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Introduction to Literature in the Digital Age

The course "Literature in the Digital Age" is designed for individuals who enjoy reading literature and wish to understand how literary scholars interpret texts in the digital age. The only requirement for this course is a passion for reading and a willingness to reflect on and discuss one's experiences.

Course Overview

This online course introduces participants to various methods of interpreting literary texts, including close reading and computer-based distant reading. Throughout the course, participants will reflect on different reading strategies, describe the media in which they read literature, and investigate the strengths and weaknesses of these strategies.

Course Objectives

• Apply the core method of literary studies: close reading
• Engage in cooperative online reading, known as social reading
• Compare historical and literary-historical contextualization of literary texts
• Explore the uses and limitations of distant reading, a scholarly approach relying on big data and computer analysis
• Examine approaches to literary texts focusing on their surface and materiality

Course Structure

The course is divided into chapters, equivalent to "weeks" on other platforms. Each chapter covers a specific topic, including:

Chapters

• How we read today
• Close reading
• Hyper reading and social reading
• New Historicism
• Distant reading
• Surface reading and the materiality of communication

Course Details

The course was originally published by the University of Basel on FutureLearn, a global platform for online courses that encourage social learning. The course contents are available at all times, with occasional opportunities for comments and discussions.

Author

• Prof. Dr. Philipp Schweighauser, Professor of North American and General Literature at the University of Basel

Conclusion

"Literature in the Digital Age" offers a comprehensive introduction to literary analysis, exploring traditional and modern methods of interpreting literary texts. By completing this course, participants will gain a deeper understanding of reading strategies and their applications in the digital age.