Interdisciplinary Work Group in Digital Humanities

Announcement of Center for Humanities

Interdisciplinary Work Group in Digital Humanities

During the fall 2013 semester, the University Center for Humanities will be hosting series of discussions to explore the possibilities of incubating and establishing a more centralized and viable digital humanities presence at WMU.  Moderated by Kate Langan (Asst. Professor, University Libraries) and Ilse Schweitzer VanDonkelaar (Doctoral Associate for the Graduate College and English department), the interdisciplinary work groups are a chance for interested  faculty, administrators, staff, and graduate students to assemble and identify campus-wide expertise and partners.

Recent years have seen a steady increase in the visibility, viability, and innovation of digital research at universities, national organizations, and libraries around the world. In broad terms, digital humanities is the intersection of computing technology and the traditional humanities-based disciplines, such as literatures and languages, cultural studies, history, social sciences, and philosophy. More specifically, digital humanities is seen as how technology and computing change the way scholars interact with, analyze, present, and teach from digitally enhanced materials.

The interdisciplinary work group will 4 times over the semester to assess the opportunities for supporting digital humanities projects at Western and to develop an outline of recommendations for supporting these efforts.

All sessions meet in the University Center for the Humanities (2500 Knauss Hall):  

Wednesday, September 18, from 5-7pm: Defining WMU’s Vision and Mission in the Digital Humanities

At this meeting, our primary objectives will be to define a vision and mission statement on the Digital Humanities for WMU. We will hear presentations from scholars involved in current and past DH projects.  Guest speakers and presenters will include: Mitch Katchun (History), Eve Salisbury (English), Sue Steuer (Libraries), and Todd Kuchta (English).

October 16th, 5-7pm: Navigating the Digital Diaspora: Identifying Opportunities and Expertise across Colleges and Disciplines

November 20th, 5-7pm: Digital Humanities in the Classroom: Implications for Teaching and Learning

December 11th, 5-7pm: Who’s Afraid of the Digital Wolf? How to Implement a Digital Humanities Project from Start to Finish.

Members of the university community are welcome to attend and participate.

Questions and RSVP: kathleen.langan@wmich.edu or (269)387-5823. Please indicate which session(s) you wish to attend. For further information, visit http://libguides.wmich.edu/dighumworkgroup