Becoming Augustine: A Network Graph of Texts from Plato to Augustine

Faculty Advisor

Chiu, David; Smith, Katherine; Rogers, Brett

Area of Study

Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Publication Date

Summer 2017

Abstract

This digital humanities research project aims to place Augustine of Hippo in context with the texts and authors that influenced his writing. The result of this project is a network graph that shows connections between the texts of Augustine, the neo-Platonian writers that Augustine read, Plato himself, and the Biblical sources often quoted by Augustine. The passages included on the graph each help form the history of Augustine’s ideas, especially his ideas about free will and original sin. This collection of nodes and edges also reveals patterns in Augustine’s quotation practices and provides perspective on Augustine’s translation choices, his communications with Jerome, and complicated views on the Latin Vulgate Bible.

The network graph was created using Gephi, a network visualization tool, and exported to the website using a plug-in developed by the Oxford Internet Institute and JISC. Since it can be difficult to show chronology on a network graph, this website also features a timeline that includes major works from relevant authors from Plato to Augustine.

Publisher

University of Puget Sound

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