DHQ: Digital Humanities Quarterly

2020 14.3

Lab and Slack. Situated Research Practices in Digital Humanities

Editors: Mila Oiva and Urszula Pawlicka-Deger

Front Matter

[en] Lab and Slack. Situated Research Practices in Digital Humanities - Introduction to the DHQ Special Issue.

Mila Oiva, University of Turku (Finland); Urszula Pawlicka-Deger, Aalto University

Abstract [en] Although the concept of digital comes with an assumption of placelessness and detachment from physical space and geographical location, these matters still play a significant role in the way the digital humanities research is practiced today, and also in the future. The location, the surroundings and infrastructure open the questions of accessibility and equality: space shapes the opportunities for doing digital humanities research, both enables and hinders collaboration, and both unifies and divides scholars. The purpose of this special issue is to examine the different aspects of situated research practices of the digital humanities covering two perspectives: physical and virtual. The physical places of research refer to the various digital humanities sites (laboratories, centers, departments) all over the world and more widely to the surroundings a location in a particular city, country, cultural sphere or continent affecting research practices. As virtual environments of digital humanities scholarship, we define the digital internet-based platforms, services, and tools that enable research and scholarly collaboration. The aspects that determine digital humanities research in both physical and virtual places are infrastructure (material and non-material), social interaction (communication and collaboration), and context (social, cultural, and political situatedness). The aspects influence each other and changes in one of them can affect the others. They have also impact on what is studied, the ways research can be done, and, in the end the results of our knowledge, what kind of knowledge digital humanities research can provide.

Cluster 1: Physical Situatedness, Digital/Humanities Labs, and Infrastructure

[en] Scholarly Infrastructure as Critical Argument: Nine principles in a preliminary survey of the bibliographic and critical values expressed by scholarly web-portals for visualizing data

Jo Guldi, Southern Methodist University

Abstract [en]

[en] The Laboratory Turn: Exploring Discourses, Landscapes, and Models of Humanities Labs

Urszula Pawlicka-Deger, Aalto University

Abstract [en] The goal of this paper is to track the path of the formation of the laboratory turn in the humanities and understand the conditions, meanings, and functions of humanities labs. The first section investigates three discourses that gave rise to the emergence of a laboratory in the humanities: the transformation of the humanities infrastructure within the university, paradigm shifts in the social sciences, and the expansion of cultural categories of innovation, the maker movement (the proliferation of makerspaces), and the idea of community. Next, the author presents a history of the laboratory in the humanities and determines the shift from a laboratory as a physical place to conceptual laboratory. The last section analyses five models for humanities labs based on laboratories’ statements and operations: the center-type lab, the techno-science lab, the work station-type lab, the social challenges-centric lab, and virtual lab. The research shows that the laboratory turn has emerged in the humanities as a part of a wider process of the laboratorization of social life, which has been occurring since the 1980s. Next, the study indicates the role of digital humanities as the driving force behind building a laboratory space, which supports situated practices, the collaborative, and technology-based projects. The paper shows that the humanities lab does not simply imitate the science lab but adapts this new infrastructure for its own purposes and needs.

[en] Digital Humanities as Epistemic Cultures: How DH Labs Make Knowledge, Objects, and Subjects

James W. Malazita, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Ezra J. Teboul, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Hined Rafeh, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Abstract [en]

[en] The Chili and Honey of Digital Humanities Research:The Facilitation of the Interdisciplinary Transfer of Knowledge in Digital Humanities Centers

Mila Oiva, University of Turku (Finland)

Abstract [en]

[en] Excavating Infrastructure in the Analog Humanities’ Lab: An Analysis of Claude Lévi-Strauss’s Laboratoire d’anthropologie sociale

Aleksandra Kil, University of Wrocław (Poland)

Abstract [en]

[en] Infrastructure and Social Interaction: Situated Research Practices in Digital Humanities in India

Shanmugapriya T, Indian Institute of Technology; Nirmala Menon, Indian Institute of Technology

Abstract [en]

Digital Humanities Lab: Case Studies

[en] Digital Humanities on Reserve: From Reading Room to Laboratory at Yale University Library

Catherine DeRose, Yale University; Peter Leonard, Yale University

Abstract [en]

[en] Organic and Locally Sourced: Growing a Digital Humanities Lab with an Eye Towards Sustainability

Rebekah Cummings, University of Utah; David S. Roh, University of Utah; Elizabeth Callaway, University of Utah

Abstract [en]

[en] Inside the Trading Zone: Thinkering in a Digital History Lab

Andreas Fickers, University of Luxembourg; Tim van der Heijden, University of Luxembourg

Abstract [en]

[en] Creating Spaces for Interdisciplinary Research across Literature, Neuroscience, and DH: A Case Study of The Digital Humanities and Literary Cognition Lab (DHLC)

Natalie Philips, Michigan State University; Alexander Babbitt, Michigan State University; Soohyun Cho, Michigan State University; Jessica Kane, Albion College; Cody Mejeur, University at Buffalo; Craig Pearson, Michigan State University

Abstract [en] The Digital Humanities and Literary Cognition (DHLC) lab at Michigan State University was founded in 2012 with the mission of bringing together scholars from disciplines including literature, neuroscience, education, computer science, and digital humanities to investigate the cognitive processes involved in reading texts of all kinds. The real story is much more complicated: emerging through a combination of institutional risk-taking and serendipitous accident, the lab was — and remains — an example of how conventional definitions of a “laboratory,” and particularly the rather fraught label of “humanities lab,” often come short of capturing the true cross-disciplinary nature of this type of work. More than any academic or methodological template, the DHLC lab emerged through the curiosity and enthusiasm of the students who inhabit it. For that reason, this case study — a brief history of the DHLC’s development, cultural practices, and ongoing work — has been written collaboratively with multiple voices, including the lab director (Natalie Phillips) and the student researchers. Together, we describe the challenges and opportunities created by embarking on a radically interdisciplinary research effort. We report the elements that enabled the DHLC lab to find success through a willingness to abandon expectations and adapt to rapidly evolving research practices, while maintaining our core focus on the humanities. We hope this case study proves useful for those who, like us, seek to explore the vast potential of interdisciplinary lab space for DH practice, the pedagogical benefits of collaborative research, and how to prioritize humanities in a STEM-focused world.

[en] Ooligan Press: Building and Sustaining a Feminist Digital Humanities Lab at a R-2

Kathi Inman Berens, Portland State University; Abbey Gaterud, Chemeketa Community College; Rachel Noorda, Portland State University

Abstract [en]

Cluster 2: Virtual Situatedness, Digital Practices, and Collaboration

[en] An “Open Lab?” The Electronic Textual Cultures Lab in the Evolving Digital Humanities Landscape

Randa El Khatib, University of Victoria; Alyssa Arbuckle, University of Victoria; Lynne Siemens, University of Victoria; Ray Siemens, University of Victoria; Caroline Winter, University of Victoria; ETCL Research Group, University of Victoria

Abstract [en]

[en] One Loveheart at a Time: The Language of Emoji and the Building of Affective Community in the Digital Medieval Studies Environment

Lawrence Evalyn, University of Toronto; C. E. M. Henderson, University of Toronto’s Centre for Medieval Studies; Julia King, University of Bergen, Norway; Jessica Lockhart, University of Toronto, Mississauga; Laura Mitchell, St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan; Suzanne Conklin Akbari, Institute for Advanced Study

Abstract [en]

[en] Theatre analytics: developing software for theatre research

Clarisse Bardiot, Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France

Abstract [en]

[en] A Case Study Protocol for Meta-Research into Digital Practices in the Humanities

Maciej Maryl, Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland; Costis Dallas, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto; Digital Curation Unit, IMSI-Athena Research Centre; Jennifer Edmond, School of Languages Literatures and Cultural Studies, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland; DARIAH -EU; Jessie Labov, Center for Media, Data, and Society, Central European University, Hungary; Ingrida Kelpšienė, Vilnius University Faculty of Communication; Michelle Doran, Trinity College Dublin; Marta Kołodziejska, Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland; Klaudia Grabowska, Institute of Literary Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland

Abstract [en] This paper presents a multicase study protocol for meta-research in Digital Humanities, prepared by Digital Methods and Practices Observatory (DiMPO) Working Group of the Digital Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities in Europe (DARIAH). The protocol is intended to help researchers in conducting meta-research and adopting this methodology for different purposes, disciplines and approaches. As many of the issues raised here are already covered in manuals for social research, our focus is the specificity of meta-research in the DH environment. The specificity of DH in this respect relies on an intrinsic challenge of bringing together generally undertheorised approaches of the humanities with very formal and process-driven ICT approaches. The main assumption behind this research is that a meaningful change in scholarly practices is taking place and is worth investigating. Moreover, a full assessment of this transformation should not focus exclusively on pioneering research, but rather on the selective uptake of digital practices and methods by researchers in the humanities: those who do not necessarily affiliate themselves with DH but simply use digital tools to explore particular problems. Hence, this paper should be of interest not only to researchers willing to conduct meta analysis, but to all DH practitioners willing to gain critical perspective on their work, as well as for those working on funding, evaluation and research policy. Three pilot studies are discussed in this paper, as they served as a basis for the protocol. They focused on different “units of inquiry” (individual researchers, projects, research communities) and varied in methodological directions: (a) individual interviews with Polish DH researchers; (b) mixed-methods analysis of digital practice in E-CURATORS, a multicase SSHRC Insight project focusing on archaeological research sites or projects, integrating individual interviews, document analysis and naturalistic observation; and, (c) group interviews with historians and literary scholars conducted within the framework of NEP4DISSENT COST Action. The resulting protocol is discussed in detail and some directions for further research are suggested.

[en] The Role of Critical Thinking in Humanities Infrastructure: The Pipeline Concept with a Study of HaToRI (Hansard Topic Relevance Identifier)

Ashley S. Lee, Brown University; Poom Chiarawongse, Brown University; Jo Guldi, Southern Methodist University; Andras Zsom, Brown University

Abstract [en] This article proposes the concept of the pipeline as a category of tool that organizes a series of algorithms for users. The pipeline concept, adopted with limitations by the humanities, documents how a suite of algorithms produces a particular research result, with the goal of enabling interoperability, transparency, and iteration by future scholars who may switch out particular algorithms within the pipeline with different results. A pipeline-based application amplifies the concepts of interoperability and transparency for users by allowing the researcher to toggle on and off particular options, for example selecting and deselecting particular topics of interest from a program of visualizations based on a topic model of a large body of text. Pipelines support modular, interoperable, transparent, and documented processes of research that lend themselves to Prof. Guldi's Theory of Critical Search — the argument that critical thinking increasingly takes place at the design and research stage of digital processes. The article presents the case of how the pipeline concept influenced the development of HaToRI (Hansard Topic Relevance Identifier), an open-source pipeline-based tool for identifying a cohort of thematically-linked passages in the nineteenth-century debates of Britain's parliament. In our pipeline, a series of algorithms move through the steps of cleaning a corpus, organizing them into topics, and selecting particular topics that are used to extract a sub-corpus that matches the user’s interests. Users have the option of searching based on multiple topics rather than merely keywords or a single topic at a time, allowing iterative searches to build upon each other. As an example of the Critical Search process in action, we follow an inquiry based on matching parliamentary reports with material from the Hansard British Parliamentary Debates. Using the pipeline, the user is able to identify multiple common topics of interest, and from these topics, extract a sub-corpus specific to land use and rent in the 19th century British Empire.

Articles

[en] Lost Spaces, Lost Technologies, and Lost People: Online History Projects Seek to Recover LGBTQ+ Spatial Histories

Alex D. Ketchum, McGill University

Abstract [en]

[en] Fading Away... The challenge of sustainability in digital studies

Christine Barats, Cerlis, University of Paris Descartes; Valérie Schafer, C²DH, University of Luxembourg; Andreas Fickers, C²DH, University of Luxembourg

Abstract [en]

[en] Tremendous Mechanical Labor: Father Busa’s Algorithm

Geoffrey Rockwell, University of Alberta; Stéfan Sinclair, McGill University

Abstract [en]

[en] The Fold: Rethinking Interactivity in Data Visualization

Viktoria Brüggemann, University of Applied Sciences Potsdam; Mark-Jan Bludau, University of Applied Sciences Potsdam; Marian Dörk, University of Applied Sciences Potsdam

Abstract [en]

[en] Reassessing the locus of normalization in machine-assisted collation

David J. Birnbaum, University of Pittsburgh; Elena Spadini, Université de Lausanne

Abstract [en]

[en] Playing with Playthroughs: Distance Visualization and Narrative Form in Video Games

Cody Mejeur, University at Buffalo, SUNY

Abstract [en]

Author Biographies

URL: http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/14/3/index.html
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Announcements

2020 14.3

Lab and Slack. Situated Research Practices in Digital Humanities

Editors: Mila Oiva and Urszula Pawlicka-Deger

Front Matter

Cluster 1: Physical Situatedness, Digital/Humanities Labs, and Infrastructure

Digital Humanities Lab: Case Studies

Cluster 2: Virtual Situatedness, Digital Practices, and Collaboration

Articles

Author Biographies