Early-Career Hellenic Studies Scholars Learn Digital Humanities Tools at the Princeton Athens Center

This summer, Princeton University graduate student Megan Coates, Art & Archaeology, not only studied Modern Greek at the Princeton Athens Center – she also learned the latest technological tools to help advance her dissertation research in manuscript studies.

Coates, who is completing the requirements for a graduate certificate in Hellenic studies, joined a cohort of 11 early-career Hellenic studies scholars from Princeton and Greece for an intensive Summer Institute, “Digital Humanities for Hellenic Studies: Working with Text,” held at the Princeton Athens Center June 25-28. Early career scholars from fields including architecture, art history, classics, history, linguistics, and literary studies participated, focusing on a range of texts from the Greek world. The theme for the 2024 session of this recurring Summer Institute was computational approaches to working with text. 

The Seeger Center sponsored the summer institute in collaboration with Princeton’s Center for Digital Humanities (CDH); Princeton’s Manuscript, Rare Book and Archive Studies (MARBAS); the UNESCO Chair for Digital Methods on the Humanities and Social Sciences at the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB); the MSc Program in Digital Methods for the Humanities at AUEB and the Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities (DARIAH-EU).

Natalia Ermolaev, executive director of the Center for Digital Humanities at Princeton, noted that this summer institute gave participants a broader perspective on opportunities for cutting-edge humanities research. Ermolaev emphasized the collaborative, interdisciplinary nature of this Summer Institute and the specialized focus on researching Hellenic texts.

“Early-career Hellenic studies scholars need guidance to navigate the many opportunities and obstacles specific for digital approaches in the languages and texts of the Mediterranean world,” said Ermolaev. “An important benefit of the digital humanities Summer Institute at the Princeton Athens Center is our partnership with the Athens University of Economics and Business, which is home to Greece’s oldest graduate program for digital methods in the humanities, and whose faculty include some of Greece’s top digital humanities scholars and teachers.”

Participants practiced fundamental digital tools and methods, including handwritten text recognition, text extraction, and text encoding. Facilitators focused on working with ancient sources, manuscripts, and early printed material. Participants studied and practiced techniques from machine learning, natural language processing and artificial intelligence, applying them to their own corpora. They also visited the National Library of Greece, which is located a short distance from the Princeton Athens Center. 

Coates said the Princeton Athens Center Summer Institute was a transformative experience that taught her how to deploy digital technology to further her dissertation research. She is interested in monastic cryptography and code breaking and works with medieval objects and documents. 

“Technologies at these advanced levels can be overwhelming and quite intimidating,” said Coates. “The instructors were so understanding and patient with the attendees and very generous with their time and knowledge. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with them. Being able to share knowledge, ideas, and concerns in such an open and interdisciplinary environment has made all the difference in the world.”

Looking ahead, Coates said she plans to build on the foundation of knowledge she established during the Princeton Athens Center digital humanities Summer Institute.

“I feel equipped to move forward in training in handwritten text recognition and other text recognition, which assists in my efforts to remain current in the development of digital technology as well as maintaining relationships with some of the leading minds of this rapidly growing field,” said Coates.

This intensive seminar is a signature program of the Princeton Athens Center. It will be offered again in the summer of 2025 with a new theme. 

“The summer institute gives us all the unique opportunity to collaborate, get to know each other’s scholarship, and strengthen the community and networks among Hellenic studies digital humanists in Princeton, Greece and beyond,” said Ermolaev.