Digital Methods in Chinese Studies

Week 1 (Jan 16, 18):

Tuesday Texts, Data, Images

• Wikipedia, China Vitae, Connected China

Thursday: History and Methods: The Tang-Song Transition and the Digital Approaches

• Learning Objectives:
  • Overview of the Tang-Song Transition
  • Understand the two different approaches to analyzing historical and literary texts with the aid of digital tools
    
• Read:
  
  • Peter K. Bol, “The New World of the Eleventh Century: 750 and 1050 Compared“
  • Cambridge Illustrated History of China, Chapters 5-6 (optional)
  • Song Chen, “Why Humanists Should Fall in Love with “Big Data,” and How?“
• Watch:
  • Paul Vierthaler, “Digital Approaches to Late Imperial Chinese Literature: Exploring Quasi-historical Texts”
    
  • Donald Sturgeon, “Exploring Text Reuse in Pre-Qin and Han Corpus“

Study Guide:

• First, read Peter Bol’s “The New World of the Eleventh Century: 750 and 1050 Compared“. What changes took place between 750 (Tang dynasty) and 1050 (Song dynasty)?
• Second, read Song Chen’s “Why Humanists Should Fall in Love with “Big Data,” and How?” How digital tools help with historical research? What are the two different digital approaches to historical and literary studies? Describe these approaches and how they are different from each other.
• Of the two videotaped talks by Paul Vierthaler and Donald Sturgeon respectively, choose one to watch. Consider: What approaches d0es the author take in his research? What question does he ask, and what conclusions has he drawn?