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Textuality in Literature and Mathematics
Last Updated: 2026-06-03 00:14:16
Abstract
This course explores practices of reading texts across mathematics and literature, examining how different approaches shape a reader’s understanding. Students will analyse structural patterns, formal constraints, and acts of moving between written and drawn elements, while attending to how literary reading practices (can) influence the reading of mathematical texts and vice versa.
Objective
Students will learn to interpret mathematical and literary works through approaches drawn from structuralism, hermeneutics, and translation theory. They will examine how constraints in experimental literature and mathematics shape texts. By the end of the course, students will be able to integrate these consideration into their own interpretative, scientific, and writing practices.
Content
The course will cover the following topics: Unit 1: Interpretation - Introduction to structural analysis - Understanding mathematical writing as a form of textual practice - Exploring hermeneutics and post-structuralist perspectives on mathematical texts - Considering stories as interpretive frameworks in literature and mathematics Unit 2: Constraints - Experiments in writing and thinking with a formal constraint - Investigating spatial and symmetrical structures in literature - Some other approaches to constraints in maths and literature - Thinking about ‘strange’ stories as following different constraints Unit 3: Translation - Philosophical accounts of translation and visual examples of translation - Understanding mathematical abstraction as arising from translation - Translation case studies in literary and mathematical contexts - Advanced interpretation: reading a text through the lens of another text
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- DS , DR , MSC
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
Registration & Places
- Max Places
- 30
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| seminar | Textuality in Literature and Mathematics |
|
2 h weekly |
Offered In
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Science in Perspective (In “Science in Perspective”-courses students learn to reflect on ETH’s STEM subjects from the perspective of humanities, political and social sciences. Only the courses listed below will be recognized as "Science in Perspective" courses.)
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Type A: Enhancement of Reflection Competence (SiP courses are recommended for bachelor students after their first-year examination and for all master- or doctoral students. All SiP courses are listed in Type A. Courses listed under Type B are only recommendations for enrollment for specific departments.)
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Doctorate Humanities, Social and Political Sciences (More Information at: )