AsteXT: Data Networks of Asian American Literature (2025-2026)
The AsteXT project applies digital humanities approaches to the study of Asian American short stories published between 1974 and 2024. The research investigates how spatial concepts and place-related references appear in these works and how they can be systematically identified and analyzed through computational methods.
The project is carried out by an interdisciplinary team representing more than seven disciplines and departments. Collaboration is structured through an iterative research timeline that revisits earlier findings as new insights emerge, allowing theoretical discussions to continually inform concrete research outputs.
Over the past year, the team conducted close readings of primary texts, historical research, secondary source collection, and manual data entry. Building on existing Named Entity Recognition (NER) research, the team developed a new NER data schema designed to capture the social, cultural and historical contexts of the Asian American community. The schema focuses on identifying space-related terms, enabling researchers to examine how Asian American short story authors conceptualize and represent space in their works.
Timing
Fall 2025 – Spring 2026
Team Outputs
Presentation (Modern Language Association Annual Convention; Toronto, Canada; January 2026)
See earlier related Data+ summer project, Data Networks of Asian American Literature, 1974-2024.
See earlier related Data+ summer project, Data Networks of Asian American Literature, 1974-2024 (2025).
Image: Cover of Jade Song's Chlorine, courtesy of HarperCollins