Dr. Ted Underwood

Biography

Ted Underwood is a professor at the School of Information Sciences and also holds an appointment with the Department of English in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois. His research focuses on statistical computational modeling of humanistic evidence, machine learning, text mining, book history, digital libraries, sociology of literature, computational social science, and digital humanities. He writes books that describe eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literature using established critical methods while taking advantage of the new opportunities created by large digital libraries. Over time, his research has explored literary patterns that become visible over long timelines, considering hundreds of thousands of books at once. For instance, he has employed machine learning to trace the consolidation of detective fiction and science fiction as distinct genres and to examine the shifting assumptions of gender revealed through literary characterization from 1780 to the present. He has authored several influential works in literary history, including 'Distant Horizons' (The University of Chicago Press, 2019), 'Literary Periods Mattered: Historical Contrast in Prestige English Studies' (Stanford University Press, 2013), and 'The Work of the Sun: Literature, Science, and Political Economy 1760-1860' (Palgrave, 2005).

Research Interests

Courses