LitAttention

Author: litattention

  • Eye-Tracking Study on Literary Reading

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    We’re looking for native English speakers to take part in an eye-tracking study on literary reading at Keplerstrasse 17, University of Stuttgart: €40 compensation! The study requires just an hour and a half of your time to read three short stories as your eye-movements are recorded through our eye tracker. See below for more details…

  • Sibylle Baumbach elected to the Academy of Sciences and Literature

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    The Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz has elected our project PI, Prof. Sibylle Baumbach as a full member in the Humanities and Social Sciences class. This recognizes Baumbach’s research in the field of English literature and culture.

  • Computational Modelling Workshop

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    Modelling Attention in Literary Texts: Current Approaches, Risks, and Challenges On 12 February, we had an internal workshop for our subproject on computational modelling of attention-related literary phenomena in short fiction. The workshop aimed to identify methodological challenges for a computational modelling approach and examined topics such as corpus selection, semi-automated annotation, and gold standards…

  • LitAttention Colloquium – Winter Guests

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    This winter semester, we were delighted to welcome three guest speakers to our LitAttention colloquium. In a series of lectures, we approached the topic of attention from a variety of perspectives.  Dr Catherine Emmott from the University of Glasgow started our series of guest speakers with her talk on “Attention Control in Detective Fiction: Rhetorical…

  • Modelling Attention in Literary Texts: Current Approaches, Risks, and Challenges

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    On 12 February 2026, we hosted an internal workshop titled “Modelling Attention in Literary Texts: Current Approaches, Risks, and Challenges.” The event brought together LitAttention team members and invited external participants, including Frank Keller, Tilman Köppe, and Nils Reiter, who contributed short paper presentations to stimulate discussion. The workshop fostered an engaging exchange of ideas…

  • Prof. Dr. Alice Bennett in the LitAttention Colloquium

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    On the 8th of January, we look forward to hosting Prof. Dr. Alice Bennett from the University of Bergen for a lecture entitled ‘Watching the Watchmen: On Literary Vigilance’ for our final session of the LitAttention Colloqium. The lecture will take place in 17.24 from 11:30am – 1:00pm. All are welcome!

  • LitAttention Colloquium

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    We’re delighted to announce our upcoming LitAttention Colloquium with some fantastic guests. Find us always at 11:30-13:00 in room 17.24.

  • First LitAttention Project Publication

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    LitAttention’s first paper has been published! The paper was published in Literature as part of a Special Issue on Literary Experiments with Cognition, entitled: “Attention, Please! Maria Edgeworth’s Educational Short Fiction as Literary Experiments with Attention”. Co-written by Sibylle Baumbach and Hannah Armour, the paper examines Edgeworth’s use of different short prose forms as a method of cultivating attentional capabilities…

  • Guest Lecture by Catherine Emmott

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    Attention Control in Detective Fiction: Rhetorical Manipulation, Cognitive Misdirection and Plot Construction On 6 November 2025, Catherine Emmott (University of Glasgow) joined us for a guest lecture entitled “Attention Control in Detective Fiction: Rhetorical Manipulation, Cognitive Misdirection and Plot Construction” in the LitAttention Colloquium. 

  • What Short Stories Know About Attention

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    European Research Council awards Sibylle Baumbach an Advanced Grant Professor Sibylle Baumbach, a literary scholar at the University of Stuttgart, aims to explore how short prose captures, influences, and improves attention. Through her project “LitAttention,” she delves into the concept of “literary attention” using an interdisciplinary approach. The European Research Council (ERC) is funding the…