Textual anamorphosis in the didactics of literature

between autonomous reading and digital tools

Abstract

This paper examines the integration of computational linguistics tools into the didactics of literature through the concept of “textual anamorphosis,” understood as the formal reorganization of the text (indexes, concordances, subcorpus partitioning, complexity analysis) without the addition of external information. These transformations do not replace autonomous reading; rather, they can enhance and structure it, provided they are embedded within a pedagogical framework that preserves the aesthetic experience and the reader’s interpretative responsibility. First, the European project iRead4Skills is presented, focusing on the automatic analysis of textual complexity and the development of reading competence among adult learners. Next, basic functionalities of the NooJ platform are described, particularly those relevant to work in the digital humanities. On this basis, an example of didactic integration is offered, applied to Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables, showing how the exploration of the lexical field of ‘crime’ through textual analysis tools can generate interpretative questions, foster guided inquiry, and articulate the oscillation between involvement and critical distance. The paper advocates a position distanced from both technophilia and technophobia and argues that the reflective incorporation of digital resources into the didactics of literature contributes to the formation of autonomous, critical readers capable of transforming linguistic data into the construction of meaning.