CDH Co-Hosts Day of DH Hangout

When Digital Humanists around the world celebrated centerNet’s Day of DH 2020 on April 29, the Center for Digital Humanities did our part to spread the (virtual) DH enthusiasm.

CDH staff, along with our mid-Atlantic friends from Haverford College Digital Scholarship, the Rutgers Digital Humanities Initiative, and Swarthmore College Libraries, convened an afternoon meetup on Zoom. At highest count, 41 DHers—from New York, Bangladesh, Russia, and beyond—joined the hangout.

The session kicked off with unstructured conversation about the challenges we share in doing the work of DH from home. Many participants then gave quick accounts of their projects, reminding us of the diverse interests of the DH community.

Among other presenters, Richard Freedman, Professor of Music at Haverford, shared slides about his project, Citations: The Renaissance Imitation Mass (CRIM), and even played a recording for us. Isabella Magni, a postdoctoral associate at Rutgers, filled us in on several initiatives she’s been involved in, sharing links to projects on Italian paleography and Petrarch’s songbook. Ian Johnson of the University of Sydney spread the word about Heurist, a data management system that helps users create their own databases. And Alex Gil, Digital Scholarship Coordinator at Columbia University, wowed us with his commitment to making scholarship available online.

The hangout also gave participants a chance to see old friends, meet new colleagues, and celebrate the important and engaging work Digital Humanists are doing.

In addition to the CDH session, Day of DH featured several other events worldwide, including a hangout hosted by our West Coast counterparts (Stanford University, University of California-Berkeley, San Jose State University, and UCLA), a lecture sponsored by the Venice Centre for Digital and Public Humanities, and a meetup on digital Jewish studies convened by Haifa University.

DHers tweeted throughout the day using the hashtag #dayofdh2020.

Looking forward to seeing everyone again for next year’s celebration—hopefully, in person!