Abstract:
In this talk, Paul Vierthaler introduced his recent work developing algorithms for automatically identifying source material in late imperials Chinese novels. He discussed how he uses computational tools to study material appropriated by the pseudonymous author of the infamous 17th century Chinese novel Jinpingmei (Plum in the Golden Vase). This complex novel masterfully spins a highly salacious narrative out of older fictional, historical, poetic, and dramatic material. The multi-layered intertextuality within Jinpingmei makes it an ideal site of experimentation for developing and evaluating machine learning algorithms for source extraction. Vierthaler used these experimentations as a starting point to talk about the promise of, and potential issues that come along with, using computational tools to better understand late imperial literary culture.
Biography:
Dr. Paul Vierthaler, Assistant Professor of Chinese Studies (and by courtesy in Data Science) at the College of William and Mary