little time
In my attempts to assess the benefits/drawbacks of close and distant reading I’ve found that I tend to limit my view of each method by reducing them to two examples, each from an individual’s perspective while employing the methods during research. The first, the example of close reading, involves an individual analyzing a small selection … Continue reading Close and Distant
I can see where both of these techniques are beneficial for researching. Close reading makes me think of dissecting a body of work. You as a scholar want to understand what the author is trying to get across, with every word. I did not know how close you could get to a piece of work … Continue reading Close & Distant Reading
The growth of digital tools and methods in the humanities has had implications for the ways scholars think about and interact with texts, what with the emergence of so-called “distant reading” techniques. Relying upon software programs that can scan and/or search for key terms within a given amount of text, distant reading excites certain researchers … Continue reading Distant versus Close… or not?
Technology is ever-increasing the ways in which we can view and research cultural artifacts, but is this a good thing? Before the widespread proliferation of the printing word, scholars could study near everything with relative ease. Books were expensive, and there wasn’t many of them. However, after book production exploded, it was far easier for … Continue reading In Defense of Digital Moderation
“Close Reading,” as I would envision, would be a dissected analysis of a particular work; this particular work may be poetry, a scientific dissertation, or even an illustration. For example, for many years it has been debated what the song “And Your Bird Can Sing” is really about on the Beatles’ 1966 record, Revolver (debatably … Continue reading What Do We Do: Distantly Read a million books or Closely Read a hundred?
When I hear the words “close reading”, I instantly think of paying close attention to the details of the text. It was not until I read the required reading for this week that I found out exactly how detailed and time consuming it was. The Shakespeare’s sonnet is made up with certain rules, like: not surpassing 14 lines, identifying … Continue reading Close reading vs. Distant reading
