Save the date: Digital Humanities Symposium on Conceptual Change in Helsinki, 7.-8.12.2015

Conceptual change: Digital Humanities Case Studies

A symposium on digital humanities and conceptual change at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, 7.-8.12.2015.

Confirmed speakers:

Peter de Bolla (Cambridge),  Joris van Eijnatten (Utrecht), Susan Fitzmaurice, (Sheffield), Neil Foxlee (Former Senior Research Fellow,
University of Central Lancashire), Michael Gavin (University of South Carolina), Dirk Geeraerts (Leuven), Timo Honkela (Helsinki), Pasi Ihalainen (Jyväskylä), Kimmo Kettunen (National Library of Finland / Digitalia), Jouni-Matti Kuukkanen (Oulu), Asko Nivala (Turku), Katariina Parhi (Oulu), Sinai Rusinek (Van Leer Jerusalem Institute), Silke Schwandt (Bielefeld) and Clifford Siskin (NYU), Marius Warholm Haugen (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim)

Livestream: http://vn-rec.it.helsinki.fi password: tutiku

The intention of this event is to bring together researchers from digital and analog humanities who study conceptual change. One area of great but underused potential in such research is the use of digitized historical data, that is, data that was not born digital but has been digitized over the years. This data comes with its challenges, though, related particularly to OCR and variation in spelling. Our purpose is to convene together historians, linguists and data scientists to discuss concrete digital humanities case studies from different projects that have focused on conceptual change and that have addressed these difficulties in different ways. While the use of digital data and computational methods has been rapidly increasing in the humanities, often the focus is still on the possibilities that digitalization offers rather than on the concrete outcomes already achieved. We intend to address this issue by focusing especially on concrete case studies and outcomes rather than on future possibilities.

Central questions in this meeting are:
– What can we learn about conceptual change when using digital data and methods?
– How do we recognize conceptual change in digital data?
– How conceptual change should be studied with big digitized historical data?

The meeting provides a forum for researchers to discuss these questions and exchange knowledge on how conceptual change has been studied and should be studied in the rapidly changing research environment involving humanists, social scientists and data analysts.

The dates for the symposium are Monday to Tuesday 7–8 December 2015 and the venue is the premises of the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies, University of Helsinki.

All welcome! More information to follow shortly, including the programme.

PS Places are limited, register ASAP to secure your place or follow the live stream:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/conceptual-change-digital-humanities-case-studies-tickets-19571569090

Call for Papers: Digital History in Finland, Wednesday, 9.12.2015

Call for Papers: Digital History in Finland, Wednesday, 9.12.2015

 

The Digital History in Finland Network  (#DigiHistFi) will organise a one-day symposium on Digital History in Finland at the University of Helsinki on Wednesday 9th of December 2015. The motto of the network and symposium is: History first, digital second.

 

Digital History is an area within the emerging field of Digital Humanities that is combining humanities and social sciences with contemporary information and communication technologies. Digital history aims to further historical practice by applying computational methods to various types of historical source materials and data. While there is a tradition, for example, among corpus linguists to use computational methods, the study of history has been slower to take up new approaches in a productive manner. In Finland, the computational approach to history has so far rarely impacted on the core of the historian’s craft in such a way that those who have not already any previous interests in digital humanities would pay attention. Yet, the potential for revisiting old and creating new research questions through computational methods is considerable. This is what the network and symposium seeks to explore further.

 

The idea of this symposium is to bring together historians working on different aspects of digital history in Finland to talk about their research and meet other scholars interested in similar questions.

 

We invite submissions of short papers of 15-20 minutes (abstracts of 100 words) on any aspect of digital history. We especially encourage submissions of project ideas and sketches of emerging work. In the morning session it is also possible to present papers through skype. So, it is strongly encouraged that historians from all Finnish organisations participate.

The deadline for submitting a paper is Friday 30.10.2015. Please send the title of the presentation and 100 word abstract to: digihistfi@gmail.com. Notification of acceptance and symposium practicalities of the symposium will be communicated by 13.11.2015.

 

For information, contact: digihistfi@gmail.com

 

Programme committee:

 

Mikko Tolonen (University of Helsinki), mikko.tolonen@helsinki.fi Chair

Mats Fridlund (Aalto University), mats.fridlund@aalto.fi

Anu Lahtinen (University of Helsinki), anulah@iki.fi

Ilkka Mäkinen (University of Tampere), ilkka.makinen@staff.uta.fi

Jessica Parland-von Essen (University of Helsinki), parland@csc.fi

Hannu Salmi (University of Turku), hansalmi@utu.fi

Jaakko Suominen (University of Turku), jaasuo@utu.fi

Kaius Sinnemäki (University of Helsinki), kaius.sinnemaki@helsinki.fi

Helsinki Digital Humanities 2015-16 Kickoff Event

1.10.2015 – Kaisa Library Auditorium

What is Digital Humanities? How is digital humanities taught in 2015-16 at the Faculty of Arts? Who is doing Digital Humanities? Join us to meet other students, teachers and researchers at HDH Kickoff Event.

Digital Humanities is an emerging field combining humanities and social sciences with contemporary information and communication technologies. It applies computational methods to various types of source materials and data.  Digital humanities also includes the study of the impact of digitalization on culture and society at large.

For the academic year 2015-16 at the University of Helsinki we are introducing two core instruments for students and researchers from various different backgrounds to advance their efforts in the Digital Humanities and at the same time to build the DIGIHUM community in Helsinki:

1)    Digital Humanities minor subject study block

2)    Digital Humanities seminar

The idea of the kickoff event is to discuss practical matters relating to the teaching module and the DH Seminar. And, of course, to socialize with people interested in digital humanities.

HDH Kickoff Event Programme:

  • 13.00 Context for the digital humanities at the University of Helsinki
  • 13.30 Digital Humanities thematic teaching module (minor subject study block)
  • 14.00 Digital Humanities course presentations (2-slide presentations by teachers)
  • 15.00 Digital Humanities seminar practicalities
  • 16.00 Digital Humanities socializing

Modular study block of digital humanities will give you the rudiments of theory and practice including the basics of relevant methods. Digital Humanities minor subject study block is targeted particularly for MA level students. You can read more about the teaching module here: http://bit.ly/1TRdnAS

Digital Humanities seminar will be launched 1st of October. We ask that all the people who are interested to participate in the DH seminar would come to the meeting (or send an email to mikko.tolonen@helsinki.fi to express their interest). The seminar is meant for both PhD-students and other researchers alike. It is aimed at people from all academic backgrounds, also outside the University of Helsinki. DH Seminar will convene on Fridays from 16.15 to 17.45 at [seminar room that will be announced later]. The Fall meetings are scheduled to take place on 23.10., 13.11., 27.11., 11.12. and 18.12. Everyone interested is welcome.

Socializing on 1st of October from 16.00 onwards includes refreshments provided by The National Library of Finland Centre for Preservation and Digitisation and it’s new project: http://www.kansalliskirjasto.fi/yleistieto/uutiset/1434456549929.html

Please register to the event using this form

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Tervetuloa Helsinki Digital Humanities 2015-16 lukuvuoden käynnistystilaisuuteen 1.10.2015 Kaisa Kirjaston Auditorioon klo 13 alkaen.

Tilaisuus on tarkoitettu digitaalisen humanismin opintokokonaisuudesta kiinnostuneille, digitaalisten ihmistieteiden tutkimusta tekeville tai siitä kiinnostuneille – sekä sitä varten, että tapaisit muita joilla samansuuntaisia intressejä.

Ohjelma keskittyy avaamaan erityisesti kahden uuden opetusinstrumentin käytännön asioita:

  1. Digitaalisen humanismin maisteritasoinen sivuainekokonaisuus Humanistisessa tiedekunnassa
  2. Digitaalisen humanismin seminaari, joka on avoin kaikille väitöskirjantekijöille ja muille tutkijoilla joilla DIGIHUM intressi tutkimuksessa.

Sekä digihum-sivuainekokonaisuus ja digihum-tutkijaseminaari ovat uusia kokonaisuuksia jotka aloittavat toimintansa lukuvuotena 2015-16.