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DocNetCH meets once per semester at a different university to discuss contemporary questions, exchange ideas, and build collaborations. The format varies depending on the organisers but it will always entail

• a formal component, such as a keynote lecture, or panel of speakers
• an informal component (coffee break) for networking
• a workshop component relating to the topic (discussion of a text, feedback to PhD speakers, brainstorm of a topic) </aside>

Spring 2026 Workshop

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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 workshops

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Multispecies Storytelling, 24 October 2025, Zurich

The second iteration of DocNetCH took place at the University of Zurich in October 2025. It was organised by Clauda Sackl and Jacqueline Heinzelmann from the Department of Popular Cultures (ISEK, Zurich) and was attended by 20 PhD candidates from around Switzerland. Here is the workshop’s program:

Flyer_NEU.pdf

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Actor-Network Theory and Literary Interpretation, 4 April 2025, Zurich

The first iteration of DocNetCH took place at the University of Zurich in April 2025. It was collaboratively organised by Nastacia Schmoll (Zurich) and Tammy Imboden (Basel). Around 20 people attended from 5 universities. Below, you can find the workshop’s Call for Participation.

ANT_Program.pdf

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