Share Paper: Electrical Evocations: Computer Science, the Teaching of Literature, and the Future of English Education

1. Tom Lynch, Pace University, United States

Abstract: In this conceptual essay, the author argues that computational methods and computer science more broadly should be embedded into English education programs. Focusing on the teaching of literature, the author posits that computational methods like graphing word frequencies can deepen and expand the way literature is already taught in many English education programs and secondary English classrooms. Drawing on Rosenblatt’s transaction theory, the author first makes a theoretical case for English educators to embrace computational methods, arguing that such methods constitute a form of heretofore unidentified efferent associations with texts that can be selected from readers’ linguistic-experiential reservoirs. Then, the ...