2021 15.3
Articles
[en] Transforming Information Into Knowledge: How
Computational Methods Reshape Art HistorySabine Lang, Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing, Heidelberg Collaboratory for Image Processing, Heidelberg University; Björn Ommer, Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing, Heidelberg Collaboratory for Image Processing, Heidelberg University
Abstract
[en]
Current research in computer vision highlights the potential of using computational
methods to analyze and access large datasets of real images and videos, performing
tasks such as object detection or finding visual similarities. This essay describes
how the application of these computational methods to digital art data transforms
information inherent in images into new knowledge. We support this claim by
presenting various research examples in the field of digital art history, which
utilize computational methods for art analysis. We argue that in order to create new
knowledge, we must involve transformative processes — from analog to digital data and
digital to computational methods. Traditional methods used in art history to access
datasets, link or edit images provide suggestions and validations for current
practices, but are not sufficient role models for the processing of digital data
because they were developed under varying technological conditions and standards and
within a different historical context. Aby Warburg’s (1866-1929) Mnemosyne Atlas, which aimed to visualize visual continuities from
antiquity to the Renaissance, is one method often cited in the context of digital
humanities. We argue that the characteristics of digital data, for example being
reproducible or modifiable, require innovative computer methods that do not have a
direct analog counterpart. Our argument is based on the success of current projects
and personal experience: the authors have expertise in computer vision and art
history. They have created and applied computational methods to analyze art data and
are thus able to identify shortcomings of traditional approaches and suggest possible
solutions. Eventually this essay presents solutions, which demonstrate the great
potential of computational methods for a data analysis: approaches enable an easy and
explorative access to digital image collections through visualization techniques or
an automatic object search. Computational methods establish links between thousands
of images, thereby identifying the adaptation of specific motifs or styles by artists
over time, or enable a conspicuous editing of images, thus providing new insights for
art history unobtainable with analog methods.
[en] A Model for Representing Diachronic
Terminologies: the Saussure Case StudySilvia Piccini, Institute for Computational Linguistics; Andrea Bellandi, Institute for Computational Linguistics; Emiliano Giovannetti, Institute for Computational Linguistics
Abstract
[en]
The aim of this article is to present a model for representing in an explicit and
formal way the diachronic evolution of concepts and terms in a given domain, so
that this formalization can be machine-actionable. The approach we here propose
is based on Semantic Web technologies in order to guarantee interoperability and
reuse across scientific communities of diachronic terminological resources that
can be thus easily accessed, interconnected and mutually enriched. More
specifically, the representation of dynamic evolution of terms and concepts was
performed in OWL using the N-ary relations mechanisms. In addition, a set of
SWRL rules was set up, in order to automatically identify the evolution of the
concepts evoked within a text, as well as the terms representing these concepts.
Our model was adopted to formally represent diachronic aspects of Saussure’s
terminology as they emerge from his works. An example will be provided to
highlight the potential of such a knowledge structuration for gaining a wider
understanding of the profound terminological and conceptual changes brought
about by the paradigmatic and epistemological revolutions in sciences.
[en] Learning Digital Humanities in a Community of
Practice: the DEAR model of Postgraduate Research TrainingFrancesca Benatti, The Open University; Paul Gooding, University of Glasgow; Matthew Sillence, University of East Anglia
Abstract
[en]
To date, there has been relatively little discussion of how the UK doctoral funding
landscape shapes digital humanities pedagogy for postgraduate research students. This
article sets out to address this relative lack, by introducing the inter- and
multi-disciplinary context in which many students in the UK work. We examine the
phenomenon of students who are not necessarily interested in becoming DH
practitioners, but have identified DH as a knowledge gap in their own disciplinary
practice. Such a realisation changes the nature of the learner within DH communities
of practice, requiring a different form of learning.
This study therefore explores learning within a community of practice, the inter- and
multi-disciplinary space in which digital humanities practitioners operate. First,
drawing on the diverse disciplinary landscape, it highlights an individual's learning
journey through self-determined learning (heutagogy). Second, it outlines an idea of
digital humanities pedagogy for postgraduate research based on current frameworks of
digital literacies and broader researcher development in the UK, framing research
activity as learning. Third, it presents the DEAR model for learning and teaching
design, which is based on four principles: Diversity; Employability; Application; and
Reflection. Finally, it provides an evaluation of the DEAR model in the context of
one UK Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP). It contributes to understanding of
pedagogical practices for doctoral-level DH training and provides a set of
recommendations for instructors to adopt and adapt these pedagogical principles in
their own programmes.
[en] An Approach to Designing Project-Based Digital Humanities
InternshipsClayton McCarl, University of North Florida
Abstract
[en]
This article proposes an approach to designing project-based, credit–bearing
digital humanities internships, based on experiences engaging students with
digital projects affiliated with the Digital Humanities Institute at the
University of North Florida. The author reviews recent scholarship on
experiential learning and DH pedagogy, and considers why digital humanities
internships are valuable for students, faculty, and institutions. The article
outlines three general types of DH internships, providing examples for each, and
suggesting possible student learning outcomes and a general course structure.
The institutional factors necessary to make such experiences possible are also
examined.
[en] Translation Alignment for Historical Language Learning: a Case
StudyChiara Palladino, Classics, Furman University; Maryam Foradi, University of Leipzig; Tariq Yousef, Institute of Computer Science, University of Leipzig
Abstract
[en]
This paper proposes text alignment in digital environments as a way to empower
language learning. It presents the principles and goals of text alignment in
Natural Language Processing, and introduces Ugarit, a web-based translation
alignment editor for the collection of aligned language pairs. Then, it reports
observations on the application of translation alignment in historical language
courses at Tufts and Furman University between 2017 and 2019.
[en] How to cite this digital edition?Roman Bleier, Centre for Information Modelling, University of Graz
Abstract
[en]
Citing and referencing is an important aspect of scholarship as it makes research
processes retraceable and transparent. Over centuries citation practices have been
optimized for print publications. However, the digital revolution and the increased
scholarly output online provide new challenges. For instance, the physical form of
the book which was the basis for citation styles in the past is replaces by different
types of online resources of which only some resemble books. Another issue is that
digital resources on the internet are not as durable as printed books that are
distributed in multiple copies in libraries across the world. For scholarly citation
this is a problem as a website referenced today, might not be available tomorrow or
might have changed its address which is frequently used for referencing. Editions,
in print or digital, are supposed to be stable reference points for scholarly
discourse as discussions the scholarly community engages today should still be
reproducible in 50 or 100 years – as it is the case with printed scholarly editions
from the 19th century. Consequently, assurance of long-term availability of resources
and clarity of how and what to cite in a digital edition is vital. That the lack of
providing this kind of assurance and information makes online resources less
attractive for citation has been shown in a recently published survey using as a case
study British History Online and Early English Books Online. The survey assessed if
researchers prefer to cite print or digital resources and the results indicate that
there is still a very strong “culture of non-citation” of electronic resources
among students and researchers in the humanities. The authors of the study suggest
that creators of web content can contribute to facilitate the citation of digital
resources by providing recommendations on how to cite a resource and by having a
solid permalink strategy .The following study
tries to explore this topic further. After a brief introduction and discussion of the
key issues of digital citation such as “broken links” and strategies to provide
persistent identifiers for the citation and access of online content, the results of
a survey of 100 digital scholarly editions will be presented. The survey focuses on
citation recommendations provided and permalink strategies used by digital scholarly
editions. In this context the paper will look at how permalink/PID strategies and
citation recommendations can make digital editions better citable. A closer look will
be taken at citation recommendations of selected editions in order to highlight
possible solutions.
[en] Virtual museums as an extended museum experience:
Challenges and impacts for museology, digital humanities, museums and visitors – in
times of (Coronavirus) crisisBernadette Biedermann, University of Graz
Abstract
[en]
Since there has been a recent trend to establishing virtual museums, which various
institutions have swiftly responded to, the objective of this paper is to understand
the nature of virtual and/or digital museums by focusing on their particular
characteristics. In this approach, the paper proceeds from the assumption that museum
representations in the virtual space and/or virtual museums could extend conventional
or physical museum space, leading to enhanced visitor attraction and experience. The
paper thus focuses on the virtual museum as an interdisciplinary and
transdisciplinary object of investigation from the perspective of museology and
digital humanities and seeks to ascertain whether scholarly and practical impacts are
achieved. It also analyses the expected impacts on practical museum work and visitor
needs, especially with respect to the tasks museums are required to fulfil in times
of crisis.
[en] Developing Research through Podcasts: Circulating
Spaces, A Case StudyChristian Howard-Sukhil, University of California, Berkeley; Samantha Wallace, University of Virginia; Ankita Chakrabarti, University of Virginia
Abstract
[en]
In this article, we contend that the podcast serves as an alternative method of
conducting and pursuing academic research in an increasingly collaborative,
increasingly global era. Circulating Spaces: Literary and Language Worlds in a Global
Age, a podcast series created, produced, and published by the authors, acts as our
case study. The podcast models a complex network of relations by highlighting topics
and featuring guests who co-exist within academic and “public” (often understood as
non-academic) spaces. These networks help to reshape our understanding of the
“publics” of academia by breaking down the binary between the public and academic.
They point toward ways in which more nuanced networks of affinity between the academy
and the public may be constructed and negotiated by embracing the digital and the
open. Finally, we locate our work within the fields of digital scholarship and the
Digital Humanities more specifically in order to understand the work accomplished by
non-traditional forms of scholarship.A note on author attribution: Christian
Howard-Sukhil and Samantha Wallace originally drafted and equally contributed to
the ideas expressed in this article. Ankita Chakrabarti, who joined the project
team a year after the initial collaboration, was instrumental in ensuring that
these ideas coalesced, especially given the new presentation of materials in
Season 2 of Circulating Spaces. Christian
Howard-Sukhil and Samantha Wallace were co-hosts and co-producers for Season 1 of
Circulating Spaces; Christian Howard-Sukhil and
Ankita Chakrabarti were co-hosts and co-producers for Season 2 of Circulating Spaces.
[en] LdoD Visual - A
Visual Reader for Fernando Pessoa’s Book of Disquiet: An
In-Out-In Metaphor José Raposo, University of Lisbon, INESC-ID, IST; António Rito Silva, University of Lisbon, INESC-ID, IST; Manuel Portela, University of Coimbra, CLP-Centre for Portuguese Literature
Abstract
[en]
There is an increasing use of information visualization techniques in Digital
Humanities to support the analysis of literary works. On the other hand, the rise of
digital reading on the web as well as the development of dedicated e-book readers has
triggered a variety of hardware and software solutions to provide new reading
environments and new material engagements with textual forms. In this paper, we
propose a new metaphor, In-Out-In metaphor, to support the reading of literary works
in a digital medium. Our model integrates information visualization techniques with
plain text reading into the reading flow. This approach differs from the well-known
dichotomy between close and distant reading because its emphasis is not on supporting
the analysis of the texts being read, but on providing a smooth flow between focus
and digression, which naturally occurs during a reading experience. We present a
solution to read and explore the Book of Disquiet by
Fernando Pessoa, an unfinished book composed of a set of modular texts that have been
edited in different sequences and which can be read multi-sequentially. The research
and design decisions for the visual reader of the Book of
Disquiet are meant to provide an appealing, rich and interactive online
reading experience through a web-based application, LdoD Visual. The implemented
features apply information visualization techniques with an emphasis on exploring the
modular nature of the book. Since this is a fragmentary literary work, its reading
can be fragmentary as well, but providing a smooth multiple flow reading experience.
[en] Prison Writer
as Witness: Can DH Read for Social Justice?Doran Larson, Hamilton College
Abstract
[en]
Drawing from a largest and first fully-searchable digital archive of non-fiction
essays by incarcerated people writing about their experience inside US prisons
and jail, the article proposes that there exists a broad, well established, but
underappreciated mid-range manner of reading that stands between traditional
close reading and computer-aided distant reading of first-person witness
testimony. This mid-range or “cellular” reading method attends both to the
singularity of each text, and ventures widely enough to grasp that each text
gains credence and expository authority as one among aggregates of witness
testimony; it is, moreover, in facilitating such mid-range reading that DH can
provide readers with the foundation for moving from secondary witness and into
acting for social change.
[en] Probing Through Iranian Architectural History Within
the Framework of an Ontology Development ProcessDena Shamsizadeh Hayatdavoodi, Shahid Beheshti University; Niloofar Razavi, Faculty of Architecture & Urban Planning, Shahid Beheshti University; Mehrdad Qayyoomi Bidhendi, Faculty of Architecture & Urban Planning, Shahid Beheshti University
Abstract
[en]
This paper presents a prototype ontology developed in the field of Iranian
architectural history. The paper’s central arguments offer a response to questions
regarding how to create an ontology in Iranian architectural history, what
consideration must be addressed here, and how to resolve problematic issues in
developing an ontology in a field such as Iranian architectural history, which lacks
a formalized knowledge. The paper is organized into two parts. It primarily presents
a discussion on the specific domain of architectural history and what it encompasses
and moves on to examine why it is deemed complicated. After that, the process of
creating Iranian architectural history ontology and the methodology applied to match
the intended domain is explained. In the second part of the paper, the content of the
developed ontology is discussed, which includes various parts of the ontology and
what it implies to illustrate how the structure of ontology helps in logically
representing the domain in a machine-readable format.
Reviews
[en] The First Steps of Digital Humanities: A Review of
Tara L. Andrews and Caroline Macé’s Analysis of Ancient and Medieval Texts and
Manuscripts: Digital ApproachesGiulia Freni, Classics Department, University of Siena
Abstract
[en]
Analysis of Ancient and Medieval Texts and Manuscripts: Digital Approaches discusses
the possibilities offered by collaboration between classical studies and digital
resources, in order to explore what could be the future of digital humanities.
[en] Review: Katherine Bode's A World of FictionRyan Cordell, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Abstract
[en]
Katherine Bode theorizes a new approach to “data rich”
literary history, in which the researcher constructs a “a
scholarly edition of a literary system” pairing annotated data with a
critical apparatus. Bode challenges the rhetoric around distant
reading, arguing it recapitulates the historical oversights of
New Criticism. A World of Fiction comprises a book
and paired database which apply this framework to the fiction published in
nineteenth-century Australian newspapers. Bode's investigation advances new
ideas about the gender of Australian fiction authors, the networks of influence
among provincial and metropolitan newspapers, and the national character of
fiction in the period. A World of Fiction is an
important intervention in conversations about computational literary-historical
analysis, as well as around the construction and use of digitized historical
archives.
[en] Digital Stages for Old Plays: A Review of Shakespeare’s Language in Digital Media: Old Words, New Tools Jason Boyd, Ryerson University
Abstract
[en]
Shakespeare’s Language in Digital Media: Old Words, New Tools offers a collection of essays focused on Shakespeare’s (or Shakespeare-adjacent) plays and how they
can be newly-understood and newly-edited with a range of digital repositories, creation platforms, and tools.
The collection provides solid content and provocative ideas about the possible paths to integrating Shakespeare’s and other early modern English-focused content online.
