For deeper and higher reading

using worldmaking theory and academic viewpoints

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explain the "deep reading" and "high reading" of English texts. I expect these two ways of reading give English-learners a much richer experience. The text for our reading is part of M. Perry's expedition to Japan to open the country."Deep reading" is a way of reading texts analytically, which would uncover hidden meanings. As a technique for this, we use the following processes based on N. Goodman's worldmaking theory: (a) composition and decomposition, (b) weighting,(c) ordering, (d) deletion and supplementation, and (e) deformation. With these processes, we can see the worldmaking mechanism."Deep reading" is reading of texts at the word level, but "high reading" is thinking about the contents from academic viewpoints such as historical sociology. The reading shows that Perry was raised in a modern family that was newly formed by the early nineteenth century.