Russell A. Hunt, Department of English, St. Thomas University
Peter Hejl, LUMIS, Universität GH Siegen
The Emergence of an International and
Interdisciplinary Scholarly / Scientific "Field"
Defining the community
1. Please indicate researchers (outside IGEL) whose work on literature you see as relevant to empirical studies of literature and who should be included among the group of experts we should include in the study (If you are not sure whether she/he is a member of IGEL, don't hesitate to indicate her/his name). In each case, we need not only the name, but, if possible, an address and some specific reference to a publication or publications especially relevant.
The state of the art
2. Please indicate particular empirical results of your own work that you consider robust enough to serve as (for the time being) building blocks for further research or theory construction. Describe these results or conclusions in a sentence or two. Indicate specific publications -- full citations, please -- if this will make the answer clearer. We are as much, or more, interested in your statement of the nature of these results as in the publications where they might be found.
3. Please indicate empirical results or findings of your own work that you think deserve further investigation. Describe these results or conclusions in a sentence or two. Indicate publications, if you think this will be helpful, such that details can be found.
4. Please indicate empirical results of other scholars (inside or outside IGEL) that you consider robust enough to serve as (for the time being) building blocks for further research or theory construction. Describe these results or conclusions in a sentence or two. Again, indicate specific publications -- full citations, please -- if this will make the answer clearer. Here, too, we are as much, or more, interested in your statement of the nature of these results as in the publications where they might be found.
5. Are there theoretical concepts you have developed that you think important for empirical studies of literature? Name and quickly describe the concepts / theories, indicate what problem(s) could be solved or investigated by the concept(s), and specify publications (attach copies if convenient) such that details can be located.
6. What theoretical concepts developed by someone else do you think important for empirical studies of literature? Name and quickly describe the concepts / theories, indicate what problem(s) could be solved or investigated by the concept(s), and, as far as possible, specify publications such that details can be located. 7. What methods do you use, or have you used, yourself? (Please specify methods as precisely as possible (e.g., not "quantitative analysis" but "factor analysis," "cluster analysis," or "establishment of time series").
8. Are there methods you think should be used more than they currently are, or are there methods which need to be developed, and why? Please specify methods as precisely as possible, and indicate problems that could be solved or investigated by the method.
9. From your point of view, what problems or issues should be investigated in the immediate future?
Exploring the Empirical Studies of Literature community
10. Why are you interested in empirical studies of literature? Reasons might include theoretical or methodological factors, personal or career opportunities, feeling "personally attracted" by a combination of greater strictness and or topics from the humanities, etc. Please answer at whatever length seems appropriate.
11. In what discipline(s) was your graduate work undertaken?
12. Have you completed a doctorate (Y/N)? If so, in what discipline did you write your thesis? (If you wrote more than one, please indicate all of them) If you are currently working on a doctorate, in what discipline?
13. Where did you submit your doctoral thesis (university, country)?
14. To what institutional unit(s) are you attached? (Please indicate the organizational unit(s) in which your work is carried out -- for example, "Institute for X," or "Center for Z")
15. Are you the actual director/head/speaker/principal officer of this unit (Y/N)?
16. What is the actual disciplinary center of your activities (that is, whatever formal studies you undertook, to what discipline, or scholarly or research community, would you say your current work most directly pertains)?
17. What is your professional position?
instructor assistant professor associate professor full professor other (explain)
> 18. Please indicate the overall percentage of your time spent on:
20. What is your mother tongue (the language in which you were brought up)?
21. Please indicate your age and your full name.
Thank you for participating!
Peter M. Hejl / Russell A. Hunt