distant reading

distant reading
 n.— «But Moretti is now promoting what he calls “distant reading,” which seems to me to suggest that scholars of literature outsource reading of books to lower-level workers. Moretti has a cadre of workers charged with tracking numerically documented aspects of the history of the book, especially details like how many novels were published in Britain in the 18th century. What we need to understand is the system. The professor need not read books at all!» —“Time for Reading” by Lindsay Waters Chronicle of Higher Education Feb. 9, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)