Workshop in Villa Vigoni

by Jaap Geraerts

There’s a wonderful phrase in Dutch: “het nuttige met het aangename verenigen,” which means something like “to unite that which is useful (nuttig) with that which is pleasant (aangenaam).”  Although in general academia tends to be firmly tilted towards the former, occasionally it does happen that the coveted combination of utility and pleasantness is achieved. The week I spent at Villa Vigoni in Menaggio, Italy, together with a number of colleagues in late February/early March 2023, is a particularly great example thereof.

The occasion for meeting there and then was a week-long workshop organised by Francesca Cadeddu and Marco Büchler. Its title, “Religious studies in the digital age: aligning research methodologies and national strategies,” neatly alludes to most of the topics that were covered by scholars coming from various disciplines, ranging from linguistics and history, to computer science and the digital humanities. Each morning started with three presentations followed by a Q&A session. Taken together, the presentations comprised a wealth of topics such as the opportunities of AI, the encoding of particularly challenging primary sources due to their layout or use of little-studied languages (or both), the need for multilingual metadata, and so forth. However, the topics that were addressed were certainly not only technical in nature. Questions about representation, e.g. of underrepresented communities or understudied languages, formed an important part of the discussions as well.

I gave a short talk on the link between physical and digital (and/or digitized) sources, mainly on the basis of three projects I currently am or have been involved in: my own research project on the Schism of Utrecht, European peace treaties of the pre-modern era in data (FriVer+), and the Archaeology of Reading in Early Modern Europe (AOR). How to maintain the links between primary (archival) sources and their digital surrogates? More importantly, how to convey to users the structure and limitations of digital data sets? If we want to ensure the (correct) use of our data by other scholars, robust documentation, albeit arguably not the sexiest part of academic projects, is necessary more than ever.

Interesting as the presentations were, they served a more important goal and mainly were meant as a segue into broader discussions about the various aspects and dimensions of a research infrastructure for religious studies. Discussions about the contours of such a research infrastructure – what could/should it look like, what kind(s) of data should it comprise, is a separate infrastructure for religious studies is actually necessary – transitioned seamlessly into questions about whether the sources used by religious studies are in any way unique and clearly distinguishable from the sources used by other disciplines. These discussions are very timely indeed: both in Germany (with the NFDI consortia) as well as in other European countries significant sums of money are invested in creating academic infrastructures. At the European level, too, initiatives for the creation of infrastructures have been or are undertaken, such as the Research Infrastructure for Religious Studies (ReIReS) and the RESILIENCE consortium that aims to create a research infrastructure for religious studies (several members of this consortium were present at and co-organised the workshop).

In the end, I think that we, although not providing a blueprint for a future research infrastructure for religious studies, did have engaging discussions and supplied the organizers with helpful ideas on how to move forward. The atmosphere certainly helped – although as a group we were heterogeneous in terms of disciplinary background and seniority, everyone seemed to be at ease to raise questions and share thoughts (or at least that was my impression). Because of the way in which the workshop was structured, with presentations in the morning and the discussions in the afternoon, these days were fruitful, but very intensive as well. Luckily, each day was punctuated by several delicious meals. As one might expect, the Italian cuisine certainly did not disappoint. Moreover, breakfast, lunch, and dinner proved to be good occasions to get to know each other and/or to catch up, and to have a chat about topics other than research or academic life in general. And if that was not pleasant enough, Menaggio is situated next to the breathtakingly beautiful lake Como, while the grounds and immediate surroundings of Villa Vigoni are equally stunning. Going for a wander while discussing work-related matters, following the example of the peripatetic philosophers (although I’m not making any grandiose claims about the level of our conversations), truly was a splendid example of “het nuttige met het aangename verenigen.” More of such workshops please!


Cite this article as: Jaap Geraerts, "Workshop in Villa Vigoni," in Digital Humanities Lab, 17/03/2023, https://dhlab.hypotheses.org/3771.

Featured image and all images in this post: photo by author, all rights reserved.

EuroCarto 2022 – presenting DigiKAR to the international cartographic community

a guest post by Mariam Gambashidze,
Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Leipzig

Conferences are exciting scientific events, especially if they are held in person after the long pandemic times. In September 2022, the capital of Austria, Vienna, hosted a big cartographic event: EuroCarto 2022, where I was happy to present our ongoing project  ‘Digitale Kartenwerkstatt Altes Reich’ (DigiKAR) to the scientific community. „EuroCarto 2022 – presenting DigiKAR to the international cartographic community“ weiterlesen

DH Lab Retreat 2022: Delving into goals, tasks and values

by Jaap Geraerts

In September 2019, so in pre-pandemic times, several (former) members of the IEG DH Lab went on a retreat to Kloster Jakobsberg for a couple of days. The main goal of this retreat was to discuss the individual research projects and to discover overlap between them and encourage cooperation within the frame of the DH Lab. In other words, the focus was on putting flesh on the bones on the laboratorial dimension of our research unit. „DH Lab Retreat 2022: Delving into goals, tasks and values“ weiterlesen

Projektmanagement in den Digital Humanities – World Café auf der DHd 2022

von Fabian Cremer, Swantje Dogunke, Jonathan Geiger, Anja Gerber, Anna Maria Neubert, Julian Schulz, Thorsten Wübbena

„Interdisziplinäre Wissensproduktion innerhalb der digitalen geistes- und kulturwissenschaftlichen Forschung benötigt verschiedene Planungs-, Koordinierungs- und Steuerungselemente, um eine erfolgreiche Zusammenarbeit zu ermöglichen.“ Diese These, aus dem Selbstverständnis und der Forschungspraxis der Digital Humanities abgeleitet, liegt unserem Beitrag zur diesjährigen Jahreskonferenz der Digital Humanities im deutschsprachigen Raum zugrunde: einem „Peer-to-Peer-Workshop zum Projektmanagement in den Digital Humanities“. Im Rahmen dieses virtuellen World Café haben sich Projektmanager:innen über methodische Fragen, individuelle Erfahrungen und institutionelle Rahmebedingungen ausgetauscht. Die Diskussionen werden in diesem Blogpost zusammengefasst. „Projektmanagement in den Digital Humanities – World Café auf der DHd 2022“ weiterlesen

A journey through time and networks: a short story from a PhD candidate at the DH Lab

by Daniela Linkevicius de Andrade

Time is a strange thing for historians. It is our object of adoration and frustration, our compass and clock. We study time, but when it comes to the time of our own lives, things get more complicated. Over the last weeks, I’ve constantly heard from other historians: “wow, time went by so fast!”. As a historian, I should know that time is subjective, but I never cease to marvel. After all, it has been eight months since I arrived in Mainz, Germany, and started my fellowship at the DH Lab, but I still find it challenging to translate and express the dimension of eight months. The effort is worth it, and I invite you to join me on a bit of a journey about my time at DH Lab. „A journey through time and networks: a short story from a PhD candidate at the DH Lab“ weiterlesen

RSA 2022 in Dublin

By Jaap Geraerts

Two weeks ago, from March 29 until April 2, the Renaissance Society of America (RSA) conference took place in Dublin. It’s probably the largest conference for academics interested in the early modern period and it customarily attracts scholars from various historical disciplines and fields from all over the world. Over the last couple of years, the number of papers and panels on the digital humanities has been steadily increasing at this conference. For me this is good news: RSA now offers me a platform to share both my latest archival findings and to showcase the technical side of my project. „RSA 2022 in Dublin“ weiterlesen

„Experiment, Ergebnis, Erkenntnis“ – Dokumentation einer Interviewreihe zu Projektmanagement in den Digital Humanities

von Fabian Cremer, Swantje Dogunke, Thorsten Wübbena

1. Motivation

Die „DH from Scratch“-Veranstaltungen markieren auf den Tagungen des Verbandes „Digital Humanities im deutschsprachigen Raum“ aktuelle Diskussions- und Handlungsfelder, die sich aus der Koordination digitaler Forschung ergeben. Die vDHd2021 bot Gelegenheit, den Blick thematisch auf das Projektmanagement zu richten und methodisch eine experimentelle und virtuelle Herangehensweise zu wählen: eine partizipative Interviewreihe. Dieser Beitrag skizziert das Konzept, berichtet von der praktischen Durchführung und entwickelt konkrete Thesen als Ergebnis der Auseinandersetzung mit den „Unfrequently Asked Questions“.

„„Experiment, Ergebnis, Erkenntnis“ – Dokumentation einer Interviewreihe zu Projektmanagement in den Digital Humanities“ weiterlesen

Games for the humanities / religious studies – scarce or simply hard to find?

by Monika Barget

Recently, I have more extensively explored serious games for teaching and research communication in the humanities. In a workshop aimed primarily at religious studies scholars, I intended to address analogue board games as well as hybrid and exclusively digital games. And apart from games I myself had used or contributed to, I hoped to present other examples in different languages. Especially in the field of hybrid and digital humanities games, however, my search retrieved few results. This post summarises the vivid discussion with participants that followed my invited talk “Seriously, games?” in the #digitalDonnerstag workshop series hosted by Arbeitskreis Mittelbau und Nachwuchs der Deutschen Vereinigung für Religionswissenschaft e.V. (AKMN). „Games for the humanities / religious studies – scarce or simply hard to find?“ weiterlesen

Differenzieren, Bündeln, Verstetigen – Weiterbildungskonzepte zum Forschungsdatenmanagement in der Geschichtswissenschaft

von Fabian Cremer, Michael Czolkoß-Hettwer und Thorsten Wübbena

Ein Workshop zum Forschungsdatenmanagement ist derzeit zwar keine exotische Weiterbildung mehr, aber als fachspezifisches Angebot in der Geschichtswissenschaft weder üblich noch obligatorisch. Die Landschaft der Angebote zeigt trotzdem eine Vielzahl an engagierten Akteur:innen mit ausgewisesener Expertise. In Rahmen eines Expert:innenworkshops haben einige dieser Personen in einem gemeinsamen Erfahrungsaustausch Ideen und Impulse hinsichtlich der Formate, Themen und Zielgruppen entwickelt, nachvollzogen wie das Konzept erfolgreicher Angebote gestaltet ist und wie deren Zusammenführung weiterentwickelt werden könnte. Diese Ideen werden in diesem Beitrag ausgearbeitet und dokumentiert. „Differenzieren, Bündeln, Verstetigen – Weiterbildungskonzepte zum Forschungsdatenmanagement in der Geschichtswissenschaft“ weiterlesen

Exploring connections: Digital workshop on Network Analysis with Python

by Sarah Büttner

In times of covid-19, virtual workshops can be quite hard for organizers as well as for participants. On the other hand, they offer a unique opportunity to try unconventional methods to improve the situation for both sides. Dr. Demival Vasques Filho, in cooperation with Anna Aschauer, grasped such an opportunity at the DARIAH-DE-workshop Network Analysis with Python for Beginners, when he decided to simultaneously code and explain the basis on network analysis. Furthermore, he managed to address academics from different research areas with the help of some well-known fictional characters.
„Exploring connections: Digital workshop on Network Analysis with Python“ weiterlesen

60 Minutes of DH: eScriptorium for Handwritten Text Recognition in Humanities Research

by Sofie Sonnenstatter

In January, the DH Lab launched its series of (online) events “60 Minutes of DH” with a webinar on the automatic transcription tool eScriptorium.

The monthly events, planned as one-hour long afternoon sessions, are mainly intended for academic staff at the IEG and focus on joint discussions of tools, methods and literature from the field of Digital Humanities, as well as insights into the international project landscape. The goal is to encourage and support researchers when it comes to digital solutions supporting their history- and religion-related research. For this kick-off, however, the invitation was extended to a wider audience and was met with overwhelming interest by researchers from all over Europe.

„60 Minutes of DH: eScriptorium for Handwritten Text Recognition in Humanities Research“ weiterlesen

Über den Umgang mit digitalen Forschungsdaten: Virtueller Forschungsdatentag der RMU 2020

by Sarah Büttner

Große Ziele alleine anzugehen ist ein oftmals unmögliches Unterfangen. Daher war es nicht nur eine, sondern gleich drei Universitäten, die sich der Aufgabe widmeten, den Zweck und die Möglichkeiten von Forschungsdatenmanagement an ein breites Publikum heranzutragen. Die Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, die Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz und die Technische Universität Darmstadt bilden den Verbund der Rhein-Main-Universitäten (RMU) und richteten als solche den ersten virtuellen Forschungsdatentag der RMU am 13. Oktober 2020 in Mainz aus. Hierbei ließen sich die Einladenden auf ein spannendes Experiment ein: Wie kann eine Veranstaltung dieses Formats digital umgesetzt werden?
„Über den Umgang mit digitalen Forschungsdaten: Virtueller Forschungsdatentag der RMU 2020“ weiterlesen

Calling for data publication workshops in historical research

by Fabian Cremer

This September, an online workshop on the publication of research data in the fields of History, which we offered for the first time, exceeded our expectations. The overwhelming interest, the engaging participants and the smooth flow of the event led us to a better understanding and (three) notable thoughts we would like to share. „Calling for data publication workshops in historical research“ weiterlesen

The Use and Study of Special Documents (ReIReS-School)

by Anna Aschauer

The IEG and our DH Lab is involved in ReIReS, a joint project building infrastructure on religious studies, about which my colleague Jaap Geraerts already wrote here. In February 2020 I had a chance to visit a ReIReS-school on the “Use and Study of Special Documents”, organized by Mathijs Lamberigts (Professor at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies) and Isaak Deman at KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven). The aim of the school was to introduce the scholars to the  collections of the libraries and archives of the University related to theology and religious studies.

I want to share some topics that I found interesting from a perspective of a digital humanist. I also want to share my experience, since in the time of the pandemic the organisation of “train-the-trainer” (like this or this) sessions are currently problematic. „The Use and Study of Special Documents (ReIReS-School)“ weiterlesen

Initial familiarity with Transkribus: The User Conference 2020

By Alessandro Grazi

It was a cold, sunny, winter morning, and just like every other morning I was standing on a platform of Giessen’s train station. But this time I wasn’t headed to the IEG in Mainz, where I work, but to Innsbruck, Austria. No, the anticipation I felt wasn’t for an exciting skiing weekend on the Austrian Alps (I can’t ski, anyway!), but for the Transkribus User Conference 2020. How can one be excited for a conference on a Handwriting Text Recognition Software, you ask? Well, as a cultural historian, a humanist, I find it always intriguing when I get to deal with something “technical”, something “scientific”. Perhaps, that is one of the reasons why I took on a research project in Jewish Studies, my original field, which uses digital methods.

„Initial familiarity with Transkribus: The User Conference 2020“ weiterlesen

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