Speculative practices : utilizing InfoVis to explore untapped literary collections

Funding: Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research CouncilIn this paper we exemplify how information visualization supports speculative thinking, hypotheses testing, and preliminary interpretation processes as part of literary research. While InfoVis has become a buzz topic in the digital humanities, skepticism remains about how effectively it integrates into and expands on traditional humanities research approaches. From an InfoVis perspective, we lack case studies that show the specific design challenges that make literary studies and humanities research at large a unique application area for information visualization. We examine these questions through our case study of the Speculative W@nderverse, a visualization tool that was designed to enable the analysis and exploration of an untapped literary collection consisting of thousands of science fiction short stories. We present the results of two empirical studies that involved general-interest readers and literary scholars who used the evolving visualization prototype as part of their research for over a year. Our findings suggest a design space for visualizing literary collections that is defined by (1) their academic and public relevance, (2) the tension between qualitative vs. quantitative methods of interpretation, (3) result- vs. process-driven approaches to InfoVis, and (4) the unique material and visual qualities of cultural collections. Through the Speculative W@nderverse we demonstrate how visualization can bridge these sometimes contradictory perspectives by cultivating curiosity and providing entry points into literary collections while, at the same time, supporting multiple aspects of humanities research processes.PostprintPeer reviewe

Synesthetic visualization: balancing sensate experience and sense making in digitized print collections

Large-scale digitization appears to put literary collections at one’s fingertips, but, as some critical observers warn, the books themselves are increasingly out of reach as libraries continue to shift from being “physical repositories and research spaces” to becoming “access portals” to digitized materials (Stauffer, 2012). The digital surrogates of print books preserve verbal content but not their many meaningful physical features, which are largely obscured in digitization processes. As many critics recognize, with the passing of the age of print we have become increasingly aware of “the assumptions, presuppositions, and practices associated with it” (Hayles, 2012), and by contrast we glimpse the devaluation of materiality that appears to haunt digital culture (Hayles, 1999). What are the best ways to treat print-based collections digitally? How can we harness the potential of digital media to better represent and analyze cultural collections, accentuating their unique aesthetic and material qualities while also allowing for diverse perspectives and rich linking supported by computer-assisted content analyses? In this paper we synthesize perspectives from book history, reception studies, literary studies, information visualization, human computer interaction (HCI) and digital arts to discuss practical approaches to these questions. Working with the Bob Gibson anthologies of speculative fiction—a unique collection of periodical-based science fiction selectively assembled, annotated, and bound into 888 handcrafted booklets by an avid science fiction fan, collector and artist—we explore possibilities for digital synesthesia and multi-modal interaction in sketching how digital representations of print collections can go far beyond typical digital library interfaces. By embracing a synergy between content-related metadata and physical artifactual characteristics (e.g. size, weight, paper texture, typography), we seek to engage multiple sensory modalities and provoke critical and aesthetic engagement with digitized print collections.Postprin

In defence of sandcastles : research thinking through visualization in DH

Although recent research acknowledges the potential of visualization methods in DH, the predominant terminology used to describe visualizations (prototypes, tools) narrowly focuses on their use as a means to an end and, more importantly, as an instrument in the service of humanities research. While acknowledging the broad range of possible approaches to visualization, we introduce the metaphor of the sandcastle to highlight visualization as a research process in its own right. We argue that building visualization sandcastles provides a holistic approach to interdisciplinary knowledge generation that embraces visualization as (1) a dynamic interdisciplinary process where speculation and re-interpretation advance knowledge in all disciplines involved, (2) a mediator of ideas and theories within and across disciplines and (3) an aesthetic provocation to elicit critical insights, interpretation, speculation and discussions within and beyond scholarly audiences. We illustrate our argument based on our own research of an exceptional literary collection.Postprin

The stuff of science fiction : an experiment in literary history

Funding: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of CanadaThis article argues for a speculative, exploratory approach to literary history that incorporates information visualization early on into, and throughout, the research process. The proposed methodology combines different kinds of expertise—including that of fans and scholars in both literary studies and computer science—in processing and sharing unique cultural materials. Working with a vast fan-curated archive, we suggest tempering scholarly approaches to the history of science fiction (SF) with fan perspectives and demonstrate how information visualization can be incorporated into humanistic research processes, supporting exploration and interpretation of little-known cultural collections.PostprintPeer reviewe

Mining the material archive : balancing sensate experience and sense-making in digitized print collections

Large-scale digitization appears to put literary collections at one’s fingertips, but, as some critics warn, the books themselves are increasingly out of reach as university libraries continue to shift from being ‘physical repositories’ to becoming ‘access portals’ to digitized materials (Stauffer, 2012). People who are drawn to print books often find that digital surrogates ‘lack feeling’ (Piper, 2012). Digitized texts preserve linguistic content of print works but not their many meaningful physical features that fundamentally shape interpretation (McGann, 1991) and contain valuable historical traces of print technologies, markets, and readerly interactions (Stauffer, 2012). Changing how we physically interact with texts also changes how we sense and make sense of them. How can we harness the potential of digital media to better represent and analyze print collections? How can we accentuate their unique historic, aesthetic, and material qualities while also allowing rich linking supported by computer-assisted content analyses? How can design critically engage with the sensory differences between reading print materials and on-screen reading in order to promote different modes of meaningful textual engagement? Addressing these questions, we introduce synesthetic visualization as a speculative approach to creating digital on-screen and tangible representations of print collections that translate — not replicate — sensory experiences of interacting with print collections by coupling visual representations with cues for other sensory modalities (e.g, sonic, tactile) that are routinely engaged by print texts. Drawing insights from aesthetic theory, book history, reception studies, literary studies, information visualization, human computer interaction (HCI), and digital arts, we propose possible ways to experiment with digital on-screen and tangible representations of print collections that explicitly aim to translate — not replicate — sensory and sense-making experiences inherent in interacting with print collections. We illustrate this through our own ongoing work with the Bob Gibson Anthologies of Speculative Fiction, unique hand-crafted booklets composed of science-fictional items culled from popular periodicals published between 1844 and 1992.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Risk the drift! Stretching disciplinary boundaries through critical collaborations between the humanities and visualization

In this paper, we discuss collaborations that can emerge between humanities and visualization researchers. Based on four case studies we illustrate different collaborative constellations within such cross-disciplinary projects that are influenced as much by the general project goals as by the expertise, disciplinary background and individual aims of the involved researchers. We found that such collaborations can introduce productive tensions that stretch the boundaries of visualization research and the involved humanities fields, often leaving team members "adrift'' trying to make sense of findings that are the result of a mixture of different (sometimes competing) research questions, methodologies, and underlying assumptions. We discuss inherent challenges and productive synergies that these drifts can introduce. We argue that greater critical attention must be brought to the collaborative process itself in order to facilitate effective cross-disciplinary collaborations, and also enhance potential contributions and research impact for all involved disciplines. We introduce a number of guiding questions to facilitate critical awareness and reflection throughout the collaborative process, allowing for more transparency, productive communication, and equal participation within research teams.PostprintPeer reviewe