What is the meaning of scale in historical writings and migration narratives, and the corresponding linguistic mechanisms at play in unfolding historical knowledge? To what extent can digital tools and methods assist the detection of scale-related patterns in these documents? May this enquiry be formalised and turned into a system for scale analysis in texts?
The project joins theoretical background from historical, historiographical, linguistic and literary studies with digital tools and methods for text analysis and visualisation. Its methodological innovation thus lies in the combination of traditional theoretical content-oriented methods with new computational means to analyse scale variations as manifested in historical discourse. Two types of corpora will be used: (1) historiographical - historical writings that mingle micro and global perspectives; (2) historical sources - migration narratives (autobiography, memoirs, diaries). The first corpus, in which variations of scale are clearly present, will serve to develop the methodology. The second corpus with migration narratives, where representations of scale are more difficult to assess, will then be used to test the approach. Depending on the findings of the project, an extension of the research to larger corpora is envisaged, incorporating a greater variety of genres and comparisons of different languages and periods.
When?
Wednesday, 27 March 2019, from 14.00 to 15.00
Where?
Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History
University of Luxembourg - Belval Campus
Maison des Sciences humaines, 4th floor
11, Porte des Sciences
L-4366 Esch-sur-Alzette
