Workshop at the Renaissaince Society of America's annual meeting (Philadelphia. March 11-13, 2027)

AI’s implementation in higher education has re-ignited old questions about close reading, and in particular, the uniquely human dimensions of textual engagement. Returning to close reading as a method of inquiry therefore invites timely questions about the scarcity of attention, habits of literacy, and the value of the humanities today. Our current media landscape presses against previously clear distinctions between types of text, fusing specific questions about close reading with broader questions of media literacy. Given this reality, how might close reading in our classrooms facilitate engagement with, reflection on, or resistance to these changes? What do Renaissance texts still offer us as contemporary readers? Which processes, methods, or technologies of close reading were - and remain - distinctly human? How might the close reading of these texts be pedagogically useful today?

This workshop invites participants to reflect on methods of close reading Renaissance texts, broadly conceived. It asks what close reading can offer to the current crisis in the humanities and to our sense of the human more generally. Participants will have the opportunity to share a chosen text and pedagogical method of close reading; attendees will leave with concrete ideas to implement in their own classrooms. We especially welcome contributions from educators teaching outside of environments where close reading of Renaissance texts traditionally occurs.

Scholars at any career stage and from any discipline are invited to participate; doctoral candidates and early career scholars are especially encouraged to apply. Please send a two-page CV and a brief statement describing your chosen text-object for close reading, your rationale for choosing this text-object, and any related pedagogic materials to jak2308@columbia.edu and hcotter@umass.edu by July 15. Accepted participants will be notified no later than July 20. 

Please note that submitting a proposal constitutes a commitment to attend in person.