"Is Humanities Computing an Academic Discipline?"

An Interdisciplinary Seminar for Faculty and Graduate Students

Funded by the College of Arts and Sciences

/hcs/

The question before us, institutional recognition of work in humanities computing, rests with the relationship between computational methods and humanities scholarship. If we can show these methods to be scholarly in their application to the arts and humanities, and to form a coherent perspective on their data, then the case for recognition will in essence be made. An ancillary question is the pragmatic one of where we place humanities computing within the institution so as to realise its potential. Whether it is a discipline is really a secondary issue, perhaps even a distraction; what matters is whether we can regard it as an essential part of our academic self-definition. If so then we give it the resources and protection necessary for pure research, include it within our degree structure, establish standards for its evaluation and work out its collegial relationship with the other departments, centres and institutes. On the one hand is the promise not only of a new dimension to our academic life, including the synergy of the methodological common ground that it defines, but also refurbishment of the traditional disciplines. On the other hand is the significant cost, in a time of severely limited resources, and perhaps even more seriously, the disturbance to the entire system, with results that are difficult to predict."

--Willard McCarty, "What is humanities computing? Toward a definition of the field."

Schedule:

September 17 Clemons 201, 11 - 1 Organizational Meeting

September 24 Clemons 201, 11 - 1 Background Readings and Discussion

October 1 Clemons 201, 11 - 1 Susan Hockey

October 8 Clemons 201, 11 - 1 Jerome McGann

October 22 Clemons 322A, 11 - 1 Espen Aarseth

October 29 Clemons 322A, 11 - 1 John Nerbonne

November 5 Clemons 201, 11 - 1 Willard McCarty

November 12 Clemons 322A, 11 - 1 Geoffrey Rockwell

November 19 Clemons 201, 11 - 1 Lou Burnard

December 3 Clemons 201, 11 - 1 Stuart Moulthrop

December 10 Clemons 201, 11 - 1 Discussion

New Media Planning Committee (appointed by Peter Low, intended "to explore ways in which we can capitalize on the dramatic successes we have achieved at the University in the area of humanities computing.")

Co-Chairs: Steve Plog and John Unsworth, Arts and Sciences

Members: J. Milton Adams, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Edward L. Ayers, Virginia Center for Digital History

Johanna Drucker, Director of Media Studies

Alan D. Howard, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Laurie P. Kelsh, President's Office

John W. Lloyd, Curry School of Education

Worthy N. Martin, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Jerome McGann, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Jeffrey Plank, Development

Glen O. Robinson, School of Law

Kenneth Schwartz, School of Architecture

Timothy M. Sigmon, Office of Information Technologies

Kendon L. Stubbs, University Library