The huge potential of the digital humanities will be investigated at a special launch conference being organised by the Eastern Academic Research Collaboration (Eastern ARC) on Wednesday 8 July at Wivenhoe House at the University of Essex’s Colchester Campus.

The keynote speaker at the event will be Professor Sir Deian Hopkins, President of the National Library of Wales which is recognised as a centre of excellence in digitisation throughout Europe.

Digital Humanities is one of three broad interdisciplinary areas being initially focused on by Eastern ARC – a new force in research collaboration and training created by the University of East Anglia (UEA), the University of Essex and the University of Kent. All three universities have significant expertise in the Digital Humanities with resources based at Essex including the UK Data Service and the Integrated Census Microdata (I-CeM) project a standardised, integrated dataset of most of the censuses of Great Britain for the period 1851 to 1911.

Digital technologies have the power to enable new ways of working in the humanities: allowing new questions; facilitating access to research materials; and providing forms of output and dissemination that span the humanities. The Digital Humanities represent an interdisciplinary range of research, united by a common methodological and theoretical interest in information technologies and providing opportunities to connect with the social sciences, sciences and cultural heritage sector.

The conference will provide an accessible introduction to digital humanities across the Eastern ARC. It is aimed at staff and postgraduate students who are either involved in digital research or would like to better understand how digital technologies are being used in the humanities.

Speakers will come from across the faculties of Humanities at Essex, UEA and Kent, covering a wide range of topics including:

• Using data resources to study women’s history;
• Census data and the fertility atlas: identification and human rights;
• Animation and public engagement for Roman History;
• Geographic visualisation of historical landscapes;
• Stories as maps: digital visualisations and narrative structures;
• Mapping urban built environments;
• Use and users of digitised heritage materials;
• The future of digital humanities across the Eastern ARC.

For more information contact:
Dr Amanda Wilkinson at the University of Essex
Dr Paul Gooding at the University of East Anglia
Dr Benjamin Vis at the University of Kent