ENGL46015: Qualitative approaches to Digital Humanities

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• To introduce students to a range of digital resources and computational methods for use in humanities research and in cultural heritage
• To consider appropriate humanities methodologies with which to critique digital phenomena
• To investigate how digital resources are designed, used and preserved

• Will consider a range of digital technologies and their application to humanities research and cultural heritage organisations. Topics will include: the history and development of DH; the analysis and anatomy of digital projects, including the nature of digitisation; digital musicology; game cultures; textual resources and digital editions; spatial DH and crowd-based methods; user studies and interface design; digital techniques in museums and cultural heritage (including field trips to the Oriental Museum and special collections); DH beyond the English speaking world- international DH and non-roman scripts; Sustaining and preserving digital materials
• Will discuss the history of DH as an Anglo-American dominated field, and the development DH in a global context, including India and South America, and the debates about multi-lingual DH.
• Will consider diversity issues both in DH and the IT industry, in the context of trolling, online harassment, and hate speech on digital platforms.
• Students will take part in hands-on practical sessions using digital tools, but this will not require pre-existing coding skills
• Every seminar will include reflection on a case study digital project or research programme as a means of framing discussion. This will include guest presenters from different departments in Durham, including colleagues from libraries and special collections.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• On completion of this module, students will possess:
• knowledge of a range of digital techniques and resources relevant to humanities research and the cultural heritage sector
• insight into the complex interactions between computation techniques and method and humanities research, and the factors which influence choice of methods
• knowledge of a range of digitization and computational analysis techniques

Subject-specific Skills:

• Students studying this module will develop:
• critical skills in the reading and evaluation of digital resources and phenomena
• a critical awareness of the human and societal context of the use of digital technologies and applications
• an awareness of the importance of digital preservation and the role of libraries and memory institutions in providing access to digital culture and heritage
• skills of effective communication, argument, and evaluative methodology for digital objects
• awareness of conventions of scholarly presentation, and bibliographic skills including accurate citation of sources and consistent use of scholarly conventions of presentation
• command of a broad range of vocabulary and an appropriate critical terminology
• awareness of the role of the digital in supporting, or threatening diversity, equity and inclusion
• the ability to critique and evaluate digital phenomena within their wider societal context

Key Skills:

• Students studying this module will develop:
• an advanced ability to analyse digital resources critically;
• an advanced ability to acquire complex information of diverse kinds in structured and systematic ways;
• an advanced ability to interpret complex information of diverse kinds, both digital and physical, through the distinctive skills derived from the subject;
• expertise in conventions of scholarly presentation and bibliographical skills;
• an independence of thought and judgement, and ability to assess acutely the critical ideas of others;
• sophisticated skills in critical reasoning;
• an advanced ability to handle information and argument critically;
• digital skills in the techniques described above;
• professional organisation and time-management skills.

• Students are encouraged to develop advanced conceptual abilities and analytical skills as well as the ability to communicate an advanced knowledge and conceptual understanding within seminars; the capacity for advanced independent study is demonstrated through the completion of two assessed pieces of work.
• Typically, directed learning may include assigning student(s) an issue, theme or topic that can be independently or collectively explored within a framework and/or with additional materials provided by the tutor. This may function as preparatory work for presenting their ideas or findings (sometimes electronically) to their peers and tutor in the context of a seminar.
• Assessment: Critical evaluation of a digital resource.

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