Module description
In this practical module, you interpret short stories creatively. You use digital text tools to reveal aspects of stories beyond the reach of intuition, uncovering unnoticed subtleties and complexities in famous stories. The software tools are simple to learn and fun to use. While developing your digital literacy skills, you will generate wordlists, collocates, concordances, keywords, and lemmas, and analyse texts automatically for parts of speech (nouns, verbs, adjectives etc). You also experiment with the possibilities of Generative AI for assisting inventive interpretation of short stories.
The module ethos is playful. You seek out unusual connections between: i) revealed subtleties in short stories using digital tools from the module, Generative AI and other tools you locate independently and ii) relevant research literature (e.g. on history, psychology, sexuality, gender relations, family life, medicine etc.). You experiment with such unusual connections to produce your own inventive interpretations of short stories, thereby enhancing your general capacity for creative thinking.
Suitable for students seeking to develop both creative thinking and digital literacy.
No previous experience of digital text analysis software or AI is required.
Assessment details
One 3,000 word assignment (100%) where you produce an inventive interpretation of a short story of your choosing – with the option to complete the assignment collaboratively in a pair
Learning outcomes
Using a variety of software tools, this practical, hands-on module develops creative and experimental thinking, analytical and independent thought, and digital literacy.