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This course is part of the 2026 spring PhD-week
Course content
The purpose of this course is both to orient participants in recent discussions of methods in literary studies—ranging from “close” to “distant” reading—and to give them a forum for developing a more deliberate approach to conceptualizing and articulating their own methods. This will be helpful both in writing the doctoral dissertation itself and in future applications for external funding, where literary projects are often rejected because of poorly communicated methodologies. Taking a cue from Jonathan Kramnick, the course will engage with his contention that “close reading” is in actuality “an expert practice of writing prose and making text” (2023, 35). This shift in focus from reading to writing as the core activity in what literary scholars do may help to demystify the field’s methods and practices. The course is designed for participants working in literary studies from anywhere along the spectrum of methodological approaches to reading, from close, to hyper, and machine, to paraphrase Katherine N. Hayles (2010). It requires active participation and engagement with texts from the syllabus. Participants will be expected to submit and discuss reflection papers that articulate their own methodological approach.
This is a 1 ECTS course.
Learning outcomes
Participants will gain:
- familiarity with recent discussions of methods in literary studies from leading scholars;
- practice in formulating their own methodology for a given project; and
- experience in critiquing methodologies in research by other scholars.
Course preparations
Participants are required to have read the texts from the reading list (7 articles or chapter, 116 pages in total) in advance of the course. Participants will also need to submit a two-page (12-point font, 1.5 spacing) description of the method(s) they plan to use in their own dissertations by 29 May; participants are encouraged to highlight methodological challenges. Each participant will also be assigned as a respondent to a fellow participant and receive all of the two-page descriptions of method(s) to be read in advance.
Participants are required to submit a five-page (12-point font, 1.5 spacing) essay after the course that reflects upon course texts and discussions, indicating how (or whether) reading will function as a method in the dissertation.
Program
The seminar begins with an overview of the course objectives and agenda. The instructors will then facilitate an open discussion of each of the texts from the reading list. Participants should come prepared with questions and comments for each assigned text. Participants will then take turns presenting their dissertation projects with special emphasis on methodology. Respondents will lead a brief plenary discussion of the essay they have been assigned; in preparation for this, the respondent should have prepared a few questions about the presenter’s text in advance. Next, the participants will sort themselves into smaller groups based on preferred methods of reading and engage in broad-ranging discussions about the implications and applications of their method(s) of choice. Finally, the course will end with a plenary discussion of insights developed in the group discussions and the relevance (or not) of the texts from the reading list.
Course readings
- Bode, Katherine. 2018. “Chapter 1: Abstraction, Singularity, Textuality: The Equivalence of ‘Close’ and ‘Distant’ Reading.” In A World of Fiction: Digital Collections and the Future of Literary History, 17–36. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
- Felski, Rita. 2008. “From Literary Theory to Critical Method.” Profession: 108–16.
- Hayles, N. Katherine. 2010. “How We Read: Close, Hyper, Machine.” ADE Bulletin 150: 62-79.
- Kramnick, Jonathan. 2023. “Chapter 2: Close Reading.” In Criticism and Truth: On Method in Literary Studies, 31–49. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Love, Heather. 2010. “Close but not Deep: Literary Ethics and the Descriptive Turn.” New Literary History 41, no. 2 (Spring): 371–91.
- Piper, Andrew. 2018. “Introduction (Reading’s Refrain).” In Enumerations: Data and Literary Study, 1–21. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Underwood, Ted. 2019. “Preface: The Curve of the Literary Horizon.” Distant Horizons: Digital Evidence and Literary Change, xi –xxii. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Registration
Participants will need to sign up in advance and submit their own two-page descriptions of method(s) early enough that all participants can read all of the texts.
This course gives 1 ECTS credit.
The course is taught in English.