Research

In the digital humanities, I use R to attribute authorship, build topic models, study style, visualize character relations, and graph citation networks; I also wrote and maintain MLA style files for use with LaTeX and Biblatex. Using many of these computational tools, I currently research patterns of prizewinningness in twentieth- and twenty-first century novels; with a colleague, I also study markers of authorship in early modern texts written in English and Latin.

In literature, my research surveys the shape of fiction as described by Virginia Woolf (1882–1941), assesses the changing literary style of Lawrence Durrell (1912–1990), and explores medieval intertextuality in the manuscripts of Alasdair Gray (1934–2019). In 2016, I published Durrell Re-Read with Fairleigh Dickinson University Press; it is available from Rowman & Littlefield and from Amazon.

My tools include published texts, archives, and the command line.

Publications

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James M. Clawson. “Heterotopia and Other Places: Displacing Expectations of Theme and Style in Durrell’s Travel Books.” Heresy and Heterotopia in Works by Lawrence Durrell: Alexandria to Angkor Wat. Eds. Isabelle Keller-Privat and Anne R. Zahlan. Fairleigh Dickinson UP, 2025 (in press).
2022
Wilson, Hugh F. and James M. Clawson. “Another Candidate for the Primary Authorship of De Doctrina Christiana, the Anonymous Treatise Currently Attributed to Milton.” Milton in Strasbourg. Eds. Christophe Tournu, John Hale, and Neil Forsyth. Peter Lang, 2022. 351-400.
2021
Clawson, James M. and Hugh F. Wilson. “De Doctrina Christiana and Milton’s Canonical Works: Revisiting the Authorship Question.” Digital Approaches to John Milton, special issue of Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme 44.3 (2021): 151–198. Awarded the Natalie Zemon Davis Prize.
Clawson, James M. “American Literature: The Twentieth Century. 2. Fiction 1900-1945.” The Year’s Work in English Studies 100.1 (2021): 1100-1106.
2020
Clawson, James M. “A Word Embedding Model of One’s Own: Modern Fiction from Materialism to Spiritualism.” Women Writers Project Blog, 1 Sept. 2020. (invited contribution)
Clawson, James M. Rev. of A Psychoanalytic Study of Lawrence Durrell’s The Alexandria Quartet, by Rony Alfandary. Deus Loci: The Lawrence Durrell Journal NS 16 (2020): 162-165.
2019
Clawson, James M. “American Literature: The Twentieth Century. 2. Fiction 1900-1945.” The Year’s Work in English Studies 98.1 (2019): 1061-1065.
2018
Clawson, James M. “Unhomely, Uncanny, Unmodern? Finding a Home for The Avignon Quintet.” Deus Loci: The Lawrence Durrell Journal NS 15 (2018): 73-89.
Clawson, James M. “American Literature: The Twentieth Century. 2. Fiction 1900-1945.” The Year’s Work in English Studies 97.1 (2018): 1075-1078.
2017
Clawson, James M. “American Literature: The Twentieth Century. 2. Fiction 1900-1945.” The Year’s Work in English Studies 96.1 (2017): 1079-1082.
2016
Clawson, James M. Durrell Re-read: Crossing the Liminal in Lawrence Durrell’s Major Novels. Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson UP, 2016. 176 pages.
Clawson, James M. “American Literature: The Twentieth Century. 2. Fiction 1900-1945.” The Year’s Work in English Studies 95.1 (2016): 1105-1113.
2015
Clawson, James M. “American Literature: The Twentieth Century. 2. Fiction 1900-1945.” The Year’s Work in English Studies 94.1 (2015): 1006-1009.
2014
Clawson, James M. “American Literature: The Twentieth Century. 2. Fiction 1900-1945.” The Year’s Work in English Studies 93.1 (2014): 991-995.
2013
Gifford, James, James M. Clawson, and Fiona Tomkinson. Introduction. Archives & Networks of Modernism. Ed. Gifford, Clawson, and Tomkinson. Spec. issue of Global Review: A Biannual Special Topics Journal 1.1 (2013): i-x.
Clawson, James M. “Subjective Diplomacy and Durrell: Response to Caroline Krzakowski.” Archives & Networks of Modernism. Ed. James Gifford, James M. Clawson, and Fiona Tomkinson. Spec. issue of Global Review: A Biannual Special Topics Journal 1.1 (2013): 135-139.
2012
Clawson, James M. “Urban Flight and Rural Reception: Modernist Refuge in Panic Spring and The Dark Labyrinth.” Durrell and the City: Reconstructing the Urban Landscape. Ed. Donald P. Kaczvinsky. Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson UP, 2012. 3-11.
2011
Clawson, James M. “Heidegger on Rhodes: (Re)Reading Durrell’s Reflections.” Deus Loci: The Lawrence Durrell Journal NS 12 (2011–2012): 3-17.
2010
Clawson, James M. “Between Physics and Metaphysics: Spenglerian Bergsonism in Durrell’s Revolt.” Mosaic 43.4 (December 2010): 123-139.
Clawson, James M. Rev. of Pied Piper of Lovers, by Lawrence Durrell. New edition. Deus Loci: The Lawrence Durrell Journal NS 11 (2010): 129-132.
2009
Clawson, James M. Rev. of Closed Doors: An Answer to Bitter Lemons by Lawrence Durrell, by Costas Montis. Journal of Modern Greek Studies 27.1 (2009): 191-193.
Clawson, James M. Rev. of The MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd ed. College Literature 36.3 (2009): 234-237.
2005
Clawson, James M. “‘The Length and Greatness of its History’: Durrell’s Mediterranean.” A Café in Space: The Anaïs Nin Literary Journal 3 (2005): 157-166.

Presentations

2024
Clawson, James M. “Designing Women: Chatbots, Robots, and AI from Lang to Durrell and Jones.” The 51st Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900. University of Louisville, KY. 22–24 Feb. 2024.
2023
Clawson, James M. “stylo2gg: Visualizing Reproducible Stylometry.” USRSE2023. Conference of the US Research Software Engineer Association. Chicago, IL. 16–18 Oct. 2023.
Clawson, James M. “Rejections of a Machine Venus: Reflecting on Durrell and Digital Humanities.” The 50th Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900. University of Louisville, KY. 23–25 Feb. 2023.
2022
Clawson, James M. “The After-Life and Reigne of An Unsigned Text, or Authorship Uncovered?” Conference on John Milton / Symposium on Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Saint Louis University, MO. 21–23 June 2022.
Clawson, James M. “Heterotopias and Other Places: Between Good and Bad in Durrell’s Travel Writing.” On Miracle Ground XXI: Mysticisms, Heresies, and Heterotopias. Conference of the International Lawrence Durrell Society. Université Toulouse – Jean Jaurès. Toulouse, France (online). 9–11 June 2022.
2021
Losh, Elizabeth Mathews, et al. “Instituting Access: Persistence, Pandemic, and Precarity.” Annual Convention of the Modern Language Association. Online. 8 Jan. 2021. Roundtable presentation and discussion.
2020
Clawson, James M. “‘Intimate Obsessions’: Toward Closeness in Lawrence Durrell’s Centripetal Cycle.” The 48th Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900. University of Louisville, KY. 20–22 Feb. 2020.
2019
Clawson, James M. “Establishing a Workflow for Authorship Attribution in Neo-Latin Texts.” Chicago Colloquium on Digital Humanities and Computer Science. University of Chicago. 9–10 Nov. 2019.
Wilson, Hugh F. and James M. Clawson. “Considering Other Candidates for the Primary Authorship of De Doctrina Christiana, the Treatise Currently Attributed to Milton.” The Conference on John Milton. Birmingham, AL. 17–19 October 2019. (second author)
Wilson, Hugh F. and James M. Clawson. “Another Candidate for the Primary Authorship of De Doctrina Christiana, the Treatise Currently Attributed to Milton.” International Milton Symposium 12. Strasbourg, France. 17–21 June 2019. (second author)
Clawson, James M. and Hugh F. Wilson. “De Doctrina Christiana and Milton’s Canonical Works: Computational Approaches to the Authorship Question.” Canadian Society of Renaissance Studies and Canadian Society of Digital Humanities. Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities. University of British Columbia. Vancouver, Canada, 2–4 June 2019.
Clawson, James M. “‘Mathematical Cherry’-Picking: Word Vectors of Durrell’s Late/Modernist Poetic Style.” The 47th Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900. University of Louisville, KY. 21–23 Feb. 2019.
2018
Clawson, James M. “Literary Chromatics: Computational Approaches to Color in 19th. C. Texts.” Chicago Colloquium on Digital Humanities and Computer Science. Loyola University Chicago. 9–11 Nov. 2018.
Clawson, James M. “Against ‘Serious’: Interrogating Durrell’s Literary and Commercial Fictions.” On Miracle Ground XX: Exile, Survival, Dissent. Conference of the International Lawrence Durrell Society. Chicago. 4–7 July 2018.
Wilson, Hugh F. and James M. Clawson. “The Foure Ages of England: or, The Iron Age of ‘A. Cowley’: Canonical or Apocryphal?” Convention of the Renaissance Society of America. New Orleans, LA. 24 March 2018. (second author)
2017
Clawson, James M. “Loose Canon: Patterns of Prizewinning in Debut Novels.” Chicago Colloquium on Digital Humanities and Computer Science. Illinois Institute of Technology. 17–19 Nov. 2017.
Clawson, James M. “Prizeworthy: Lawrence Durrell and the Best Literary Prizes.” The 45th Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900. University of Louisville, KY. 23–25 Feb. 2017.
2016
Clawson, James M. “Who’s Afraid of Topic Modeling? Proposing a Collaborative Workflow (with Virginia Woolf).” Chicago Colloquium on Digital Humanities and Computer Science. University of Illinois at Chicago. 11-13 Nov. 2016.
Clawson, James M. “Data as Labyrinth: Reading Durrell with Charlock’s Machine.” On Miracle Ground XIX: Threading the Labyrinth: Durrell, Greece, and World War II. Conference of the International Lawrence Durrell Society. University of Crete. Rethymnon, Greece. 26-30 June 2016.
2015
Clawson, James M. “Romance in Retrospect: Lanark and Scottish Independence.” The 43rd Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900. University of Louisville, KY. 26-28 February 2015.
2014
Clawson, James M. “Serial Fiction and Parallel Characters from Doyle to Durrell.” MSA 16: Confluence and Division. Modernist Studies Association. Pittsburgh, PA. 6-9 Nov. 2014. (seminar presentation)
Clawson, James M. “Pessimist! Realist! Pragmatist! New Romanticism in Lawrence Durrell’s Novels.” On Miracle Ground XVIII: Durrell & Place. Conference of the International Lawrence Durrell Society. Fairleigh Dickinson University. Vancouver, Canada. 14-17 May 2014.
Clawson, James M. “DEAR DIRTY DUBLIN: Ecocriticism and Joyce’s Language of Flowers.” The 42nd Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900. University of Louisville, KY. 20-22 February 2014.
2013
Clawson, James M. “Knight and Nation: Twentieth-Century Arthurian Romance in Gray’s Lanark.” Conference of the Midwest Popular Culture and American Culture Association. St. Louis, MO. 11-13 October 2013.
Clawson, James M. “‘Dirty Cleans’: Deep Ecology and the Romantic in Joyce’s Ulysses.” The 41st Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900. University of Louisville, KY. 21-23 February 2013.
2012
Clawson, James M. “Digital Humanities Tools as Spectacle in Modernist Scholarship.” MSA 14: Modernism and Spectacle. Modernist Studies Association. Las Vegas. 18-21 Oct. 2012. (seminar presentation)
Clawson, James M. “‘Dirty Eaters’: Bloom’s Eco-Critical Cycles in Lestrygonians.” Year of Ulysses Online Lecture Series. Modernist Versions Project. 18 Oct. 2012. (invited speaker)
Clawson, James M. “Bravedent! Contextualizing the Uncanny.” Durrell 2012: The Lawrence Durrell Centenary. On Miracle Ground XVII. Conference of the International Lawrence Durrell Society. Goodenough College and the British Library. London, UK. 13-16 June 2012.
Clawson, James M. “Distancing Ourselves: Language and History in The Avignon Quintet.” The 40th Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900. University of Louisville, KY. 23-25 February 2012.
2011
Clawson, James M. “Art and Influenza: Late Modernist Parallax in Joyce Cary’s Triptych.” The 39th Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900. University of Louisville. Louisville, KY. 24-25 February 2011.
2010
Clawson, James M. “Rural Reception in Panic Spring and The Dark Labyrinth.” On Miracle Ground XVI. Conference of the International Lawrence Durrell Society. Louisiana Tech University. New Orleans, LA. 7-10 July 2010.
2009
Clawson, James M. “Beyond a Few Bad Novels: The Hobsbaum Group’s Imaginative Glasgow.” The 37th Louisville Conference on Literature and Culture Since 1900. University of Louisville. Louisville, KY. 19-21 February 2009.
2008
Clawson, James M. “‘Better leave the rest unsaid’: Denial and Exile in Durrell, Seferis, and Cyprus.” On Miracle Ground XV. Conference of the International Lawrence Durrell Society. Université Paris X–Nanterre. Paris, France. 1-5 July 2008.
Clawson, James M. “Postmodern Pygmalion: Robotic Women in Pynchon’s V. and Durrell’s Nunquam.” Gender Trouble in Modern/Post-Modern Literature and Art. Haliç University. Istanbul, Turkey. 17-18 April 2008.
2007
Clawson, James M. “Visions and Revisions of Robotic Revolution: Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and Lawrence Durrell’s Revolt of Aphrodite.” R|Evolutions: Mapping Culture, Community, and Change. University of Glasgow. Glasgow, UK. 19-21 October 2007.
2006
Clawson, James M. “Worlding the Spirit of Antiquity: Reflections on Durrell’s Companion to the Landscape of Rhodes.” Borders & Crossings VI. An International Conference on Travel Writing. University of Palermo. Palermo, Italy. 7-9 September 2006.
Clawson, James M. “Charlock and the Archive: Duration, Decline, and Purity of the Present in Durrell’s Revolt.” On Miracle Ground XIV. Conference of the International Lawrence Durrell Society. University of Victoria. Victoria, Canada. 25-29 June 2006.
2005
Clawson, James M. “The Spirit of Sterility in the ‘Brave New Chrysadiamantine World’ of Durrell’s London.” Representations of London in Literature: An Interdisciplinary Conference. Annual Literary London Conference. Kingston University. Kingston, UK. 14-16 July 2005.
Clawson, James M. “‘Half-Imagined (Yet Wholly Real)’: Durrell’s Liminally Located Mediterranean.” Visualising Paradise: The Mediterranean. Conference of the Centre for Mediterranean Studies. University of Leeds. Leeds, UK. 13-15 September 2005.
2004
Clawson, James M. “‘The Length and Greatness of its History’: The Mediterranean Spirit of Travel and Myth of Place in Durrell’s Family of Novels.” On Miracle Ground XIII. Conference of the International Lawrence Durrell Society. University of the Aegean. Rhodes, Greece. 27 June-2 July 2004.