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We quantify the representation, or presence, of characters of color in English Language Arts (ELA) instruction in the United States to better understand possible racial/ethnic emphases and gaps in literary curricula. We contribute two datasets: the first consists of books listed in widely-adopted Advanced Placement (AP) Literature & Composition exams, and the second is a set of books taught by teachers surveyed from schools with substantial Black and Hispanic student populations. In addition to these book lists, we provide an unprecedented collection of hand-annotated sociodemographic labels of not only literary authors, but also their characters. We use computational methods to measure all main characters’ presence through three distinct and nuanced metrics: frequency, narrative perspective, and burstiness. Our annotations and measurements show that the sociodemographic composition of characters in books recommended by AP Literature has not shifted much for over twenty years. As a case study of how ELA curricula may deviate from the curricula prescribed by AP, our teacher-provided sample shows a greater emphasis on books featuring first-person, primary characters of color. We also find that only a few books in either dataset feature both White main characters and main characters of color. Arguably, these books may uphold a view of racial/ethnic segregation as a societal norm.
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Small Worlds: Measuring the Mobility of Characters in English-Language Fiction
The representation of mobility in literary narratives has important implications for the cultural understanding of human movement and migration. In this paper, we introduce novel methods for measuring the physical mobility of literary characters through narrative space and time. We capture mobility through geographically defined space, as well as through generic locations such as homes, driveways, and forests. Using a dataset of over 13,000 books published in English since 1789, we observe significant "small world" effects in fictional narratives. Specifically, we find that fictional characters cover far less distance than their non-fictional counterparts; the pathways covered by fictional characters are highly formulaic and limited from a global perspective; and fiction exhibits a distinctive semantic investment in domestic and private places. Surprisingly, we do not find that characters' ascribed gender has a statistically significant effect on distance traveled, but it does influence the semantics of domesticity.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1942591
- PAR ID:
- 10513718
- Publisher / Repository:
- Journal of computational literary studies
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of computational literary studies
- ISSN:
- 2940-1348
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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