1st School of Evolutionary Metaphorology in Řevnice
From October 4 to 6, 2023, the TOME project team convened in the picturesque town of Řevnice to mark the beginning of its first collaborative gathering—the School of Evolutionary Metaphorology. This seminal event aimed to ignite and sustain enthusiasm for the project by collaboratively defining and clarifying its core objectives for the next two years. Great care was also taken to ensure that each team member felt rooted and fulfilled in their role, both in individual research endeavors and as part of the collective effort.
It quickly became evident that, to successfully realize the project’s ambitious two-year plan, the overall goals required refinement. The team decided to focus primarily on developing an extensive catalog of alchemical and Paracelsian printed books from the 16th and 17th centuries and on deepening their understanding of how these domains contributed to the rise of encyclopaedism. Additionally, analysing the existing NOSCEMUS digital corpus of Latin scientific prints—approximately 1,000 titles spanning 1450–1850—was identified as a top priority.
For these analyses, the team will employ cutting-edge computational methods, which were thoroughly introduced and explained during the gathering. These include distributional semantics, machine learning, and metaphor detection, all aimed at capturing semantic patterns and thematic trends within large textual corpora. We wish the team the best of luck in this exciting pursuit and look forward to the publication of insightful results in the near future.
The meeting concluded with a visit to one of the Czech Republic’s most iconic Gothic castles—Karlštejn—where participants enjoyed a moment of reflection amidst historic splendor.
“TOME will be reconstructing the early modern world of the mind, modeled on Latin print culture of the period.”
(Márton Szentpéteri, Řevnice, October 4, 2023)
Participants: Alessandro Nannini, Jan Tvrz, Jana Kodetová [Ředinová], Jana Švadlenková, Jo Hedesan, Lenka Řezníková, Lucie Storchová, Marcela Slavíková, Martin Žemla, Márton Szentpéteri, Ondřej Kříž, Petr Pavlas, Vojtěch Kaše
The 2nd School of Evolutionary Metaphorology will be held again in Řevnice from October 2 to 4, 2024—members are kindly asked to save the date!
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