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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Computational Analysis Of The Body In European Fairy Tales, Scott Weingart, Jeana Jorgensen
Computational Analysis Of The Body In European Fairy Tales, Scott Weingart, Jeana Jorgensen
Jeana Jorgensen
This article explores how digital humanities research methods can be used to analyze the representations of gendered bodies in European fairy tales, a flexible and pervasive genre that has influenced Western children's education and acquisition of gender identity for centuries. By blending the theoretical and methodological concerns of folkloristics, gender studies, and large-scale scientific research, this article demonstrates the utility of cross-disciplinary collaboration in asking traditional questions of traditional materials with new methods. To facilitate this research, a hand-coded database listing every reference to a body or body part in the 233 fairy tales was created. Analysis revealed strong indications …
Understanding ‘The Body’ In Fairy Tales, Scott Weingart, Jeana Jorgensen
Understanding ‘The Body’ In Fairy Tales, Scott Weingart, Jeana Jorgensen
Jeana Jorgensen
Computational analysis and feminist theory generally aren’t the first things that come to mind in association with fairy tales. This unlikely pairing, however, can lead to important insights regarding how cultures understand and represent themselves. For example, by looking at how characters are described in European fairy tales, we’ve been able to show how Western culture tends to bias the younger generation, especially the men. While that result probably won’t shock anyone more than passingly familiar with the Western world, the method of reaching these results allows us to look at cultural biases in a new light. Our study and …