Distant reading refers to the computational analysis of large bodies of text.
Instead of focusing on single works line by line, distant reading makes it possible to identify:

• recurrent patterns of vocabulary

• conceptual clusters

• diachronic shifts in meaning

• semantic associations

• co-occurrence networks of key terms

This method is particularly useful for studying long nineteenth-century transatlantic literature, where concepts such as revolution, labour, mobility, race, class, and territoriality emerge across a broad and diverse textual field.

We employ Voyant Tools, an open-source platform for computational text analysis.

Typical visualisations used in the project include:

• Word Clouds to identify dominant concepts in the corpus.

• Trends Graphs to illustrate how the frequency of a concept changes across time or authors.

• Contextual Concordances to examine how key terms are used in different narrative and ideological contexts.

• Collocates and Keyword Networks to trace relationships between concepts such as race–citizenship, sea–empire, or borderland–violence.

Interactive Voyant visualisations are embedded directly into the glossary to allow users to explore concepts dynamically.

To support interpretative clarity and enhance public engagement, the project uses Flourish, a platform for interactive, embeddable visualisations.

Examples of visualisations include:

• Timelines that map the historical emergence, transformation, and circulation of key concepts.

• Network Graphs showing conceptual and intertextual relationships across authors, genres, and geographic spaces.

• Thematic Maps connecting conceptual clusters with Atlantic geographies such as shipping routes, ports, or colonial boundaries.

• Bar and Line Charts illustrating distributions of concepts across corpora or within particular literary traditions.

These visualisations operate both as analytical tools and as pedagogical materials.