Navigating the Digital Landscape: UCLA's Digital Humanities Programs and Resources

Digital Humanities (DH) is a dynamic field that bridges traditional humanities research with cutting-edge information technology. It explores how technology, media, and computational methods can transform humanities research and how the humanities can evolve through these engagements. UCLA offers a rich array of programs and resources to support students and researchers interested in exploring this exciting intersection.

Expert Guidance at UCLA

Navigating the world of Digital Humanities can feel overwhelming, especially when encountering technical challenges. Fortunately, UCLA provides access to expert guidance.

Dr. Wendy Perla Kurtz: A lecturer and project scientist in the Digital Humanities program, Dr. Kurtz brings extensive experience with a wide range of DH tools, with particular expertise in mapping.
Anthony Caldwell: As the assistant director of UCLA’s Digital Research Consortium, Anthony Caldwell possesses broad knowledge of DH tools, specializing in 3D modeling.

Campus Resources for Digital Humanities

Beyond individual expertise, several campus entities offer specialized support for DH projects:

The Library’s Data Science Center: This center is a valuable resource for data cleaning, statistical analysis, coding assistance, and mapping support. Appointments can be booked online.
Institute for Digital Research and Education (IDRE): For complex visualization and mapping issues, IDRE consultants are available for appointments.

Furthermore, remember that many individuals within the DH community are often willing to assist if approached politely. UCLA also provides an aggregated list of workshops, offering opportunities to learn new skills and connect with other researchers.

Essential Online Resources for Digital Humanists

UCLA provides access to online resources.

Safari Books Online: UCLA provides access to the Safari library of ebooks on technical topics.
Lynda.com: Access a library of videos with an LA Public Library card.

Centers and Initiatives Shaping Digital Humanities

Several centers and initiatives, both within and beyond UCLA, contribute significantly to the advancement of Digital Humanities. These entities foster research, collaboration, and the development of new methodologies.

Center for Transformative Scholarship (CTS): The CTS facilitates, explores, tests, and advances new media and networked scholarship for scholarly research, analysis, and publication.
TAPoR (Text Analysis Portal for Research): While hosted by the University of Alberta, TAPoR serves as a centralized gateway to texts and text analysis tools. It is a collaboration by six Canadian universities.
Institute for Computing in Humanities, Arts, and Social Science (I-CHASS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: I-CHASS explores high-performance computing in the humanities, arts, and social sciences, creating learning environments and spaces for digital discovery.
Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH): MITH is an applied think tank for the digital humanities. Since its founding in 1999, MITH has participated in projects covering topics such as apartheid, Early American archives, Emily Dickinson, and historical theaters.
MATRIX: MATRIX is devoted to the application of new technologies for teaching, research, and outreach. It serves as a resource for developing and managing digital humanities projects and provides a guide to planning a digital project.

Tools and Platforms for Digital Humanities Research

The digital humanities rely on a variety of tools and platforms to facilitate research, analysis, and presentation. Here are some examples:

TensorFlow: An open-source machine-learning toolkit.
HathiTrust Research Center (HTRC): Supports large-scale computational analysis of works in the HathiTrust Digital Library to facilitate non-profit and educational research.
Omeka: A free, flexible, and open-source web-publishing platform. Its five-minute setup makes launching an online exhibition easy.
Google Colaboratory: Allows you to interactively write and execute Python in your browser with easy storage and sharing through Google Drive.

Data Visualization in Digital Humanities

Data visualization is a key component of digital humanities, allowing researchers to present their findings in accessible and insightful ways.

Data visualization is the process of using graphical representations (graphs, charts, and maps) to show the results of data analysis, which can help to identify patterns and trends.

Digital Archives and Collections

Digital archives and collections provide access to primary source materials for humanities research. Here are some examples:

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The Ancient World Mapping Center: Hosts maps, articles, images of artifacts, and bibliographies of the ancient world.
The Rossetti Archive: Features materials by and about Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
African American History: Research Guides & Websites: A searchable directory for online history projects that can help further Black History research.
The East London Theatre Archive: Provides online access to resources of music hall and variety theatres in London's East End during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The Mark Twain Project: Offers access to a variety of Mark Twain's writings, including texts, notes, letters, and documents relating to the author.
Monastic Wales: Features primary sources, secondary literature, maps, bibliographies, and articles on the monastic history of Medieval Wales.
The Perseus Digital Library: Features primary and secondary documents that document the history, literature, and culture of the Greco-Roman world.
The Valley of the Shadow: Provides details about the lives of two communities, one Northern and the other Southern, during the Civil War. Included are original diaries, letters, newspapers, speeches, census and church records.

Digital Projects Showcasing Innovation

These digital projects exemplify the innovative use of technology in humanities research:

The Digital Dante: A multi-media research tool intended to facilitate the study of the Divine Comedy.

Journals Dedicated to Digital Humanities

Several journals are dedicated to publishing research and scholarship in the field of Digital Humanities. These publications provide a platform for disseminating new methodologies, critical analyses, and innovative projects.

Digital Humanities Quarterly (DHQ): Published three times a year, this peer-reviewed multilingual and interdisciplinary journal focuses on emerging digital humanities methodology and its application.
Information Technologies and International Development: This peer-reviewed online journal publishes articles on the subject of the Internet and information technology.
19: Interdisciplinary Studies in the Long Nineteenth Century: 19 is an open-access, scholarly, refereed web journal dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary study in the long nineteenth century.
Aesthetics for Birds: In recent years aesthetics has grown into a rich and varied discipline. Its scope has widened to embrace ethical, social, religious, environmental, and cultural concerns.
Digital Studies/Le champ numérique: The online journal of the Society for Digital Humanities / Société pour l'étude des médias interactifs dedicated to supplying articles relating to the use of computers in analysis and creation of texts.

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