Enumerations: Data and Literary Study

Andrew Piper's book, "Enumerations," explores the quantitative study of literary works and its implications for understanding literature. It focuses on the elementary particles of literature, such as punctuation, plot, topoi, characters, fictional language, and the writers career, and examines how quantity affects our understanding of these categories. Piper introduces readers to computational text analysis and its applications in literary scholarship.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 22 August 2018
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

For well over a century, academic disciplines have delved into the study of human behavior through the utilization of quantitative information. However, until recently, the humanities have largely remained immune to the incorporation of data or have vigorously resisted its use. Nevertheless, recent advancements in computer science and natural language processing have facilitated the embrace of the quantitative analysis of literary works by literary scholars, contributing to the rapid growth of the field known as Digital Humanities. These developments raise a fundamental and as yet unanswered question: what is the significance of literary quantity?

In his book titled "Enumerations," Andrew Piper addresses this question across a diverse range of domains essential to the study of literature. He delves into the fundamental elements of literature, encompassing the role of punctuation in poetry, the intricacies of plot in novels, the exploration of topoi, the behavior of characters, the nature of fictional language, and the trajectory of a poet's career. By examining these various aspects, Piper seeks to understand how quantity impacts our understanding of these categories. What happens when we analyze 3,388,230 punctuation marks, 1.4 billion words, or 650,000 fictional characters? Does this alter our perception of poetry, the novel, fictionality, character, the commonplace, or the writer's career?

Throughout the course of answering these questions, Piper introduces readers to the analytical building blocks of computational text analysis and encourages them to apply these tools to address fundamental concerns within literary scholarship. This book holds immense importance for anyone interested in Digital Humanities and the future of literary study.

Weight: 408g
Dimension: 226 x 170 x 16 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780226568751