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<aside> The Swiss Literary PhD Network (DocNetCH) is a self-organised research and networking group of PhD students in Literary Studies across Switzerland. We provide a space to exchange knowledge and information, as well as to network and support each other, formally and informally. Our members work in the field of Literary Studies and related disciplines.

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News & Upcoming Events

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DocNetCH 3: Computational Approaches to Literary Studies: From Close to Distant Reading

The third workshop of the Swiss Literary PhD Network, organised by Mattia Ferraro, will take place at the University of Neuchâtel on 8 May 2026. At this workshop, we will explore how digital humanities approaches can complement and extend traditional close reading practices. The main focus of the event will be on what large-scale textual analysis can reveal that conventional literary analysis cannot.

The workshop will be led by two digital humanities scholars from Cornell University (NY):

• Prof. Dr. Lindsay Thomas, Associate Professor in the Department of Literatures in English. Professor Thomas will give a talk on Measuring the Long Novel: Popularity and Prestige in the 20th Century, exploring how shifts in novelistic length intersect with questions of cultural consumption, as well as readership and the literary market.
• Sanghoon Oh, M.A., Doctoral Candidate in the same department, will give a talk on the Computational History of Free Verse, using computational analysis of a large corpus of poems to work toward a more precise and historically grounded definition of free verse, a form whose boundaries have long resisted easy categorization.

No prior programming experience is required. The workshop is designed to offer accessible entry points into computational methods. During a final open discussion, DocNetCH members will be invited to bring questions from their own research and explore, together with the speakers, how computational approaches might apply to their specific projects.

When: 8 May 2026, 12:30 - 6:30 p.m.

Where: Université de Neuchâtel – Institut de Langue et Littérature Anglaises (FLSH), Neuchâtel

To register, please contact mattia.ferraro[at]unine.ch.

Registrations close on 5 May, 2026.

The workshop is open to all doctoral students and early-career researchers in literary studies, cultural studies, media studies, and related humanities fields across Switzerland. While you need to be a member of DocNetCH to attend the final discussion (4:30-5:30 p.m.), the lectures are open to all, regardless of academic background or career stage.

Third_DocNetWorkshop_Flyer.pdf

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Past Events and CfPs

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CfP: Fissures: Gender and Political Crisis

Application deadline: 16 January 2026

Fissures Call for Papers.pdf

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CfP: 2026 GAPS Conference “Postcolonial Transfers – Translation, Transition, Transformation”

Postcolonial Transfers - CfP GAPS.pdf

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2nd meeting of DocNetCH at the University of Zurich on 24 October: SAVE THE DATE!

The next meeting of the Swiss Literary PhD Network titled “Multispecies Storytelling” will take place in Zurich on 24 October 2025. Save the date! DocNetCH’s second meeting promises to be an exciting event with a workshop, DocNetCH Townhall meeting, coffee and apéro.

All information on the event can be found here!

Flyer_NEU.pdf

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