[Open Hours] The End of the Beginning: Wrap-Up & Future Directions

Topic – The End of the Beginning

Join us for this last session in the current iteration of Open Hours, as we reflect on our work so far and think about what comes next. We would like to hear how we have done, and what you would like to see happen in the Hub in the weeks and months to come!

For the last 9 months, Humanities Librarians have been hosting Open Hours presentations, discussions and drop-ins at the Digital Humanities Hub | Te Pōkapu Matihiko o Te Kete Aronui. We sought to offer gentle introductions to digital thinking, tools, methods and projects for humanities research and teaching. Our aim was to create an open forum for asking questions, exchanging ideas and methods, and forming connections with colleagues across ‘Digital’ Humanities and between disciplines at Otago.

Now, as we mark Puaka Matariki and anticipate the beginning of semester two in 2019, this pilot collaboration between the OU Library and the Otago DH group is coming to an end. We would love to hear your perspective, so join us for some collaborative critique, crackers and cake.

In many ways, I think you could turn around and look to the digital humanities not as a sign of the apocalypse but for paths out of this mess. Here’s a field that has been working for years on open access research and publication platforms, on ways to articulate and valorize work done outside of narrow, elite channels, and on how to value scholarship that’s collaborative and interdisciplinary.

The Digital in the Humanities: An Interview with Bethany Nowviskie | Melissa Dinsman interviews Bethany Nowviskie

dh People, Projects, & Presentations

In 2019, we have been privileged to host some fascinating Open Hours discussions covering topics ranging from digital art and 3d modelling, through machine learning and data wrangling, to audiovisual essays and visualisation:

• 28th June: Data Wrangling and Digital (in)Security | David Hood
• 21st June: Contemporary artists as digital sociologists | Chloe Geoghegan (Te Uare Taoka o Hākena)
• 14th June:  Towards uncertain narratives: data & “stories” – Harkanwal Singh | DH Expo 2018 Keynote Viewing & Discussion
• 7th June:  Analogue archaeology and the digital toolkit | Tim Thomas (Archaeology)
• 12th April: Generous Interfaces: Delivering Access to Rich Cultural Heritage Collections | Lynn Benson (Te Uare Taoka o Hākena)
• 29th March: Virtual “Reality”: an experiential introduction | Brandon Couch (English)
• 22nd February: The promise and challenges of audio-visual essays as a research and teaching tool | Catherine Fowler (Media, Film and Communication)
• 15th February: Deep learning for handwriting recognition with Dr Steve Mills (Computer Science)
• 8th February: An introduction to Finding and Cleaning Humanities Data | Chris Seay (OU Library)
• 1st February: What Could Digital Humanities Be (Redux) | Judy Fisher and Lisa Chisholm (OU Library)