Abstract
Given that the process of “building digital communities”, as the central concern of research area 5, requires conscious engagement with data models and the transformation of information into “data” (cf. data as “capta”) and that the EXC 2020 Temporal Communities core concept of “temporal communities” itself implies rigorous modelling operations, this curated collection examines the role of modelling in humanities research, particularly in literary studies and digital humanities. The contributions critically reflect on the affordances of models, their functions, implications, and limitations in capturing information, heuristics, analysis, criticism, and presentation. In doing so, they revisit the conceptual framework for modelling as a critical practice and explore the workings of models beyond representational claims.
Modelling is a scholarly activity that spans a wide range of disciplines in the humanities and sciences. While the role of modelling in the production of knowledge has been extensively explored in the history and philosophy of science (Full reference in Zotero LibraryFull reference in Zotero Library; Full reference in Zotero Library), model-building and modelling interventions often remain implicit or under-theorised in literary studies (Full reference in Zotero Library). However, theoretical reflection on literary modelling has emerged as a contested topic, particularly in computational literary studies and wider digital humanities research, where modelling is considered a fundamental aspect of computational thinking (Full reference in Zotero Library; Full reference in Zotero Library; Full reference in Zotero Library).
Given that the process of “building digital communities”, as the central concern of Research Area 5, requires conscious engagement with data models and the transformation of information into “data” (cf. data as “capta”, Full reference in Zotero Library), and that the EXC 2020 Temporal Communities core concept of “temporal communities” itself implies rigorous modelling operations, this curated collection engages with core ideas from the growing body of literature on modelling. The insights critically reflect on the affordances of models, their functions, implications, and limitations in capturing information, heuristics, analysis, criticism, and presentation. In doing so, they revisit the conceptual framework for modelling as a critical practice and explore the workings of models beyond representational claims.
Models can help to make assumptions and relationships within data explicit. They mediate and remediate, providing a heuristic means for the iterative and incremental refinement of a site of intelligibility. However, they are not without their challenges, as they have worlding effects (cf. Full reference in Zotero Library), manipulate complexity, and require both a form and a format of representation. Consequently, “critical modelling” critically addresses the location or embodied positionality of agency. The insights focus on how “critical modelling” implicates and engages with different discourses of knowledge and epistemic regimes as manifested in conceptual models, theories, visualisations, and measurement procedures. By reflecting on the (visual) formulas and structures of explication and clarification, these insights open up a site for critical discourse on the epistemology of “building digital communities”.
Insights
This analysis considers the intricate relationship between “literature” and critical modelling within the framework of the EXC 2020 Temporal Communities research agenda. It asserts that the term “literature” relies on intricate, often unacknowledged modelling operations in literary studies, necessitating explicit scrutiny. The Insight posits literature as a consequence of non-representational modelling, underscoring the importance of…
Critical modelling establishes a discursive site for reflecting on the constructed and transactional nature of our epistemic objects in relation to the critical vocabulary and infrastructure of knowledge-making. Rather than conceiving of models as a prefiguration of real-existing data worlds, a normative reification of an assumed literary (poly-)system, or a descriptive object ontology of a…
In Katherine Bode’s Insight, ‘Critical Modelling and Measurement’, she explores the intersection of literary studies and computational literary studies (CLS). The Insight critiques the prevalent representationalist paradigm in CLS, arguing that it confines modelling within an atomistic and dualist ontology, incompatible with the interdisciplinary nature of the humanities. The Insight proposes a shift from representation…
This insight navigates the evolving landscape of modelling, examining its roots in the sciences and its recent emergence in the digital humanities. I contend that despite the digital humanities’ emphasis on the creative and subjective nature of data modelling, visual representations often succumb to adopting scientific graphical tools without due consideration of epistemological biases. Inspired by design practice,…
Responses
This response reflects on Anita Traninger’s insight, ‘Modelling “Literature”’, and discusses the evolving concept of literature and the influence of power dynamics on its definition. At the German Literature Archive (DLA), new projects, such as archiving games, challenge traditional literary boundaries. These efforts highlight the necessity for inclusive literary modelling and reflect broader societal and…
Despite the dominance of novels, short stories play a crucial role in education and the global reach of literature; for example, in the case of Hans Christian Andersen or Anton Chekhov. This response reflects on the process of mapping a world canon of impactful short stories, emphasising the importance of combining subjective knowledge with statistical…
This response explores the intermedial circulation of literary characters, examining how they gain cultural mobility through fragmentation, recontextualisation, and shifts in meaning. These characters appear across various media and contexts, often reduced to iconic traits (Pinocchio’s nose, Faust’s name) but retaining rich significance. They transcend their original narratives, becoming symbols in feminist discourse or commodity…