Digital Mapping the Literary Epigraph

This project uses the epigraph (the quotation positioned at the start of many novels) as a clear empirical marker of literary influence between time periods and countries. The investigators aim to build a corpus of approximately 20,000 epigraphs and thoroughly investigate the connections within this big data set using network theory. We will explore the resulting implications by constructing a digital map of the world that demonstrates the evolution of the novel and its influences.

Research questions
– What were the key moral, philosophical, and aesthetic influences on literature through the ages?
– How do different national literatures influence one another and what does the global map of literary “soft power” look like?
– In what ways does visualising literature as a network rather than a set of discreet objects alter our understanding of the history of literature?

The project charts the benefits of openness, collaboration and the circulation of knowledge and expertise that make it highly relevant to Singapore’s status as a cosmopolitan hub. This is a pioneering study in the digital humanities with an interdisciplinary blend of literary studies with computational linguistics that will help boost Singapore’s transformation into a global media city.

The outcome of this research project will be the very first digital map of literary influence. Therefore this project uses an innovative methodology to reveal connections between novels that are only observable through scale. We are also committed to making our findings accessible to both students and a non-specialist audience.

The academic significance is demonstrated by the outputs that range from academic articles and proposed book project to the online database and open-source digital mapping software. The project is innovative and unique and this is an opportune moment for investigation into literary influence using the latest developments in digital technology.