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THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS
& FURTHER READING
Argues that close reading, borrowed from literary study, has to be adapted before it can be applied to social media: a single post is simultaneously a data point, a reply in a conversation, and a piece of a larger public discourse. He proposes reading it as all three, in that order — data point, conversation, discourse — rather than picking one lens and ignoring the others. (Find on: Methodology)
No one interprets anything from a blank slate — we always bring a “horizon,” a set of assumptions and prior concerns, to whatever we're reading, and understanding happens when that horizon meets the horizon of the text itself. This isn’t a bias to eliminate; it’s the only way interpretation can start at all. (Find on: Reflection)
Gerbaudo, Paolo. “From data analytics to data hermeneutics. online political discussions, digital methods and the continuing relevance of interpretive approaches.” Digital Culture & Society, vol. 3, no. 2, 15 Dec. 2016, pp. 95–112, https://doi.org/10.14361/dcs-2016-0207.
At its most basic level, the US legal system is built around the idea of textual interpretation. We engaged with a variety of theorists throughout this archive. Are these names unfamiliar to you? Don’t fret! Below is a short, easy summary of every theorist mentioned in this project, plus their relevant works. Further exploration into a theorist that intrigues you is super encouraged!
Myth is a second layer of meaning stacked on top of an ordinary sign. A photo of groceries denotes “groceries,” but it can also connote “Italian-ness,” “home,” or “authenticity” — and myth works by making that second, constructed layer feel like plain fact rather than an ideological choice. (Find no: Findings & Analysis)
Meaning never sits still inside a single, fixed category — it keeps deferring along a chain of associations, so that pinning a text down to one final reading always leaves something out. (Find on: Findings & Analysis)
Argues that close reading, borrowed from literary study, has to be adapted before it can be applied to social media: a single post is simultaneously a data point, a reply in a conversation, and a piece of a larger public discourse. He proposes reading it as all three, in that order — data point, conversation, discourse — rather than picking one lens and ignoring the others. (Find on: Methodology)
Henrickson, L and Meroño Peñuela, A (2022) The Hermeneutics of Computer-Generated Texts. Configurations, 30 (2). pp. 115-139. ISSN 1080-6520 https://doi.org/10.1353/con.2022.0008
WORKS CITED
Data | National Center for State Courts
Gantt, II, Larry O. Natt, More Than Lawyers: The Legal and Ethical Implications of Counselling Clients on Nonlegal Considerations (February 1, 2005). Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, Vol. 18 (2005), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3339392 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3339392
Hoover, Amanda. “ChatGPT Is the New WebMD: Chatbots Are Making Amateur Lawyers and Doctors out of Everyone.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 7 Jan. 2026, www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-new-webmd-doctors-lawyers-medical-advice-2026-1.
Janice, Janice. “Lawyers: Gatekeepers for Psychological Issues.” Lawyers: Gatekeepers For Psychological Issues, Canadian Bar Association, 8 Aug. 2009, cba.org/resources/cba-practicelink/lawyers-gatekeepers-for-psychological-issues/#article2.
Magesh, Varun, et al. “Hallucination-Free? Assessing the Reliability of Leading AI Legal Research Tools.” Hallucination-Free? Assessing the Reliability of Leading AI Legal Research Tools, arXiv, arxiv.org/html/2405.20362v1. Published 30 May 2024. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.
“Rule 2.1:” American Bar Association, 21 May 2021, www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/policy/ethics_2000_commission/e2k_rule21/.