Urbana Campus Research Calendar (OVCRI)

Thanks to online platforms and data, we are living in a golden age for the study of reading and literary reception at scale. A growing body of research has drawn on data like Goodreads reviews to study readers’ perception of, and engagement with, books. In this talk, drawn from her book in progress, Walsh argues for the significance of studying online literary circulation in addition to reading and reception—how books travel as memes, viral quotations, fanfiction, selfies, and more. This line of inquiry extends (computational) scholarship on the circulation of texts in earlier historical periods, as well as in other domains. By bringing together literary history, media studies, and computational humanities, Walsh sheds light on a key development in literary culture and offers a fresh perspective for understanding how culture spreads on the internet. 

Author Bio: Melanie Walsh is an Assistant Professor in the Information School and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the English Department at the University of Washington. Her current work includes a book project, When Postwar American Fiction Went Viral: Protest, Profit, and Popular Readers in the 21st Century, which argues that the internet is reshaping the past and future of American literature. She also co-leads several projects at the intersection of data, AI, and culture, including the Post45 Data Collective, Responsible Datasets in Context, and AI for Humanists. 

Fri April 10th, at 3:00 pm in Room 4045, 614 E Daniel (the building that says “Hub” on top; enter door at corner near the bookstore, take elevator to 4th floor — big room on the west side)