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  3. The Dangerous Art of Text Mining
  • Cited by 7
  • Jo Guldi, Southern Methodist University, Texas
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
September 2023
Print publication year:
2023
Online ISBN:
9781009263016
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009263016
Subjects:
History, History of Ideas and Intellectual History
Information

Book description

The Dangerous Art of Text Mining celebrates the bold new research now possible because of text mining: the art of counting words over time. However, this book also presents a warning: without help from the humanities, data science can distort the past and lead to perilous errors. The book opens with a rogue's gallery of errors, then tours the ground-breaking analyses that have resulted from collaborations between humanists and data scientists. Jo Guldi explores how text mining can give a glimpse of the changing history of the past - for example, how quickly Americans forgot the history of slavery. Textual data can even prove who was responsible in Congress for silencing environmentalism over recent decades. The book ends with an impassioned vision of what text mining in defence of democracy would look like, and why humanists need to be involved.

Reviews

‘An ambitious work that demonstrates how quantitative methods can inform the study of the past while also making a compelling case for how historical methods should inform the work of data science. Guldi outlines a middle ground based on “hybrid thinking,” where historians and data scientists can meet to think critically about how data is used and abused to understand the past and present.’

Spencer Dean Stewart Source: H-Net

‘… an in-depth look at the pros and cons of utilizing this methodology for historical research … Recommended.’

W. Kramer Source: CHOICE

‘Guldi’s book … stands out for its robust grounding in historical theory and its clear demonstration of how text mining can assist historians in exploring temporal experiences. Its focus on parliamentary data provides tangible examples, inspiring future scholars to further explore how digital methods can augment historical research.’

Melvin Wevers Source: Technology & Culture

‘This book offers stimulating, accessible reflections on the potential of text mining in historical studies and, above all, a confident, convincing plea for the importance of the core competencies of historians in the data world of our time.’

Simon Specht Source: H-Soz-Kult

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