Twilight Zones

Liminal Texts of the Long Turn of the Century (1880 - 1940)

User manual

The Theoretical and Methodological Design

  1. The design of the anthology allows an adequate handling of the corpus liminal texts.
  2. It displays relations between the (linguistic) texts and relevant fields of arts and knowledge.
  3. For this purpose, the handling and navigating of the texts are based on a system of analysis consisting of categories on the levels of TERMS, TECHNIQUES and CONCEPTS (all with subcategories).
  4. The ratio of the proposed categories and sub-categories considers the liminal text’s intermingling of fields (science, arts, politics, etc.) and roles (like literate, scientist, philosopher, journalist, etc.), the crossing of genres (science and literature, journalism, and science, etc.) and, as a consequence, of borders between text and contexts.
  5. Consequently, the categorial system allows a look at textual structures and applied concepts, elaborates their interrelations, and thus brings to light the text’s observations of practices and discourses of the time.

The System of Categories: Main Levels of Analysis

Level 1 and 2: Formal Description of the Texts
TERMS = literal occurrences in the text
Main Categories:
Emotions; body and psyche; frame; genre; tools, media; movements, fields; specific notions

TECHNIQUES = formal modes
Main Categories:
styles, intertextual patterns (quotations, names, works).

Level 3: Conceptual Analysis
CONCEPTS = result of abstractions and meta level of interpretation
Main categories:
author roles, genre and forms, emotions, body and psyche, tools, media; norms, antagonism; values, frame/location; models of reality, models of perception; models of me- and we-concepts (includes gender).

Functions of Categories

  1. The system of categories reflects both, the concrete linguistic material (TERMS, TECHNIQUES) and the abstractions resulting from its analysis (CONCEPTS).
  2. Thus, the categories consider textual formations (TECHNIQUES) as well as explicitly and/or implicitly expressed notions and concepts (TERMS, CONCEPTS).
  3. Consequently, the categories permit to display the results of a (formal and conceptual) reading and analyzing of the texts.

Offers for Users

  1. The digital anthology presents a model for a pluri-dimensional analysis of texts as well as examples of its application.
  2. It further provides the means to analyze, relate, and navigate the texts individually on multiple levels, both in a syntagmatic and paradigmatic way.
  3. As such, the designed system of categories allows to treat relations between linguistic formations and contextual aspects.
  4. Thus, the pluri-dimensional system of categories enables to analyze and to navigate both the formal and conceptual levels of the texts.
  5. Additionally, the users can continue the project outside the website by starting one’s own analysis and by comparing the existing applications of categories with own applications and results.
  6. Furthermore, one can continue the project outside the website by extending existing and/or own results and combinations to new/proper texts chosen.

Examples of Access

Basic search:

  1. browse the texts and the list of categories
  2. choose “full-text search” and freely browse the texts with your own terms

Advanced search:

  1. choose a text and/or an author (= view/check the applicated categories)
  2. choose/combine categories (= view/check the quotations)
  3. choose/combine texts and categories (= choose your own path/make your own conclusions)
  4. choose/combine authors and categories (= choose your own path/make your own conclusions)