ENGL 009X. First Year Seminar: Literature + Data

We often think of literature and quantification as opposites, but in this class we will see how intertwined they can be. We will examine poets’ creative uses of numbers, see novelists work with algorithms, and learn how literary critics use computation to study literature. We will read poems, novels, and datasets; explore large corpora of texts using computational tools; and learn to ground arguments about literature in both quantitative and qualitative forms of evidence. We will also see how key literary studies concepts can help us understand technology and technological change. No prerequisites; no background in literature, computation, or quantitative reasoning required.
Humanities
Writing Course
1
Fall 2025. Buurma.
Catalog chapter: English Literature
Department website: https://www.swarthmore.edu/english-literature

Access the class schedule to search for sections.