Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 38, No. 388.
Department of Digital Humanities, University of Cologne
Hosted by DH-Cologne
www.dhhumanist.org
Submit to: humanist@dhhumanist.org
[1] From: Gerben ZAAGSMA <gerben.zaagsma@uni.lu>
Subject: CFP: Workshop History of Digital History between East and West (139)
[2] From: Mila Oiva <milaoiv@utu.fi>
Subject: Two online events: Gender, Intersectionality and Cultural Heritage Data & Digital and Ecological Sustainability of Cultural Heritage (103)
--[1]------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 2025-03-05 14:04:57+00:00
From: Gerben ZAAGSMA <gerben.zaagsma@uni.lu>
Subject: CFP: Workshop History of Digital History between East and West
Call for Papers: Workshop History of Digital History between East and West
Date: 5-6 February 2026
Place: Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH), University of
Luxemburg.
Description
In histories of digital history, as in digital humanities in general, much
emphasis has been placed on the two commonly recognized centers of the
development of historical computing since the 1950s: the United States and
Western Europe. As a result, crucial developments elsewhere have been
overlooked, including in the Nordic countries as well as the Soviet Union and
the various states of the Eastern bloc. The consequence of this omission is not
merely a lack of knowledge about specific countries and a skewed understanding
of digital history’s manifold early trajectories. It also creates
epistemological blind spots regarding the political dimensions of the
development of early historical computing and, given the latter’s networked
nature within a general context of ‘East-West’ scholarly exchange in the Cold
War period, obscures the transnational dimensions of the early history of
digital history.
This workshop will address these blind spots by focusing attention on the
question of how the local and the transnational intersected in the technology-
inflected reshaping of historical research practices and how political
backgrounds, contexts and constraints fed into this process. We therefore seek
papers that focus on local case studies in a transnational ‘East-West’ context,
as well as those that consider comparative perspectives. Papers that ask what
resources are available to support research in this area are similarly welcome.
Our workshop also continues and expands upon work done at the conference Tracing
the History of Digital History<https://dhdhi.hypotheses.org/9978> (October 2024,
German Historical Institute, Paris).
Main themes
· Local case studies: pioneers, projects, groups, schools within a wider
transnational and East-West context. How did individual scholars and pioneering
research groups contribute to the emergence of digital history and quantitative
methods in different national and institutional contexts? What types of projects
and methodological innovations emerged from local research centers? To what
extent did the adoption of digital and quantitative methods vary between
different historiographical traditions, and how did pioneers navigate resistance
or skepticism within their own academic communities? How were networks of
scholars instrumental in the spread of quantitative and digital methods in
history?
· Development of networks: social, material and semantic (events,
conferences, workshops). What kind of knowledge, expertise and practical
experiences were exchanged and circulated in the networks? Which topics,
methods, technical expertise, code, programs? What did people learn from each
other? What points of contestation emerged (for instance, different theoretical
approaches to quantification)
· Political and ideological dimensions: What role did politics and
varied ideological backgrounds play? How did this help or hinder contacts (both
practically and in terms of ideologically-infused ideas about doing history,
topics to research, justification, valorisation, etc). How can we move beyond
simplistic East versus West, communist versus capitalist, binaries and allow for
more insight into what happened inside and between countries, and inside
‘blocs’? Similarly, how to consider actors in their own right and not as mere
representatives of the latter?
· Methodological debates. What were the key methodological debates in
historical research? How were different theoretical perspectives – such as
Marxism, social history, and other critical approaches – negotiated within these
debates? To what extent did the use of quantitative methods shape and contribute
to broader theoretical and methodological reflections in historical scholarship?
· Materialities: How did differences in material infrastructure
(hardware and software) shape the development of historical computing in
different geopolitical contexts? How did differing access to technology and
computing resources affect the methodological and epistemological directions of
digital history in various regions?
· Primary and secondary sources: What resources are already available in
digital format for investigating the history of historical computing in the
1960s–70s — which types, where, and in what form? What materials remain
accessible only in analogue format, and how does this shape research
possibilities? How can we map materials in the institutional archives and
repositories and those in private archives and personal collections? How can the
analysis of historical sources shape current knowledge, reveal biases and gaps,
and deepen our understanding of transnational connections in historical
computing?
· Links and acceptance with the wider history profession: How was early
digital history perceived by mainstream historians? What were the main points of
resistance and acceptance? How did the early digital history community navigate
disciplinary boundaries within the historical profession? How did the
terminology used to describe digital history evolve in its early decades? What
were the implications of changes in naming (e.g., “quantitative history”,
“cliometrics”, “historiometrics”, etc.)? What were the methodological debates
surrounding the use of computers in historical research, and how did they
influence the status of digital history? How did political and ideological
contexts shape the adoption and institutionalisation of digital history in
different regions?
We plan to publish the papers of the workshop in a dedicated Open Access volume
in the C²DH book series Studies in Digital History and Hermeneutics
<https://www.degruyter.com/serial/sdhh-b/html>. This volume will have sections
dedicated to local as well as thematic studies that engage comparative
perspectives.
The conference will be held at the Centre for Contemporary and Digital History
(C²DH) at the University of Luxembourg. Accepted participants will be offered
hotel accommodation for two nights on campus.
Submissions
Please send your abstract of maximum 400-600 words by 29 May 2025 to
Gerben Zaagsma (gerben.zaagsma@uni.lu) or
Marek Tamm (marek.tamm@tlu.ee).
Please explain in your abstract to which theme(s) your contribution is linked.
Notifications of acceptance will be sent in early July.
Timeline
* Call for papers: early March 2025
* Deadline for abstracts: 29 May 2025
* Notification of acceptance: 4 July 2025
* Workshop: 5-6 February 2026
Programme Committee
* Gerben Zaagsma (University of Luxembourg)
* Marek Tamm (Tallinn University)
* Julianne Nyhan (Technische Universität Darmstadt)
* Petri Paju (University of Turku)
* Sune Bechmann Pedersen (Stockholm University)
* Nadezhda Povroznik (Technische Universität Darmstadt)
Dr. Gerben Zaagsma
Assistant Professor
Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH)
University of Luxemburg
--[2]------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 2025-03-05 10:19:55+00:00
From: Mila Oiva <milaoiv@utu.fi>
Subject: Two online events: Gender, Intersectionality and Cultural Heritage Data & Digital and Ecological Sustainability of Cultural Heritage
DIGHT-Net <https://dight-net.tlu.ee/>
Dear Colleagues,
The DIGHT-Net project will organize two online events this spring: a twin
lecture on "Gender, Intersectionality and Cultural Heritage Data"
<https://dight-net.tlu.ee/event/twin-lecture-1-gender-intersectionality-and-cultural-heritage-data/>
on Friday, March 28, 2025, and a workshop on "Digital
and Ecological Sustainability of Cultural Heritage"
<https://dight-net.tlu.ee/event/new-trends-in-digital-culture-studies-online-workshop-2-digital-and-ecological-sustainability/>
on Friday, April 25, 2025.
Below are the detailed programs and registration links for the events (please
note that the times of the events are announced in East European Time
UTC+02:00). The Zoom link will be shared with registered participants. All
interested parties are warmly welcome!
Twin Lecture 1: Gender, Intersectionality and Cultural Heritage Data
Cultural heritage data reflects the viewpoints of its creators, which
historically have predominantly emphasized a narrow, white, straight male
perspective. Discussions within digital humanities have highlighted the risk of
perpetuating these biases through digitization. This twin lecture delves into
the distorted and imbalanced views-such as misrepresentation or lack of
representation across gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and language-
often embedded in cultural heritage data. We will seek successful examples of
addressing these issues in ways that are sensitive to both diversity and
historical context.
Location: online
Date: Friday March 28, 2025
Schedule (East European Time zone)
* 14:00 - 14:05 Introduction, Professor Marek Tamm, Tallinn University
* 14:05 - 14:35 Gender as Capta: Representation and Construction of Gender in
the Women Writers Project, Professor Julia Flanders, Northeastern University
* 14:35 - 14:40 Break
* 14:40 - 15:10 Ambivalent data: Critical reflections on digital archives for
thinking gender and cultural heritage, Dr. Lani Hanna, University of Amsterdam
* 15:10 - 15:30 Q&A Session, Dr. Petri Paju, University of Turku
Registration: https://link.webropolsurveys.com/EP/E2CAF61F7448A47F
Digital and Ecological Sustainability of Cultural Heritage
Digital cultural heritage faces two critical sustainability challenges: firstly,
digital artifacts are prone to rapid obsolescence, necessitating continuous
format conversions to remain accessible. Secondly, the processes of
digitization, preservation, online querying, and data processing are energy-
intensive, requiring technical tools constructed from scarce natural resources.
Therefore, it is imperative to consider the sustainable design of the entire
process of maintaining digital cultural heritage. In this workshop, we will
explore whether there are energy-efficient structures, infrastructures, and
practices that can simultaneously ensure the long-term preservation and security
of cultural heritage. What practices can we adopt to create sustainable
pipelines and promote green computing?
Location: online
Date: Friday April 25, 2025
Schedule (East European Time zone)
14:00 - 14:15 Welcome and Introduction, Professor Hannu Salmi, University of
Turku
14:15 - 15:00 Europeana's Climate Action Community insights: What do the digital
preservation processes of EU Cultural Heritage Organisations unveil on their
sustainability? Speaker: Dr. Evangelia Paschalidou, the Europeana Climate Action
Community
15:00 - 15:15 Break
15:15 - 16:00 (Digital) Cultural Heritage, Digital Archive and Digital
Preservation - different labels for the same concept? Speaker: Ulf Preuss,
Potsdam University of Applied Sciences
16:00 - 16:15 Break
16:15 - 17:00 Panel Discussion: How to tackle the sustainability issue?
Panelists: Dr. Evangelia Paschalidou, Ulf Preuss, moderator: Dr. Mila Oiva,
University of Turku
Registration: https://link.webropolsurveys.com/EP/A32855D997FBAB6B
***
Mila Oiva FT | PhD
Dosentti | Docent
DIGHT-net<https://dight-net.tlu.ee/>
Kulttuurihistoria | Cultural History
Historian, kulttuurin ja taiteiden tutkimuksen laitos
Department of History, Culture and Art Studies
Turun yliopisto | University of Turku, Finland
milaoiv@utu.fi<mailto:milaoiv@utu.fi>
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