ENGL46130: 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 1: Critical evaluation of a digital resource.
• Assessment 2: Individual project.
• All students will be offered a 15-minute 1:1 essay consultation which will form the formative assessment component for this module. Please note that this session will not be centrally timetabled and should be organised directly between the student and their tutor.

All students will be offered a 15-minute 1:1 essay consultation which will form the formative assessment component for this module. This activity will not be centrally timetabled and should be organised between the student and tutor as schedules permit.

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