Seminar:

Ontologies meet Shakespeare

Ontological formalizations applied on a selection of Shakespeare's dramas

StudIP:

WiSe 2009/10, Mo 14-16

Modulbereich: Praxis, Modulkategorie: A, 2 SWS, 4 ECTS (2 TMG)

Veranstalter: J. Hois, L. Gralla

Overview:

The aim of this seminar is to analyze selected acts of Shakespeare's dramas by formalizing these acts in ontologies. Therefore this seminar combines text composition (literature) and computer science (formal specification) as well as theoretical and practical aspects of language.
The course will start by giving an introduction to ontologies and the specification of ontologies. Basic understanding of description logic (DL) is required since DL is only briefly discussed in the course. Detailed explanations of ontologies and tools are given, in particular, formalizing ontologies in the Web Ontology Language (OWL 2.0), specifying them in the OWL ontology editor Protégé, and using them with the reasoner Pellet. Following this theoretic introduction into ontologies and their implementation the focus will shift to literature. A brief introduction into the Elizabethan era will be followed by an overview on Shakespeare's works. Students will work out the composition of specific Shakespearean dramas by presenting aspects of it (e.g. figure constellation, actions, settings) in form of ontologies.

Tentative requirements for a "Leistungsschein" (4 ECTS):

  • formalization of an ontology for a specific Shakespeare drama in OWL
  • analysis of particular aspects of the drama (characters, plot, setting, etc.)
  • (optional) comparison to ontologies and results from other groups in the course
  • writing an essay (collection of results and discussion)
  • (Please note: The ontologies developed in this course will not be applied to generating or understanding natural language.)

Literature:

  • Selected Shakespeare dramas: Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night's Dream
  • F. Baader, D. Calvanese, D.L. McGuinness, D. Nardi, P.F. Patel-Schneider (2003): "The Description Logic Handbook: Theory, Implementation and Applications"
  • Ontology Editor: Protégé