The present volume collects generalist, specialist, academic, and nonacademic responses by statisticians, philosophers, historians, literary scholars, and others--as well as Moretti's comments about the responses to his work "Graphs, Maps, and Trees: Abstract Models for Literary History."
Franco Moretti's GRAPHS, MAPS, TREES: ABSTRACT MODELS FOR LITERARY HISTORY is one of the most provocative recent works of literary history. The present volume collects generalist and specialist, academic and nonacademic responses by statisticians, philosophers, historians, literary scholars and others. And Moretti's responses to these responses. Originally written as contributions to an online book event hosted at The Valve (www.thevalve.org), and edited for this volume, these essays explore, extend and criticize many aspects of Franco Moretti's work. They will be of interest to anyone interested in Moretti's brand of "distant reading"; or in the prospects for quantitative approaches to literary style and genre; or recent interdisciplinary work in the humanities generally. CONTRIBUTORS: Bill Benzon, Tim Burke, Jenny Davidson, Ray Davis, Jonathan Goodwin, Eric Hayot, John Holbo, Steven Berlin Johnson, Matthew Kirschenbaum, Sean McCann, Franco Moretti, Adam Roberts, Cosma Shalizi. ABOUT THE EDITORS: JONATHAN GOODWIN is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He works on modernist literature, film, and narrative theory. JOHN HOLBO is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the National University of Singapore and the author, with Belle Waring, of Reason and Persuasion: Three Dialogues by Plato (Pearson 2009).