Literature, Technology, Society: A Digital Reconstruction of Cultural Conflicts in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart

Abstract

The interpenetration of computing methodologies and digital technologies with studies in the humanities has begun to reconstruct the way creative works enlist and connect with new audiences. This study contributes to the existing plethora of critical articles and other works on Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958) by exploring how new technologies enable us to reframe the narrative in digital format. Using a combination of pragma-discursive construct and aspects of Computational Stylometry (Miles 2008), the study explores some major thematic concerns, especially the “clash of cultures” in the novel. The methodology adopted includes a close reading of the novel and other critical works, followed by content analysis with the aid of digital tools and a combination of quantitative and qualitative interpretation of the narrative as discursive and social event. The chapter thus contributes to new perspectives that digital humanities are increasingly bringing forth to the interpretation of social and cultural data. As a sub-set of digital cultural heritage initiatives, it supports the push to increase the use of technology to recirculate and preserve oral and written cultural heritage and literary traditions, and how scholars can use creative works to engage the public and connect with new audiences.