DHQ: Digital Humanities Quarterly

2018 12.3

Technology in the Study of the Past

Editors: Anna Foka, Jonathan Westin, Adam Chapman

Front Matter

[en] Introduction to the DHQ Special Issue: Digital Technology in the Study of the Past

Anna Foka, Umeå University; Jonathan Westin, University of Gothenburg; Adam Chapman, University of Gothenburg

Abstract [en]

Articles

[en] How Technology Means: Texts, History, and Their Associated Technologies

Joshua L. Mann, Expositus

Abstract [en]

[en] Ghosts in the Machine: a motion-capture experiment in distributed reception

Helen Slaney, University of Roehampton; Anna Foka, DH Uppsala and Humlab Umeå; Sophie Bocksberger, University of Oxford

Abstract [en]

[en] Reviving Classical Drama: virtual reality and experiential learning in a traditional classroom

Eleni Bozia, University of Florida

Abstract [en] Over the past decades the advancement of technology and its subsequent introduction to the humanities has led to the development of several applications that enhance study and research in areas such as Classics, archaeology, epigraphy, and linguistics. The focus of digital humanists and other humanities scholars has turned to the efficient storage of information that facilitates search, comparative studies, accessibility, and consequently research. The common point of reference for the aforementioned applications is that they do not involve the need for the scholar to “physically” be in a virtual space. In areas, such as archaeology and epigraphy, the creation of projects that provide access to 3D models of the artifacts as well as to virtual replications of ancient sites has resulted in the opening of new areas of research and reconsideration of traditional research issues. Also, argue that digital visualizations may make the ancient world more accessible to a larger audience. One may comprehend the structure of a vase and analyze its artistic patterns by zooming and relighting it. A problem that is yet to be considered, though, is how a scholar and a student are to perceive Classical drama, the theatrical space, the distances between the actors, the chorus, and the audience, the logistics of the performance, and the cultural aspects at play. This paper discusses the importance of experiential learning and the use of virtual reality as a means of promoting traditional edification methods, virtually recreating the actuality of the stage, and presents the Magic Mirror Theater, a web application designed to facilitate the study of Classical drama.

[en] Recording invisible proofs to compose stone narratives. Applications of Near Infrared Spectroscopy in provenance studies.

Claudia Sciuto, Umeå University

Abstract [en]

[en] To tree, or not to tree? On the Empirical Basis for Having Past Landscapes to Experience.

Philip I. Buckland, Umeå University, Sweden; Nicolò Dell'Unto, Lund University, Sweden; Gísli Pálsson, Umeå University, Sweden

Abstract [en]

Articles

[en] Researcher as Bricoleur: Contextualizing humanists’ digital workflows

Smiljana Antonijevic, The Pennsylvania State University; Ellysa Stern Cahoy, The Pennsylvania State University

Abstract [en] This paper presents findings from a set of contextual inquiry sessions completed in 2016 as part of the four year Digital Scholarly Workflow project (2012-2016) conducted at the Pennsylvania State University and funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Studying humanists’ workflows through contextual inquiry enabled us to gain valuable empirical insights into digital scholarship from the perspective of individual scholars. This small-scale observational study (N=8) supplemented findings from our larger scale (N=196) and medium scale (N=23) studies previously completed in the project, allowing us to develop deeper qualitative understanding of how humanists’ research practices change in the encounter with digital technologies. Through close contextual analysis of information-based research activities we illustrate how humanists build rich personal collections of digital sources, which become important information resources in their work. We also examine how adoption of digital tools transforms the established methods of managing primary and secondary sources, bringing hastier digital workflows to traditionally more methodical work. Finally, we show that efficiency cannot be qualified as a neutral or inherent characteristic of digital tools, independent of scholars’ practices, since scholars’ interaction with digital artifacts determines what constitutes efficiency of a tool in the context of a scholar’s workflow. We conclude that in humanists’ workflows digital and analog tools and resources do not necessarily replace one another or vie for the dominant position. They rather supplement each other in an interconnected, hybrid workflow that comes to our respondents as an organic manifestation of their work, and as an illustration of the bricolage character of humanists’ digital workflows.

[en] Machine-aided close listening: Prosthetic synaesthesia and the 3D phonotext

Chris Mustazza, University of Pennsylvania

Abstract [en]

Author Biographies

URL: http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/12/3/index.html
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Announcements

2018 12.3

Technology in the Study of the Past

Editors: Anna Foka, Jonathan Westin, Adam Chapman

Front Matter

Articles

Articles

Author Biographies