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• July 16, 2025
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Hi everyone! Welcome to the Digi-world! What’s new with it? Obviously, fast-paced tech developments are leading to shifts in everyday life and also creating brand new paradigms in knowledge production. If you are preparing for UGC-NET English Literature, you must be well aware of digital humanities because it is a part of NET English Literature syllabus. Have you heard of it? If not, then read on…

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What is Digital Humanities in English Literature?

Digital Humanities is a new addition to the UGC-NET English Literature syllabus and it is a pivotal area where you must focus. But what is it? We will delve deeper. This is a new interdisciplinary concept where we combine computational technologies with traditional humanities disciplines like literature, history, and philosophy. Tools like Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) have enabled humanities researchers to process vast amounts of textual data. However, these advances are not limited just to text. Sound, images, and video have all been subject to these new forms of research.

Core Objectives of Digital Humanities

The primary objective of Digital Humanities is the digitization of archives, texts, and manuscripts. You can consider doing data analysis using methods like text mining, network analysis, etc. It can also be used as a pedagogical aid where you can produce engaging content by using tools like digital mapping, timelines, and visualization. If you understand digital humanities, it will enable you to preserve and access cultural artifacts through online platforms.

Common Tools Used in Digital Humanities

Text Encoding Initiative: In Digital Humanities, you use this digital project for creating and managing any kind of digital data used by researchers in humanities like manuscripts, source texts, archival documents, ancient inscriptions, and more.

Voyant Tools: This is a web-based text reading and analysis environment. It’s designed to make it easy for you to work with your own text or collection of texts in a variety of formats, including plain text, HTML, XML, PDF, RTF, and MS Word. You can use it to learn how computer-assisted analysis works. You can use it to study texts on the web or texts you have edited or downloaded on your computer. You can also use it to add interactive evidence to your essays.

GIS (Geographic Information Systems): You can use this tool for spatial humanities.

Topic modelling: This tool can be used to identify themes in large corpora.

OCR: If you want to digitize print material, you may consider using Optical Character Recognition (OCR).

Digital Archives: To identify archives related to your research areas, you may refer to digital archives by Project Gutenberg or Europeana.

Hmmm….there are so many tools that you can use for your research. But you can start using them right away to get hands-on experience before anyone else.

Can I use digital tools for NET English preparation?

Obviously! You should use digital tools for UGC-NET English exam preparations. This will be a strategic move!

Platforms like Project Gutenberg, JSTOR, and others will provide you with free access to literary texts, critical essays, and research papers. If you want to read out-of-print books, you may refer to InternetArchive and HathiTrust.

You may use apps like Notes, Anki, or EverNote to create flash-cards, concept maps, thematic notes. These tools will help you to memorize chronology of literary movements, theories, and authors.

When preparing the research methods section in Paper II, you may explore tools like Voyant Tools or AntConc to explore themes, patterns, and keywords in literary texts.

To prepare for UGC-NET English Literature exam, you can also listen to literary podcasts and subscribe youtube channels.

Here is another digital archive which you may refer to while doing literary research: Shodhganga.org.

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Key Foundational Books to Understand Digital Humanities

These works establish the core philosophy and scope of Digital Humanities:

1. Digital Humanities: An Introduction
   – Anne Burdick, Johanna Drucker, Peter Lunenfeld, Todd Presner, Jeffrey Schnapp

A concise introduction explaining how DH reshapes humanities research and education.

2. Distant Reading
   – Franco Moretti

Proposes analyzing literature with data-driven methods like graphs, maps, and trees rather than close reading. A game-changer for literary studies.

3. Debates in the Digital Humanities(2012, 2016 editions)
   – Matthew K. Gold (ed.)

An essential collection of essays discussing the field’s controversies, methods, and futures.

4. The History Manifesto
   – Jo Guldi and David Armitage

Though focused on history, it promotes using big data and digital tools to study long-term trends—applicable to literary history too.

5. Digital_Humanities
   – Presner, Schnapp, Drucker, and others

An academic manifesto promoting the transformation of the humanities through digital technology.

6. Literary Mapping in the Digital Age
   – David Cooper, Christopher Donaldson, Patricia Murrieta-Flores

Discusses how GIS (Geographic Information Systems) can be used to explore literary geographies.

7. Graphing Jane Austen: The Evolutionary Basis of Literary Meaning
   – Joseph Carroll, Jonathan Gottschall, John A. Johnson, Daniel J. Kruger

Uses digital data and evolutionary psychology to analyze Austen’s novels.

8. Reading Machines: Toward an Algorithmic Criticism
   – Stephen Ramsay

Argues that computers can aid literary interpretation—not replace it. Introduces algorithmic criticism.

9. Uncharted: Big Data as a Lens on Human Culture
   – Erez Aiden and Jean-Baptiste Michel

Explores Google Ngram data to understand cultural and literary change over centuries.

10. How We Think: Digital Media and Contemporary Technogenesis
    – Katherine Hayles

Blends literary theory, media studies, and DH. Discusses how digital media reshape human cognition and literary practices.

You may refer to these books for understanding the landscape of digital humanities. For strategic UGC-NET English exam preparation, you may also consider joining the best UGC NET coaching institute, Sahitya Classes. At Sahitya Classes, you will not just explore works of famous writers but you will also learn some fascinating and controversial facts about authors and their works from the two-times JRF holder, Prof. Vineet Pandey. Prof. Pandey is known for his fun-filled pedagogy wherein he uses day-to-day experiences of life to make you understand certain literary concepts or literary theories so that you can remember them easily while giving the exam. He will often focus on covering every aspect of the UGC-NET English Literature syllabus. While helping you understand the literary texts, he will cover the historical, political, and other contexts relevant to the texts. This will help you gain a deeper understanding of the literary texts.

You will also receive UGC NET notes for English literature along with exclusive UGC-NET online classes. Our new offline batch will start on January 27, 2025 onwards. So, what are you waiting for? Join Sahitya Classes now!

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If you are interested in accessing the latest hardcopy and softcopy notes, course syllabus, previous years’ question papers, answer keys, crash courses, Google Drive Course, and wish to receive personal guidance from Prof. Vineet Pandey, please fill out the form!