Textpraxis # 14

3.2017

Nicole M. Mueller discusses the opportunities of digital(ized) literary studies by analyzing Japanese translations of Thomas Mann's works. Silja Wendt proposes how intermediality contributes to a performative character of the Sherlock series. In an interview with Cosima Mattner, Ted Underwood shares his experiences with employing digital methods in literary studies.

Theories of Literary Study

Nicole M.Mueller

Deutsch-japanische Leitmotivstrukturen in digitalisierten Übersetzungskorpora

Praxeologische Notizen zu Motivsemantik und Metaphorik, basierend auf Topic Modeling

This working paper discusses the methodical and theoretical challenges of digital(ized) literature studies with regard to the comparative analysis of German-Japanese translations of Thomas Mann’s novels. The Topic Modeling of parallelized translation corpora is introduced as an adequate approach to the research subject of world literature. To that effect, an algorithmic criticism of leitmotif structures and their translations provides us with a new perspective on the inner workings of narrative structure as well as on the process of understanding literature in itself.

Literature and Society

SiljaWendt

Sherlock - Intermediality under the Looking Glass

The BBC TV series Sherlock can be considered a version of an often transmediated series of novels and short stories within the crime fiction genre, when applying Elleström’s ideas of transmediation. This article proposes that the intermedial traveling of signs, media traits and multimodal texts from different sources beyond the ›original‹ source of the book contributes to a certain performative character of this series. While perceived as a new media product, in the case of Sherlock, it is difficult to define materiality and its impact in the process of semiosis. Therefore, this analysis proposes a reconsidered understanding of materiality and intermedial transmediation and explores the question of how materiality manifests itself in people's mental representation, finally considering how materiality relates to cognitive and context-related performance. Broadly, the common approaches to literature theory are questioned and steps towards new ideas, adjusted to popular culture and the digital media age, are discussed.

Literary Studies and Praxis

CosimaMattnerTed Underwood

»They have completely changed my understanding of literary history.«

Ted Underwood on the impact of computational methods on literary studies. Interview held on July 14th 2016 at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. With an introduction by Cosima Mattner

What are digital humanities? And what is their influence on literary studies? Do they change the kind of questions being asked and answers being given within the discipline – and if so, how? What is the relation of probability predictions to individual reading processes of meaning construction? In this interview, Ted Underwood, a committed specialist in the field of digital literary studies, shares his experiences with employing digital methods in the study of literature. He discusses the rising impact of computer-based methods on the discipline and their relevance for developing new perspectives within it.

Debate

DarinTenev

Models of Poetics

A Response to Robert Matthias Erdbeers »Poetik der Modelle«

Based on Robert Matthias Erdbeer’s article »Poetik der Modelle« in Textpraxis # 11, Darin Tenev reflects on the term ›Eigensinn‹ as the emergent potential of the text and its modelforming structures. Furthermore, he illustrates the relevance of Erdbeer’s approach for the constitution of historical and systematical literary models.

ManuelClemens

Der amüsante Lehrmeister

Entertainment als ästhetisches Regime

In response to the article »Smart Science. Die Vortragsreihe Vorlesung mal anders« in Textpraxis # 10 (1.2015) by Ingo Irsigler and Gerrit Lembke, Manuel Clemens discusses the prospects of teaching in a modern and 'entertaining' manner. With reference to Jaques Rancières »Der unwissende Lehrmeister« and contemporary American political satire, he reflects on the pros and cons of the claim to entertainment as an aesthetic regime

Editorial

In this fourteenth issue of Textpraxis. Digital Journal for Philology, Nicole M. Mueller investigates German-Japanese leitmotif structures in digitalized translation corpora. By doing so, she illustrates how distant reading opens up new perspectives on the interplay between text-internal narrative structures and historical contexts, which are negotiated in the translations. In her article regarding intermediality in Sherlock, Silja Wendt proposes a reconsidered understanding of materiality and intermedial transmediation, and explores the question of how materiality manifests itself in people’s mental representation, eventually considering how materiality relates to cognitive and context-related performance. Finally, in an interview with Cosima Mattner, Ted Underwood, a specialist in the field of digital literary studies, discusses the rising impact of computer-based methods on the study of literature and their relevance for developing new perspectives within it. Particularly the last article hence picks up the continuing discussion surrounding the relevance of digital humanities, which has accompanied Textpraxis since its formation, and which will also be a main focus in forthcoming issues.

Many thanks go to our external reviewers, Martin Roth from Leipzig, Christine Ivanovic from Vienna, and Christine Lötscher from Zurich, for editing and providing critiques to our authors. Many thanks for your time and efforts!

Unfortunately, with this issue, three of our long-term members leave the editorial team: Seth Berk, Lena Hoffmann and Kerstin Wilhelms. All three contributed decisively and with great engagement to the conception and successful implementation of Textpraxis. Particularly Kerstin Wilhelms’ influence in the last years has shaped both the functioning of team and the journal, and will leave a lasting impression on Textpraxis. We wish all three all the best and much success in their future endeavors!

At the same time, we would like to welcome Lea Garrido Espinoza as a new member to our team, who has already been a great asset during the creation of this issue.

We hope that you will enjoy reading this issue of Textpraxis, and as always, encourage you to submit response articles or provide comments to the newly published articles.

Your Textpraxis Editorial Team

Imprint

Textpraxis # 14 (3.2017) has been published on November 1, 2017.

Editorial Team:

Sona Arasteh-Roodsary
Ina Batzke
Seth Berk
Lea Espinoza Garrido
Jayana Jain
Thomas Kater
Lena Hoffmann
Kerstin Mertenskötter
Martin Stobbe
Levke Teßmann
Kerstin Wilhelms
Elisabeth Zimmermann

Reviewers:

Prof. Dr. Christine Ivanovic (Wien)
Prof. Dr. Martin Roth (Leipzig)
Prof. Dr. Christine Lötscher (Berlin)

Cover: Sona Arasteh-Roodsary

ISSN 2191-8236

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