chip 2012 conference 2012 booklet

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Booklet for the (fictional) Chip 2012 conference, to be presented to prof. A. Smelik on June 4 2012.

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Page 1: CHIP 2012 Conference 2012 Booklet
Page 2: CHIP 2012 Conference 2012 Booklet

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CONTENTS

1. Introduction 3.

2. Moderator & Keynote Speakers 4.

3. Workshop Round I: Digitizing Sources 7.

4. Workshop Round II: Processing 9.

5. Workshop Round III: Transmission 11.

6. Closing Discussion: Enhanced Publications 13.

7. Program 15.

Page 3: CHIP 2012 Conference 2012 Booklet

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INTRODUCTION

Let us stop and think for a minute about the fact that only twenty

years ago the personal computer was a rare sight in private homes.

Those who knew how to send an e-mail or install software were

considered ‘wiz kids’ or even ‘geeks’. Silly though this may sound

today, many scholars in the humanities are still reluctant to use the

computer for anything besides typing and using search engines. Only a

select few ‘wiz kids’ explore the myriad of possibilities the computer

and the digital world have to offer for their research. Be it the

digitization of paintings, the mining of large data sets, or the use of the

internet as medium for publication for a large public, the possibilities

are many – but perhaps not unlimited.

For the humanities to truly enter the twenty-first century, a

larger group of scholars need to find their way in the digital world. The

2012 CHIP Conference aims to encourage young scholars, as well as

those scholars who still feel reluctant towards digitization in the

humanities, to explore the possibilities of computers and the digital

world in humanities research. We cannot hope to provide a full account

of current developments in digital humanities. Rather, we hope to

make scholars reflect on the examples provided during the conference,

and to consider how they might be applied to their own research.

We trust that the conference will be inspiring and fruitful.

The organizing committee

Anneke Comello

Niek Janssen

Quintijn Mauer

Karlijn Slegers

Jori Verstegen

Page 4: CHIP 2012 Conference 2012 Booklet

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MODERATOR & KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

The core program of the Chip 2012 Conference consists of four keynote

lectures and a plenary closing discussion. The conference will be

moderated by professor Sally Wyatt.

Moderator – Professor Sally Wyatt

Sally Wyatt is a professor of Digital Cultures in

Development at the Faculty of Arts and Social

Science of Maastricht University (The Netherlands).

She is program leader of the e-Humanities research

group of the Royal Netherlands Society for Arts and

Sciences. Professor Wyatt has published several articles on matters

such as social exclusion and gender in the digital world and the

information society, as well as the application of digital methods to

humanities research. As our moderator, professor Wyatt will provide

some opening and closing words, and will lead the plenary discussions.

First Keynote Speaker – Sarah E. Thomas, Ph.D.

Sarah E. Thomas is the current head of the Bodleian

Library at Oxford University. She has previously

held important positions as a librarian at, among

others, the Library of Congress and the libraries of

Harvard University, John Hopkins University, and

Cornell University. She is currently engaged with digitization processes,

e-resources and the digital library. Miss Thomas’ keynote lecture will

focus on her practical experience with embedding libraries in the

digital world.

Page 5: CHIP 2012 Conference 2012 Booklet

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Second Keynote Speaker – Professor Rens bod

Rens Bod is a professor of Computational and Digital

Humanities at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). He

recently published De vergeten wetenschappen: een

geschiedenis van de Humaniora (2010) on the

historical development of the field of the humanities

in relation to other fields of science. Bod’s keynote

lecture will concentrate on the interface between the humanities and

the natural sciences. Using examples from his own work, he will

elaborate on the possibilities of the new and exciting field of

Computational Humanities for innovative research in our field.

Third Keynote Speaker – Professor Susan Legêne

Susan Legêne is a professor of Political History at the

Vrije Univeristeit Amsterdam (VU). Until 2008, she

was head of the curatorial department of the

Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam and closely involved

with collection digitization policy. Legêne takes part

in the research project organized by the Agora and

The semantics of history programs on digital access

to heritage collections and its influence on historical consciousness. In

her lecture, she will speak about her NWO-CATCH research project on

the transmission of historical knowledge to a broader audience through

a digital platform.

Page 6: CHIP 2012 Conference 2012 Booklet

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Fourth Keynote Speaker – Professor Robert Darnton

Professor Robert Darnton is the current director of

the Harvard University Library, as well as a world-

renowned cultural historician of 18th century France.

Moreover, he is considered a pioneer in the field of

the history of the book. Ten of his most important

essays are collected in his seminal 2009 The Case for

Books. Darnton is the founder of the Gutenberg-e program and writes a

lot about the implications of electronic publishing. In 2011, he was

awarded the National Humanities Medal for his determination to make

knowledge accessible to the public at large. In his keynote lecture,

Darnton will advocate the writing of ‘enhanced’ publications, divided

in five levels varying from the digitization of sources and the

publication of detailed scientific monographs to presentation of

shorter, popular publications.

Page 7: CHIP 2012 Conference 2012 Booklet

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WORKSHOP ROUND I: DIGITIZING SOURCES

(8 November, Morning)

Due to ever advancing processes of digitization, more and more

scientific sources have become easily accessible for scholars in the

humanities. In two workshops, one about written, the other about

unwritten scientific sources, the advantages and disadvantages,

potential dangers and acceptance regarding these revolutions will be

discussed thoroughly.

09:00 – 09:45: Keynote lecture by Sarah E. Thomas

10:00 – 12:15: Workshops

GROUP I: WRITTEN SOURCES

In these exciting times of digitalization the library of Michigan State

University and Internet giant Google have formed a mammoth alliance

with a noble goal, i.e. to digitize the library’s entire printed book

collection. In doing so they enable researchers from all around the

globe to access large parts of this library. Large scale projects, like this

one, will always raise a great many of problems. In this workshop the

pressing questions on this topic will be at the centre of attention.

Researchers can submit papers on the following topics:

Chair: Nicole Scholtz

One of Michigan University’s researchers active in this program is

Nicole Scholtz, an expert in the field of Geospatial, Numeric and

Statistical data. Because of her expertise in this field she will lead this

workshop.

Page 8: CHIP 2012 Conference 2012 Booklet

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GROUP II: UNWRITTEN SOURCES

Unwritten sources, such as archaeological finds, paintings, and other

kinds of non-textual material, are, unfortunately, highly susceptible to

decay. Preservation of such material is, if at all possible, a costly

affair. Can digitalization help us to preserve our precious material

culture, albeit in a virtual world, and if so, does that suffice? In what

ways should these unwritten sources be digitized? This workshop will

revolve around these difficult questions.

Chair: Andrew Wallace-Hadrill

Andrew Wallace-Hadrill is Master of Sidney Sussex College and Honorary

Professor of Roman Studies at Cambridge University. He has extensive

expertise in digitization through digitization projects of archeological

finds from Herculaneum and Pompeii.

12:30 – 13:15: Plenary discussion

Page 9: CHIP 2012 Conference 2012 Booklet

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WORKSHOP ROUND II: PROCESSING

(8 November, Afternoon)

Current developments in the field of Computational Humanities

encompass two directions. The biggest subfield is aimed at gathering

sets of data and exploring tools to process and analyse these. What

consequences this has for novel research questions and methods in

humanities research is central to a second subfield. In this part of the

conference we will look at both, as well as possible interconnections

between the two.

14:15 – 15:00: Keynote lecture by prof. Susan Legêne

15:15 – 17:00: Workshops

GROUP I: PATTERNS AND DATABASES

An already most established way of implementing digitalization in

humanities research is creating large databases of transcribed written

sources. Yet these databases have to be ‘tackled’ as well. Besides

data-mining, there are many more approaches and tools in

development to select and analyze. Other scholars work on the

interconnection of different kinds of sources. In the CEDA_R project of

the e-Humanities program for example, census data are brought

together with other sources about the lives of individuals, communities

and nations. In this workshop, attention will be paid to such tools, in

particular the possibilities to bring different sub-disciplines of the

humanities together.

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Chair: Bob Shoemaker

Bob Shoemaker is a professor of 18th-century British History at the

University of Sheffield. He is one of the primary academics behind the

Old Bailey online archive and has a particular interest in the limitations

the project leaders in this project have identified, e.g. its lack of links

to other resources and its inability to use the data it does have.

GROUP II: ‘CYBER RESEARCH’

It is well-known that computers are capable of taking over calculation

processes from human researchers. The next step, however, is for

computers to take over processes of interpretation. The ??? project, for

example, is currently trying to create an application which is able to

automatically put sources into their historical context and draw

conclusions from them. This workshop will investigate the rethinking of

hermeneutics in a digital age: what are innovative ways to look at

interpretation of information assisted by computational techniques?

What are the possibilities of ‘digital hermeneutics’, and how can web

applications support these processes?

Chair: Joris van Zundert

Joris van Zundert is a researcher and developer in the field of

computational humanities at the Huygens Institute for the History of

the Netherlands. With a background in Dutch literature and linguistics,

he is currently involved in a project that explores the possibilities of

computational inferring and visualising the hypotheses dependency

structure underlying argumentation in historical interpretation.

17.45-18.30: Plenary session

Page 11: CHIP 2012 Conference 2012 Booklet

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WORKSHOP ROUND III: TRANSMISSION

(9 November, Morning)

The digitalization of society has major implications for the academic

world. It brings along many opportunities as well as responsibilities. In

this part of the conference, we will discuss the ways in which

humanities scholars can – and perhaps even should - make use of digital

methods for sharing and transmitting their knowledge.

09:00 - 09:45: Keynote lecture by prof. Susan Legêne

10:00 - 12:15: Workshops

GROUP I: PUBLIC HUMANITIES

In 2009, the Dutch Committee on the National Plan for the Future of

the Humanities published a report called Sustainable Humanities.

According to the Committee, the humanities are under tremendous

pressure and should start investing more in their relation to society in

order to survive. Since our world is becoming more digital every day,

digitalization provides many opportunities for humanities scholars to

appeal to a larger public. Think, for example, of Facebook and Twitter,

which are able to reach billions of people all over the world. In this

workshop, we will explore the ways in which digitalization can

contribute to the popularization of humanities research.

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Chair: Phillip Vannini

Phillip Vannini is an associate professor at the School of Communication

& Culture at Royal Roads University, Colwood (CA). His thought-

provoking Popularizing Research: Engaging New Genres, Media, and

Audiences (2012), explores how scholars can use the internet for

popularizing their research.

GROUP II: ACADEMIC COOPERATION

Digitalization has opened up a world of possibilities for humanities

scholars. Projects such as Google Books and JSTOR, for instance, have

made research much easier through the large-scale digitalization of

books and articles. However, there are still many issues to be dealt

with, including copyright infringement. Academic cooperation may

solve a great deal of these issues. In the Netherlands, initiatives such

as Alfalab and The Virtual Knowledge Studio for the Humanities and

Social Sciences have already promoted academic teamwork by

spreading knowledge using digital methods. This workshop focuses on

the question if and how digitalisation can contribute to the cooperation

between humanities scholars.

Chair: Richard Price

While doing his research, Richard Price perceived the need for a

platform for academics to connect and share their research. After

finishing his Ph.D. in Philosophy at Oxford, where he was a Prize

Fellow, in 2007, he founded Academia.edu, an international digital

platform for academics, which currently has over 1.2 million members.

12.30-13.15: Plenary discussion

Page 13: CHIP 2012 Conference 2012 Booklet

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CLOSING DISCUSSION: ENHANCED PUBLICATIONS

(9 November, Afternoon)

14:15 – 15:00: Keynote lecture by prof. Robert Darnton

15:15 – 15:55: Presentations by Generation Zed Contest winners

15:55 – 16:45: Plenary discussion with panel

We will close our conference by discussing so-called ‘enhanced

publications’ in the humanities, as proposed by professor Robert

Darnton. The desirability and achievability of these publications will be

subject of a discussion in which panel members as well as audience

members are encouraged to take part. We hope the workshops will

have provided insights which may prove useful in this discussion.

Two winners of the Generation Zed Contest, which we organized

leading up to CHIP 2012, will provide examples of enhanced

publications based on their own research.

Ad Poirters, MA

Ad Poiters is a Brilliant Assistant for Professor J. Oosterman. Poiters is

a former Research Master student of the Radboud University of

Nijmegen, from the field of literature and literary theory. He also took

part in the Brilliant Assistant Program as an assistant to professor Johan

Oosterman. He is working on a digital publication of his contextual

analysis of the books for the divine office in the Soeterbeeck

Collection.

Page 14: CHIP 2012 Conference 2012 Booklet

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Sophie Reinders, MA

Sophie Reinders is a Ph.D. candidate at the Radboud University in

Nijmegen, in the field of historical literature and literary theory. In

2011 she finished the Research Master at the University of Amsterdam

(UvA). She is currently taking part in the project Sharing and Shaping

Culture: Women’s Alba as Social Objects, 1570-1610. She uses

Facebook as a model for the social interaction in these alba.

Page 15: CHIP 2012 Conference 2012 Booklet

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PROGRAM

Day 1 (Thursday 8 November 2012)

8:00 - 8:30 Registration (Central Hall)

8:30 - 8:45 Opening and welcome by prof. Sally Wyatt (Room A)

SESSION I: DIGITIZING SOURCES

9:00 – 9:45 Keynote lecture by Sarah E. Thomas (Room A)

10:00 – 12:15 Workshop: Written

Sources (Room B)

Workshop: Unwritten

Sources (Room C)

12:30 – 13:15 Discussion of workshop results by chairs (Room A)

13:15 – 14:15

Lunch (Restaurant)

SESSION II: PROCESSING

14:15 – 15:00 Keynote lecture by prof. Rens Bod (Room A)

15:15 – 17:00 Workshop: Patterns &

Databases (Room B)

Workshop: Cyber

Research (Room C)

17:45 – 18:30 Discussion of workshop results by chairs (Room A)

19:00 – 22:30

Dinner & evening program

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Day 2 (Friday 9 November 2012)

8:45 – 9:00 Opening & welcome by prof. Sally Wyatt

SESSION III: TRANSMISSION

9:00 – 9:45 Keynote lecture by prof. Susan Legêne (Room A)

10:00 – 12:15 Workshop: Public

Humanities (Room B)

Workshop: Academic

Cooperation (Room C)

12:30 – 13:15 Discussion of workshop results by chairs (Room A)

13:15 – 14:15

Lunch (Restaurant)

SESSION IV: DIGITAL EXTEND PUBLICATIONS

14:15 – 15:00 Keynote lecture by prof. Robert Darnton (Room A)

15:15 – 15:35 Presentation of case by Ad Poirters

15:35 – 15:55 Presentation of case by Sophie Reinders

15:55 – 16:45 Plenary discussion with panel

16:45 – 17:00 Closing words by prof. Sally Wyatt

17:00 – 18:30

Social drinks

Page 17: CHIP 2012 Conference 2012 Booklet

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Follow us on Facebook: CHIP2012

Follow us on Twitter: @CHIP2012

Or use our hash tag: #CHIP2012

The 2012 CHIP Conference is made possible by

- The Royal Netherlands Society for Arts and Sciences (KNAW)

- The KNAW Research Program e-Humanities

- The Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study

- in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIAS)

- The Royal Dutch Library (KB) in The Hague

- The Radboud University (RU) in Nijmegen