Investigating the Evolution of Early Modern European Drama with Digital Methods

Presentation of the talk "Investigating the Evolution of Early Modern European Drama with Digital Methods", held at the University of Rostock on 28 April 2025 as part of the lecture series "Digital Humanities im Fokus: Methoden, Anwendungen und Perspektiven". The slides are also available here: https://slides.com/luca-giovannini/deck-45d146. Abstract: According to literary scholars (e.g. Moretti 1994), the early modern period represented a key moment in the evolution of European drama. During this era, distinct theatrical aesthetics are said to have emerged in each major linguistic region of the Continent, leading to the birth of traditions as diverse as the Elizabethan theatre, the French théâtre classique, and Spanish Golden Age playwriting. But is this narrative of 'diversification' truly sound, and is it possible to assess it empirically? In this talk, I will present findings from my PhD dissertation showing how cutting-edge computational methods might help in challenging established theories on drama history and offering a data-assisted perspective on the question. Bio: Luca Giovannini works as research coordinator for the Digital Humanities Network of the University of Potsdam, Germany. He studied comparative literature in Turin, Warwick, and Cologne, and recently got a joint PhD in the same field (with a strong focus on digital humanities) from the universities of Potsdam and Padova. His research interests focus on computational literary studies and cultural analytics.