In recent years, there has been a growing interest among many digital humanities practitioners, especially those rooted in computational literary studies, to adopt a mixed methodology of distant reading and close reading. Distant reading, as the name suggests, engages with texts from a distance, thus offering the possibility of analyzing a large number of texts simultaneously. Close reading, on the other hand, involves a more in-depth analysis of individual texts or passages. By combining these two approaches, researchers can gain a more comprehensive understanding of literary and cultural texts. So far, a number of DH scholars have championed this approach in their works (e.g., Hermann 2017; So 2017; Sá Pereira 2019; Eve 2019), and some of them have coined terms for their proposed mixed methodologies; example terminology includes “computational hermeneutics” (Piper), “scalable reading” (Mueller), and “parallax reading” (Sample). This paper presents a survey of theoretical DH works of recent years that have presented a framework for and ultimately adopted mixed methodology in text analysis.
The methodology of this survey adopts a mixed approach, similar to the methodology that it aims to survey. First, the abstracts of recent annual ADHO DH conferences are analyzed to identify references to a mixed methodology. The goal of this step is to get a sense of the general state of the field and how the use of mixed methodology has evolved over time. Secondly, individual attempts at defining a new methodological paradigm are pinpointed. This is done by searching for articles and books that discuss mixed methodology in digital literary studies and reviewing them to see how different scholars understand and define the concept. Finally, the usage of this mixed methodology is showcased in example projects. This involves identifying projects that have used mixed methodology and analyzing their results, as well as their strengths and weaknesses.
The use of a mixed methodology in digital literary studies is a relatively new and exciting development, and its future looks promising. However, despite the growing popularity of mixed methodology, the number of “successful” projects that use it is still relatively small. There are several challenges associated with using a mixed methodology, such as the need to balance the benefits of distant reading with the importance of close reading. Nevertheless, the potential benefits of mixed methodology are significant, and researchers in the field are continuing to explore and refine it. As digital humanities continue to grow, the use of mixed methodology is likely to become more widespread and refined, allowing us to gain a deeper understanding of literary texts and literary history.
