Several academic and literary articles focus on the claims about identity in Toni Morrison’s posthumously published short story, “Recitatif.” However, few of them offer analyses that approach the function of the story in ways that align with Morrison’s description of it as an “experiment.” Even fewer through tools of text analysis, which is a method of distant reading. In this paper, I provide a mixed analysis of “Recitatif” through close reading and text analysis via Voyant, a digital tool. I concentrate on the recitative device, how it facilitates the message of the story, and how the results may expand the discourse that surrounds “Recitatif” at the experimental level. I then reflect on how the conceptual qualities and functions of the tools I selected from Voyant apprehend Morrison’s short story in ways that not only support discourse, but offer pedagogic value based on how they can be used to explore the meaning and qualities of textual information.
","abstract_html":"<p>Several academic and literary articles focus on the claims about identity in Toni Morrison’s posthumously published short story, “Recitatif.” However, few of them offer analyses that approach the function of the story in ways that align with Morrison’s description of it as an “experiment.” Even fewer through tools of text analysis, which is a method of distant reading. In this paper, I provide a mixed analysis of “Recitatif” through close reading and text analysis via Voyant, a digital tool. I concentrate on the recitative device, how it facilitates the message of the story, and how the results may expand the discourse that surrounds “Recitatif” at the experimental level. I then reflect on how the conceptual qualities and functions of the tools I selected from Voyant apprehend Morrison’s short story in ways that not only support discourse, but offer pedagogic value based on how they can be used to explore the meaning and qualities of textual information.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Neblett, Asma A."],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Master","degree_discipline":"Digital Humanities","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Andrea Silva"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2023-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:21Z","subjects":["Digital Humanities","recitative","recitatif","voyant","pedagogy","reading methods","text analysis"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5392","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Andrea Silva"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Neblett, Asma A."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-11-02T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Digital Humanities"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Digital Humanities","recitative","recitatif","voyant","pedagogy","reading methods","text analysis"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5392"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Several academic and literary articles focus on the claims about identity in Toni Morrison’s posthumously published short story, “Recitatif.” However, few of them offer analyses that approach the function of the story in ways that align with Morrison’s description of it as an “experiment.” Even fewer through tools of text analysis, which is a method of distant reading. In this paper, I provide a mixed analysis of “Recitatif” through close reading and text analysis via Voyant, a digital tool. I concentrate on the recitative device, how it facilitates the message of the story, and how the results may expand the discourse that surrounds “Recitatif” at the experimental level. I then reflect on how the conceptual qualities and functions of the tools I selected from Voyant apprehend Morrison’s short story in ways that not only support discourse, but offer pedagogic value based on how they can be used to explore the meaning and qualities of textual information.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Field of Relations: A Mixed Analysis of Toni Morrison’s “Recitatif” with Voyant, a Text Analysis Tool"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Andrea Silva"],"dc:creator":["Neblett, Asma A."],"dc:date.available":["2023-11-02T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Several academic and literary articles focus on the claims about identity in Toni Morrison’s posthumously published short story, “Recitatif.” However, few of them offer analyses that approach the function of the story in ways that align with Morrison’s description of it as an “experiment.” Even fewer through tools of text analysis, which is a method of distant reading. In this paper, I provide a mixed analysis of “Recitatif” through close reading and text analysis via Voyant, a digital tool. I concentrate on the recitative device, how it facilitates the message of the story, and how the results may expand the discourse that surrounds “Recitatif” at the experimental level. I then reflect on how the conceptual qualities and functions of the tools I selected from Voyant apprehend Morrison’s short story in ways that not only support discourse, but offer pedagogic value based on how they can be used to explore the meaning and qualities of textual information.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5392"],"dc:subject":["Digital Humanities","recitative","recitatif","voyant","pedagogy","reading methods","text analysis"],"dc:title":["A Field of Relations: A Mixed Analysis of Toni Morrison’s “Recitatif” with Voyant, a Text Analysis Tool"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Digital Humanities"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:59:21Z"}