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fortext lab

@fortextlab.bsky.social
670 followers 243 following 339 posts

Computational Literary Studies and Computational Narratology #DH #DigitalHumanities Directed by @evelyngius.bsky.social, TU Darmstadt More information about our lab: fortext.org Annotation software CATMA: catma.de | @catma.bsky.social

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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
🌿 Three days of team retreat in Vienna: the fortext lab has been using the time away from the office to plan the coming year, talk about collaborations and collect ideas for new projects. Between all the planning, there was also plenty of time for coffee and snacks.
A picture of a team of six people, the forTEXT team, in front of a old, but fancy building. The sky is clear and the weather seems good.
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
We are thrilled to announce that the fortext lab has a new addition, a second software developer for CATMA! 🎉 We would like to extend a warm welcome to Immanuel von Detten. Immanuel will support the team with the continuous development and a redesign of the user interface of @catma.bsky.social
fortext lab team photo
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
We’re excited to share that we published the “Characters in Action” (ChiA) annotation guidelines on Zenodo today. ChiA captures three key dimensions of character representation in narrative texts: mention in text, participation in event, and direct speech. 👉 doi.org/10.5281/zeno... (1/3) #DH
Banner ChiA Annotation Guidelines
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Have you already taken a look at the forTEXT journal issues featuring teaching concepts on the topics text annotation and reflected text analysis yet? 👉 journal.fortext.org #DH #teachingconcepts #DHpedagogy #openaccess (1/4)
Screenshot Issues forTEXT journal
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Last week @evelyngius.bsky.social took part in the international conference "Plot and Genre in Computational Literary Studies" at ZPD Würzburg: Two days dedicated to discussions on how we model plot, and what genre has to do with it. (1/4)
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
This week we have a special guest: Our former team member @guhrs.bsky.social has joined us in Darmstadt! While Evelyn is traveling to present on Measurement Theory, Svenja stepped in to lead this week's seminar session on manual and automated annotation.
Svenja teaching the seminar today
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
The third and final article from our Special Issue on Reflected Text Analysis is now available! The teaching concept by @haimostiemer.bsky.social and @evelyngius.bsky.social introduces students to the analysis of Kafka’s characters from a narratological perspective. (1/3)
Cover page for an article titled "Seminar: Kafkas Figuren in der reflektierten Erzähltextanalyse. forTEXT 3 (1): Reflektierte Textanalyse in der Hochschullehre".
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
…you can't work all the time, sometimes you just need to wind down. 🥂 We raised a glass to the end of the day and sent warm greetings — Cheers, everyone! (4/4)
A dinner table from above.
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
The semester is back in full swing, and so are our weekly lab meetings! 💃 On last week's agenda: Krippendorff and Inter Annotator Agreements – the theory, the challenges, and how to actually put it into practice. (1/4)
Three people sitting around a table. One person is showing something on a flipchart.
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
In their article, @mkschumacher.bsky.social and Nora Ketschik present a one-semester teaching concept for this method based on the approach of reflective text analysis (the CRETA workflow @cretaverein.bsky.social) (2/3)
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
We made a preliminary plan for the next half year, discussed the ongoing projects and upcoming lecture period, brainstormed research ideas, etc. For lunch, we sat in the spring sunshine in the palace moat. (Yes, we work in a palace and we have a moat, but no water 🚣, alligators 🐊 or bears 🐻 😉) (2/2)
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Last week we got together in Darmstadt for one of our two big yearly meetings – the other being the lab retreat, which we reported on in September. Like at the retreat, we spent some time reflecting on the past half year and our achievements, as well as our teamwork. (1/2) #DigitalHumanities
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
The forTEXT journal team is thrilled to announce: The first articles of our first Special Issue on Reflected Text Analysis, edited by guest editors @axelpichler.fedihum.org.ap.brid.gy and @nilsreiter.de, are available now at: journal.fortext.org/issues/ (1/4)

 #DH #DHTeaching #DHPedagogy
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
At the poster session, Mari and Steffi presented the editorial workflow of the fortext journal, from Call for Papers to publication. 📝 Great conversations with participants sparked new ideas for future editions and underlined the ongoing importance of a focus on DH teaching. (3/4)
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
In the session “Epistemology & Interpretation,” @evelyngius.bsky.social made the case for measurement in DH, showing what analysis processes can learn from measurement theory, bridging everything from temperature to hermeneutic interpretation. A manifesto in the making. ✨ (2/4)
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
We are currently compiling a collection of German-language climate fiction novels. So we have a question for the community: Which texts come to mind for you? #climate-change-fiction #CLS #ecocriticism #climate-fiction #digitalhumanities #cli-fi #germanliterature #climate-change (1/2)
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Last week, Steffi from our forTEXT team attended the final “Fokus Portale” workshop in Hamburg, hosted by Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre - reflecting on the past funding phase of our forTEXT journal and annotation software @catma.bsky.social. (1/4)
rote Tafel der Stiftung mit Schrift: Lehre bereitet Wege für die Zukunft
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
The importance of community building and exchange can't be overstated. To quote the unnamed: "The best ideas are had when drinking a beer [or an organic, unsweetened and alcohol-free hot apple-cinnamon drink] together!" We did just that over an Indian dinner and a visit to the Xmas Market. (4/5)
RSE Workshop Participants in Darmstadt
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
A few weeks ago, we hosted a small one-and-a-half day workshop here in Darmstadt for research software engineers. A prior workshop with the same participants had taken place at University of Bielefeld in spring. The primary topic this time was (software) project management. #DHTech #RSE (1/5)
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
They will show how LLMs can be used to systematically analyze how literary histories depict objects and perspectives across three canonical German literary-history works — revealing recurring patterns in what gets included and how it is framed. (5/6)
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Using a newly released corpus of 10,000 verb-class annotations, they will demonstrate how verb semantics can illuminate genre patterns and thematic structures in German-language fiction. 
Session: LLMs and Content Mining (11:00 - 12:30, December 11) (3/6)
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
What happens when colleagues from archives, libraries, and the humanities come together to talk about metadata? A wonderfully inspiring workshop "Metadaten in den Humanities" with great people and great conversations at the Zentralbibliothek Zürich! #metadata #CLS #Humanities (1/4)
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Last week, we held a small but intensive workshop in Darmstadt on how literary history and computation can go together. The talks either adapted traditional literary concepts for computational analysis or introduced new digital approaches. (1/3)
Participants of the Workshop "Literary History and Computation". Ten people standing in two rows outside the Wissenschaftsschloss Darmstadt.
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
📢 Reminder – The forTEXT journal's Open Call is still live! We’re looking for German-language teaching concepts on text annotation in higher education. Deadline: Oct 31 👉 journal.fortext.org/site/cfp/ (1/3)
A sharepic advertising the forTEXT journal's Open Call. It reads "Call for Papers", "journal.forTEXT", "31.10.2025".
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
As part of the program, @hanshatzel.bsky.social, @evelyngius.bsky.social & @haimostiemer.bsky.social presented our current work on the PLANS project — including analyses based on our full dataset on modeling Plot Units. Our @narrativesimtask.bsky.social also sparked lively discussion! (3/4)
First slide of a presentation titled "PLANS Project Report. October 2025".Haimo Stiemer standing in front of a slide outlining a talk. The slide reads as follows: "Agenda, 1. Key Challenges of Computational Narratology, 2. ChiA (Characters in Action) and REA (Actantial model), 3. Narrative Similarity, 4. Data exploration plot units, 5. Ongoing cooperation & planned output".
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
At this week’s closing meeting of the DFG Priority Programme Computational Literary Studies at @uni-wuerzburg.de, 19 talks were presented and discussed over 4 days with more than 40 participants. An inspiring week full of exchange and ideas! #ComputationalLiteraryStudies #CLS #DH (1/4)
Entrance to the Zentrum Philologie und Digitalitität at the University of Würzburg.
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
In the evenings we strolled around the old town of Fulda and had dinner together. And the last point of order always had to be a round of Bananagrams! From now on a must for all future team retreats! (4/4)
Pieces from the game Bananagrams spelling "fortext".
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
The second day was also dedicated to talking about a grant proposal to come. We brainstormed claims, impact and outputs we would like to see covered in the project. (3/4)
The view of Fulda from the Tagungskloster Frauenberg.
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
Everyday started with a quick check-in to warm up (see an example below), followed by either project discussions or planning sessions. Twice a year we review the projects and tasks of the last six months and make a preliminary plan for the next six. (2/4)
A flip chart which reads, in German, "Good Morning", "How am I doing today?" and "1 thing that excited me the most this year".
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
Last week we got together for our yearly lab retreat! For 2,5 days we planned, discussed and brainstormed together, tucked away in a monastery (no joke) in beautiful Fulda. (1/4)
The fortext lab. Six people standing on a lawn in front of some trees.Small sign on a table that says "fortext".
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
At #Germanistentag 2025's panel "Network as Method", @haimostiemer.bsky.social presented the ChiA project, developed at @fortextlab.bsky.social in collaboration with @evelyngius.bsky.social. #germanistik #CLS #fortextlab @tu-braunschweig.de (1/5)
Title slide of a presentation on "Handlungsmacht in Figurennetzwerken" (Agency in character networks)
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
They have presented projects on Computational Literary Studies, Knowledge Representation and Computational Social Science. A small part of the first day was also dedicated to a look back on ten years of the CRETA community, including a sneak peek at the development of the CRETA logo! (3/4)
A meeting room. Three people seated and looking at a slide projected on the wall. The slide depicts several logos of the CRETA association.
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
The CRETA-Werkstatt took place at University of Stuttgart's lovely Eulenhof. Most of the time was dedicated to discussing current projects and collecting informal feedback. At the heart of the CRETA-Werkstatt, however, lies the presentation of the dissertation projects of the CRETA coachees. (2/4)
The sign at the entrance of the University of Stuttgart's Eulenhof with the shadow of a person standing in front of it.
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 18/09/2025
Good research needs strong scientific communities! That's why earlier this week, fortext lab members @evelyngius.bsky.social, Stefanie Messner and @julianhaeussler.bsky.social attended the CRETA-Werkstatt. A gathering of the Centre for Reflected Text Analysis (@cretaverein.bsky.social). (1/4)
The entrance to the University of Stuttgart's Eulenhof.
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
We are in the university campus quiz category. Who knows where the PLANS project met yesterday? In PLANS we explore text phenomena relevant for action and tackle CLS challenges like segmentation. #fortext #CLS #DigitalHumanities #DH #CompLit (1/3)
A medium-sized boxy building, signs on the lawn indicate that the building is located on a University campus.
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 25/08/2025
We’ve recently started sharing teaching concepts in the forTEXT issue “Text Annotation in Higher Education.” Now we’re on the lookout for more German-language perspectives on how it’s taught, practiced, and conceptualized. Our call for papers is open again 👉 journal.fortext.org/site/cfp (1/3)
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
The narratological study of fairy tales has a long tradition - and it continues to offer fascinating insights today. This semester we explored them computationally with students, focusing on how characters shape narrative structures. #DigitalHumanities #DHinTeaching #AcademicTeaching #DHMakes (1/4)
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
🎉 We’re excited to kick things off! We’re launching SemEval-2026 Task 4: Narrative Story Similarity and Narrative Representation Learning. This is a joint effort by @hanshatzel.bsky.social (University of Hamburg) and the fortext lab, as part of the PLANS project, in collaboration with Toloka AI.
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
Last week @fortextlab.bsky.social members @evelyngius.bsky.social and @julianhaeussler.bsky.social, as well as fortext lab alum @guhrs.bsky.social, spend two intense and insightful days at #CCLS2025 in beautiful Krakow, Poland. Looking forward to the future of #CLS! @jcls-io.bsky.social
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
We are very excited to announce the publication of our forTEXT issue on text annotation in higher education. It brings together tried-and-tested, reusable teaching concepts in German centred on the method of text annotation in the humanities. 👉 www.fortext-hefte.de (1/4)
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
We’re looking forward to welcoming @dbamman.bsky.social to Darmstadt in early June! During his week at the fortext lab, we’ll exchange ideas, workshop our projects, and dive into shared interests in computational analysis. (1/3)
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
This week, Anne Heumann from @unimainz.bsky.social joined us to talk about how book reviews are incentivized on the platform LovelyBooks. Do free copies of books bias reviewers? Thanks to Anne for the fascinating talk and to all our guests for the lively discussion! (1/4)
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
@evelyngius.bsky.social also highlighted key issues that arise when LLMs perform narratological text analysis. (5/5)
A slide from Evelyn's presentation titled 'PROBLEM 4: HUMANS'. The slide demonstrates challenges in AI-based narratological analysis, showing a prompt asking to summarize Goethe's 'Faust' in a few words. Below is ChatGPT's brief summary, followed by a student's assessment highlighting that while the AI's summary is factually correct in its basic outline, it's 'unconvincing' with key narrative elements about Faust's motives and Gretchen's role either missing or minimized. Several phrases are highlighted in yellow to emphasize critical evaluation points. Dated April 4, 2025.
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
We kicked off this year's workshop with a review and meta-reflection on our ways of working together. Alongside detailed planning and discussion of proposals for new projects (stay tuned!), CATMA, PLANS and forTEXT shared their current project status with the team. (2/4)
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Exchanging ideas with colleagues from the CLS-DFG priority program is always exciting. Last Friday, we discussed characters, character features, and plot in narrative texts with Julia Nantke, @nilsreiter.de , and Janis Pagel from the CompAnno project in Hamburg. 👇 (1/3)
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Was it really always Kafka's father’s guilt? evelyngius.bsky.social and haimostiemer.bsky.social had lively debates with their students in the Kafka seminar at the fortext lab, which concludes this week. 👇 (1/4)
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
He introduced his corpus Fachlichkeit des Deutschunterrichts: Literaturvermittlung (FaDe:Live), which contains 1171 texts, including, among others, various articles, monographs, but also legal texts and syllabi. (2/3)
Slide with information on corpus composition.
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
How was German literature taught at secondary schools in the 19th Century? This is the central question, Hendrick Heimböckel (University of Osnabrück) asks in his habilitation project, which he presented at our advanced seminar this week. Read on, for a quick overview 👇 (1/3)
Slide with presentation title: Korpus, Datengenerierung und Visualisierungen im Rahmen einer Diskursgeschichte der Literaturvermittlung an höheren Schulen im 19.
Jahrhundert
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
In #2024, our lab took over a crucial part of editing the conference issue of the Journal of Computational Literary Studies. #JCLS #CCLS24 jcls.io
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fortext lab @fortextlab.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
So what’s next? We’re definitely interested in delving deeper into the phenomenon of animacy – possibly also in different kinds of prose. Feel free to read our paper, take a look at our published code or reach out! (6/6) 📄 Paper: tinyurl.com/yc3kvkdp 🤖 Code: tinyurl.com/4z4n995p
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