Legacy Lecture #1

On Tuesday, January 24, I attended a lecture held in Humanities 108. The lecture was given from 12:15 to 1:15 by Michael Drout, and titled "Lexomics for Literary Analysis: New Methods for Old Problems." Drout is a professor at Wheaton College and a forerunner in his field. Lexomics is a relatively new process of comparing ancient literary texts and mathematically deriving their closeness. Drout and his colleagues have developed a system of graphing technology that enables them to input a section of one text and instantly compare it to a similar section from another text. Lexomics makes it possible to derive, in some cases, the sources of certain works which were previously unknown. Drout gave one example of this use of the technology in his comparison of the work Guthlac A to Guthlac B. I would be lying if I pretended to grasp entirely the concepts Drout was discussing, as much of it went straight over my head. It was interesting, however, to see how the advancements in technology can assist in deeper understanding of the world of literature. Before I attended this lecture, I perceived the investigation of literature, especially ancient literature, as being pursued by combing through the dusty, scattered leafs of ancient scrolls and codices. After attending this lecture, I am now aware of the progressiveness and ingenuity being invested in the study of ancient literature.