ASU and the Digital Humanities

R.S.V.P. for the Digital Humanities Roundtable

The IHR is excited to announce the launch of its new Digital Humanities Initiative. Recognizing the continued impact that digital resources, tools, and methodological practices are having within all facets of humanities research and instruction, the Institute for Humanities Research has formed an initiative to promote and support these efforts among ASU humanities' faculty.

To kick off the initiative, the IHR is hosting a roundtable event which will explore the challenges and rewards of conducting research using digital humanities approaches, the future of digital humanities at ASU, and the future roles of the IHR in supporting faculty research with a digital humanities focus.

The event features Edward Finn, University Innovation Fellow, Office of University Initiatives; Nancy Dallett, Academic Associate, School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies; Manfred Laubichler, Professor, School of Life Sciences; and Mary Whelan, Geospatial Data Analyst, ASU's Cyberinfrastructure Services.

Refreshments will be provided.

Participants:

Nancy Dallett, SHPRS, Public History
Ed Finn, Department of English, Arts Media and Engineering, Office of University Initiatives
Manfred Laubichler, School of Life Sciences
Mary Whelan, ASU Libraries

Introduction/Moderator:

Dan Gilfillan, SILC, German Studies

Participant Discussion Focus:

Nancy Dallett -- Digital + humanities may seem to some to be an unusual combination. It is not only a good match, but a transformational one. It can change the questions we ask in the humanities; the way research is conducted and funded;  and the way knowledge is shared and accessed. Some universities have taken a leading role in defining and developing digital humanities and we have a lot to learn from their experience and the tools they have developed.  As a practicing public historian my goal is to  mediate between the academic practice of history and non-academics as well as to communicate among various interest groups in society to create historical understanding.  It is imperative for students to learn the meaning and possibilities and skills of digital humanities.  I will share some of what we have learned from others and lessons from our own attempts at creating digital humanities projects. 

Ed Finn -- Reading and writing, the foundations of humanistic scholarship, are changing dramatically as new platforms and tools transform our relationships with text. Digital technologies allow for new modes of collective knowledge, from literary conversations involving thousands of participants to the “distant reading” of millions of texts. I will discuss how these observations have shaped my own research in studying the social lives of books and argue for a fresh perspective on how we frame humanistic questions in the age of algorithmic culture.

Manfred Laubichler -- Computational methods and computational thinking has been transforming the sciences for the last decades and there is no a priori reason (other than academic inertia) that these methods cannot have  a similar effect on the humanities. Based on our work in digital and computational history and philosophy of science I will present a sketch of both the challenges and  opportunities in applying the tools of the "informatics revolution" to humanities research.

Mary Whelan -- Getting started in Digital Humanities can seem a daunting task –  What is it? Why would I want to be involved?  Isn’t everyone with a computer already doing this?  Even the phrase “digital humanities” is controversial (offensive to some, passé to others).  This is an opportune time for a conversation about why ASU faculty, staff, and students should engage with D.H., and how we might map a course.  At the core of presentation, I will discuss the new ASU digital repository, an initiative coordinated by the ASU Libraries, and digital research data support across campus.