Kafka’s Literary Style: A Mixed-Method Approach
In this essay, we examine how the polyvalence of meaning in Kafka’s texts is engineered both semantically (on the narrative level) and syntactically (on the linguistic level), and we ask whether a computational approach can shed new light on the long-standing debate about the major characteristics o...
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/14/3/61 |
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| author | Carsten Strathausen Wenyi Shang Andrei Kazakov |
| author_facet | Carsten Strathausen Wenyi Shang Andrei Kazakov |
| author_sort | Carsten Strathausen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this essay, we examine how the polyvalence of meaning in Kafka’s texts is engineered both semantically (on the narrative level) and syntactically (on the linguistic level), and we ask whether a computational approach can shed new light on the long-standing debate about the major characteristics of Kafka’s literary style. A mixed-method approach means that we seek out points of connection that interlink traditional humanist (i.e., interpretative) and computational (i.e., quantitative) methods of investigation. Following the introduction, the second section of our article provides a critical overview of the existing scholarship from both a humanist and a computational perspective. We argue that the main methodological difference between traditional humanist and AI-enhanced computational studies of Kafka’s literary style lies not in the use of statistics but in the new interpretative possibilities enabled by AI methods to explore stylistic features beyond the scope of human comprehension. In the third and fourth sections of our article, we will introduce our own stylometric approach to Kafka, detail our methods, and interpret our findings. Rather than focusing on training an AI model capable of accurately attributing authorship to Kafka, we examine whether AI could help us detect significant stylistic differences between the writing Kafka himself published during his lifetime (Kafka Core) and his posthumous writings edited and published by Max Brod. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-933adabdfd4f487c8bc0adcd4c254ec0 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-0787 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities |
| spelling | doaj-art-933adabdfd4f487c8bc0adcd4c254ec02025-08-20T02:42:31ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872025-03-011436110.3390/h14030061Kafka’s Literary Style: A Mixed-Method ApproachCarsten Strathausen0Wenyi Shang1Andrei Kazakov2Department of English, College of Arts and Science, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USASchool of Information Science & Learning Technologies, College of Education & Human Development, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USADepartment of English, College of Arts and Science, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USAIn this essay, we examine how the polyvalence of meaning in Kafka’s texts is engineered both semantically (on the narrative level) and syntactically (on the linguistic level), and we ask whether a computational approach can shed new light on the long-standing debate about the major characteristics of Kafka’s literary style. A mixed-method approach means that we seek out points of connection that interlink traditional humanist (i.e., interpretative) and computational (i.e., quantitative) methods of investigation. Following the introduction, the second section of our article provides a critical overview of the existing scholarship from both a humanist and a computational perspective. We argue that the main methodological difference between traditional humanist and AI-enhanced computational studies of Kafka’s literary style lies not in the use of statistics but in the new interpretative possibilities enabled by AI methods to explore stylistic features beyond the scope of human comprehension. In the third and fourth sections of our article, we will introduce our own stylometric approach to Kafka, detail our methods, and interpret our findings. Rather than focusing on training an AI model capable of accurately attributing authorship to Kafka, we examine whether AI could help us detect significant stylistic differences between the writing Kafka himself published during his lifetime (Kafka Core) and his posthumous writings edited and published by Max Brod.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/14/3/61KafkaBrodliterary stylemodernismdigital humanitiescomputation |
| spellingShingle | Carsten Strathausen Wenyi Shang Andrei Kazakov Kafka’s Literary Style: A Mixed-Method Approach Humanities Kafka Brod literary style modernism digital humanities computation |
| title | Kafka’s Literary Style: A Mixed-Method Approach |
| title_full | Kafka’s Literary Style: A Mixed-Method Approach |
| title_fullStr | Kafka’s Literary Style: A Mixed-Method Approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Kafka’s Literary Style: A Mixed-Method Approach |
| title_short | Kafka’s Literary Style: A Mixed-Method Approach |
| title_sort | kafka s literary style a mixed method approach |
| topic | Kafka Brod literary style modernism digital humanities computation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/14/3/61 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT carstenstrathausen kafkasliterarystyleamixedmethodapproach AT wenyishang kafkasliterarystyleamixedmethodapproach AT andreikazakov kafkasliterarystyleamixedmethodapproach |