27.4512, Calls: Computational Linguistics, Philosophy of Language/Germany

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LINGUIST List: Vol-27-4512. Fri Nov 04 2016. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 27.4512, Calls: Computational Linguistics, Philosophy of Language/Germany

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Date: Fri, 04 Nov 2016 19:07:41
From: Martin Siefkes [martin.siefkes at phil.tu-chemnitz.de]
Subject: The Potential and the Limits of the Digital Humanities

 
Full Title: The Potential and the Limits of the Digital Humanities 

Date: 12-Sep-2017 - 16-Sep-2017
Location: Passau, Germany 
Contact Person: Martin Siefkes
Meeting Email: martin.siefkes at phil.tu-chemnitz.de
Web Site: http://www.semiotik.eu/cfp-digital-humanities 

Linguistic Field(s): Computational Linguistics; Philosophy of Language 

Call Deadline: 20-Nov-2016 

Meeting Description:

For decades, humanities scholars have routinely used the internet and computer
software in their daily work. Including activities like the collection,
annotation, statistical analysis, editing, and interpretation of texts and
other semiotic artifacts. In recent years, however, the use of new
software-based research methods, the growing importance of digital archives,
and the development of new technologies such as 3D scans and virtual modelling
have raised the question of whether we are just witnessing a quantitative
increase in the use of computer-based research, or rather a qualitative change
that could alter our understanding of the humanities as a whole.

As often in times of rapid change, the discourses around the Digital
Humanities are defined by opposites. While some hope for new research
perspectives, increased economic impact and opportunities for third-party
funding, others fear that the core strengths of the humanities such as
qualitative methods, critical thinking, and intellectual depth will be lost in
the rush for supposedly modern algorithmic methods, gleaming websites, and
showy infographics.

The panel seeks to ignite a debate about the possibilities and limitations of
the Digital Humanities that moves beyond these dichotomies. A specific focus
lies on questions regarding the possible removal of barriers, the hope for
wider access to culture, education, and participation, and the risk of new
exclusions. There is no doubt that the knowledge needed for participation in
our increasingly digital cultures, as well as the qualifications of humanities
scholars interested in understanding these cultures, are changing. At the same
time, the internet can vastly increase the reach of exhibitions, archives, and
repositories. What does it mean when manuscripts or first editions that were
previously only seen by a few experts become available in high resolution, and
may even be annotated in crowd-sourcing initiatives? Will, for example,
museums strive to become more democratic with online exhibitions, and opera
less elitist with live-streamed performances? What new exclusions will result
when humanities scholars are suddenly expected to be conversant with
specialised software and coding techniques, and are expected to market their
research on internet platforms?

Semiotics, the theory of signs, offers the conceptual tools to analyse these
developments. In recent decades, the spread of digital media and multimodal
textuality have significantly changed the ''semiosphere'' (J. Lotman) of our
cultures. Can the ''limits of interpretation'' (U. Eco) be pushed further by
the algorithmic promises of our time? Or should the humanities prepare to form
a hermeneutic barrier against the digital, as a sort of final frontier against
the nemesis of a computerized world?


Call for Papers:

The panel is open for discussion contributions, lectures, and presentations
(in German or English) on current research trends in the Digital Humanities.
The semiotic perspective may be explicit in the use of terminology and
theories, or implicit in the reflection on the interpretive dimensions of
humanities research and/or specific digital methods.

Please send abstracts by 20 Nov 2016 to:

Ralph Knickmeier: ralph_knickmeier at t-online.de
Martin Siefkes: martin.siefkes at phil.tu-chemnitz.de

Selected panels of the conference will be published in the conference
proceedings. Alternatively, the panel contributions may be published in the
form of an edited volume.




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