The empirical study of literature is an interdisciplinary field of research which includes the
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
,
sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
, and
philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
of texts, the contextual study of literature, and the
history
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
of
reading literary
Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...
texts.
The
International Society for the Empirical Study of Literature and Media (IGEL) is one learned association which brings together experts in this field. Major journals in the field are ''
Poetics: Journal of Empirical Research on Culture, the Media and the Arts'', ''
Poetics Today: International Journal for Theory and Analysis of Literature and Communication'', and ''
Scientific Study of Literature''.
The empirical study of literature attracts
scholarship
A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...
particularly in the areas of reception and audience studies and in cognitive psychology when it is concerned with questions of reading. In these two areas research and studies based on the framework are steadily growing. Further fields where the framework in various revised and expanded versions attracts scholarship is (comparative)
cultural studies
Cultural studies is an academic field that explores the dynamics of contemporary culture (including the politics of popular culture) and its social and historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers investigate how cultural practices rel ...
and
pedagogy
Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...
.
References
{{reflist
Further reading
* Bourdieu, Pierre. "Questions of Method." ''Empirical Studies of Literature''. Ed. Elrud Ibsch, Dick Schram, and Gerard Steen. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1991. 19-36.
* Schmidt, Siegfried J. ''Foundation for the Empirical Study of Literature: The Components of a Basic Theory''. Trans. R. de Beaugrande. Hamburg: Helmut Buske, 1982.
* Schmidt, Siegfried J. "Literary Studies from Hermeneutics to Media Culture Studies." ''CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture'' 12.1 (2010): https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol12/iss1/1
* Tötösy de Zepetnek, Steven. "The Empirical Science of Literature / Constructivist Theory of Literature." ''Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory: Approaches, Scholars, Terms''. Ed. Irene R. Makaryk. Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1993. 36-39.
Bibliographies
* Lisiak, Agata Anna, and Steven Tötösy de Zepetnek. "Bibliography of Siegfried J. Schmidt's Publications." ''CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture'' 12.1 (201
* Tötösy de Zepetnek, Steven. "Bibliography of Contextual (Systemic and Empirical) Approaches in the Study of Literature and Culture (to 1998)." ''CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture'' 3.3 (200
Literary theory