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ISSN 1938-4122
Announcements
DHQ: Digital Humanities Quarterly
2024 18.2
Articles
“Open” or “Close” Research Instruments? Conflicting Rationales in the
Organization of Early Digital Medieval History in Europe (1960–1990).
Edgar Lejeune, Vossius Center for the History of Humanities and Sciences (University of Amsterdam)
Abstract
[en]
From the late 1940s onwards, humanities scholars used computers in order to create new types of research
instruments, e.g., databases, digital scholarly editions of texts and/or archives, computer programs, etc. Their
ambitions in doing so consisted in saving time in tedious, repetitive and error-prone scholarly tasks, enhancing
the circulation of data and/or scholarly information, or even contributing to the “progress” of an entire
discipline. Sharing these research instruments with interested colleagues was then crucial for these scholars.
However, each of these humanities computing collectives developed at the time its own idiosyncratic procedures for
editing, analyzing, and publishing computer-recorded material. This profoundly affected the possibility for these
research instruments to circulate among scholars.
In this article, I present how medievalists debated about a possible circulation of these digital research
instruments in that context, and how it contributes to the development of an early “humanities computing”
organization in Europe. I show how medievalists’ ambitions raised a whole series of material and intellectual
difficulties which are still essential in our current DH practices and organizations. What data should we edit (and
thus, what data are worth sharing)? In what form should we publish these datasets? And do we need common rules for
this purpose? I argue that a precise history of early DH communities highlights a strong continuity with
contemporary DH issues as well as the importance of historical studies of our field.
Lilypond Music-Notation Software in the Digital-Humanities Toolbox
Andrew A. Cashner, University of Rochester
Abstract
[en]
The music-notation software Lilypond generates high-quality music typography from a plain-text input format;
almost every aspect of the program can be customized and programmed, and the system lends itself well to automation
and batch processing. Lilypond offers a “minimal computing” alternative to bloated, costly, and hegemonic
graphical programs. Like many free software tools, however, Lilypond still exacts a cost in time and training
needed to overcome an unwieldly interface and adapt the tool for scholarly purposes. The author developed a system
called lirio that enabled the production of two critical editions and a monograph in
Lilypond (integrated with LaTeX). The system provides a new semantic-markup interface to Lilypond that enables
scholars to think about typography separately from musical content; a range of expanded Lilypond functionality
including incipit staves, mensural coloration brackets, and editorial annotations; and a stricter input format that
makes Lilypond files easier to maintain. The author also developed the prototype ly2mei
compiler to demonstrate how Lilypond files can be converted to MEI-XML, overcoming a major limitation in Lilypond’s
export abilities. The article argues that scholars will be best served by a simple, consistent, meaningful
interface in a format that can be shared and converted. An extension of Lilypond like lirio demonstrates the considerable potential of this tool for enterprising and patient scholars whose
needs are not met by other tools. Lilypond provides a case study for how to make open-source, free-license tools
work for our own needs as digital humanists.
Case Studies
Towards a National Data Architecture for Cultural Collections: Designing the Australian Cultural Data
Engine
Rachel Fensham, University of Melbourne; Australian Cultural Data Engine; Tyne Daile Sumner, Australian National University; Australian Cultural Data Engine; Nat Cutter, University of Melbourne; Australian Cultural Data Engine; George Buchanan, RMIT University; Rui Liu, University of Melbourne; Justin Munoz, Independent Scholar; James Smithies, Australian National University; Ivy Zheng, University of Newcastle; David Carlin, RMIT University; Erik Champion, University of South Australia; Hugh Craig, University of Newcastle; Scott East, University of New South Wales; Chris Hay, Flinders University; Lisa Given, RMIT University; John Macarthur, University of Queensland; David McMeekin, Curtin University; Joanna Mendelssohn, University of Melbourne; Deborah van der Plaat, University of Queensland
Abstract
[en]
This article summarises the aims, methods, information architecture, outputs, and innovations of the Australian Cultural Data Engine
(ACD-Engine), a project that harnesses leading cultural databases to build bridges to research, industry, and government. The project
investigates digital heritage collections, data ontologies, and interoperability, building an information architecture to enhance the
open sharing of Australian cultural data. Working with a cross-disciplinary team, the ACD-Engine establishes conceptual and technical
frameworks for better understanding the platforms and uses of cultural data across a range of national and international contexts. This
new cyber-infrastructure advances cultural data aggregation and interoperability whilst prioritising data quality and domain
distinctiveness to answer new research questions across disciplines. As such, the ACD-Engine provides a novel approach to data
management and data modelling in the arts and humanities that has significant implications for digital collections, digital humanities,
and data analytics.
Graph based modelling
of prosopographical datasets. Case study: Romans 1by1
Rada Varga, Babeș-Bolyai University; Stefan Bornhofen, CY Cergy Paris University
Abstract
[en]
In this paper, we present and discuss a promising research avenue, that is the use of
graph-based models and software for prosopographical data sets. Our case study will
be constituted by Romans 1by1 (http://romans1by1.com/), a digital-born prosopography
focusing on people attested in classical era inscriptions; it presently hosts
approximately 18,000 open access persons files. The project aimed at employing new
techniques and methodologies that come from other fields (i.e. computer science), in
order to approach the study of ancient population in an innovative way, to ease the
research, and to create an open-access tool, available for the academic community. In
the scope of this paper, we use Romans1by1 as an example to explore the perspectives
of ingesting the information from a prosopographical relational database into a graph
database.
Reviews
A Review of James Little’s The Making of Samuel Beckett’s
Not I / Pas moi, That Time /
Cette fois and Footfalls / Pas (2021)
Céline Thobois-Gupta, Trinity College Dublin
Abstract
[en]
This review highlights the main achievements of James Little’s The Making of Samuel Beckett’s
Not I / Pas moi, That Time /
Cette fois and Footfalls / Pas (2021).
A Review of Feminist in a Software Lab: Difference +
Design (2018)
Diane K. Jakacki, Bucknell University
Abstract
[en]
This review of Feminist in a Software Lab: Difference + Design (2018) considers Tara
McPherson's ambitious and compelling reflections on the Vectors Lab and attendant
journal housed at the University of Southern California, as well as the development of the Scalar web publication environment.
The Humans and Algorithms of Music Recommendation: A Review of Computing Taste (2022)
Jacob Pleasants, University of Oklahoma
Abstract
[en]
In Computing Taste, Nick Seaver conducts an anthropological
study of the technologists who design algorithmic music recommendation systems. He
explores their ways of thinking and talking about music, taste, and computation to
better understand their technological design approaches. By highlighting the humans
behind the machines, Computing Taste shows how to think about
computer algorithms as sociotechnical systems.
Digital Methods in Literary Criticism: A Review of Digital Humanities
and Literary Studies (2022)
Lili Wang, Harbin Engineering University; Tianxiang Chen, Harbin Engineering University
Abstract
[en]
In Digital Humanities and Literary Studies, Martin Paul
Eve discusses various cases of digital technology in the analysis of literary studies
and examines how digital tools influence literary interpretation. Martin skillfully
navigates the complex landscape of digital methodologies, offering readers a holistic
view of the transformative influence of literary analysis.
Author Biographies
URL: http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/preview/index.html
Comments: dhqinfo@digitalhumanities.org
Published by: The Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations and The Association for Computers and the Humanities
Affiliated with: Digital Scholarship in the Humanities
DHQ has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Copyright © 2005 -
Unless otherwise noted, the DHQ web site and all DHQ published content are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Individual articles may carry a more permissive license, as described in the footer for the individual article, and in the article’s metadata.
Comments: dhqinfo@digitalhumanities.org
Published by: The Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations and The Association for Computers and the Humanities
Affiliated with: Digital Scholarship in the Humanities
DHQ has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Copyright © 2005 -
Unless otherwise noted, the DHQ web site and all DHQ published content are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Individual articles may carry a more permissive license, as described in the footer for the individual article, and in the article’s metadata.
