Cultural Analytics: Theories and Methods

This course introduces cultural analytics, an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of humanities, social sciences, and data science. Students explore how computational methods and digital archives are used to study culture across time and scale. Emphasis is placed on multiscale analysis — from close reading to distant reading — and on ethical, responsible engagement with large-scale cultural data. The course addresses challenges of data validity, the role of collaboration across disciplines, and the societal impact of cultural analytics, including its use in heritage preservation and disaster response. Students gain both technical tools and critical frameworks for studying culture in the digital age.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Locate and prepare cultural datasets by applying techniques to find, clean, and structure data.
• Analyze and process cultural materials by applying text-as-data methods and demonstrate introductory techniques for images and sound as data.
• Apply and interpret network analysis methods to investigate cultural phenomena.
• Design and produce preliminary maps and data visualizations to communicate cultural insights.