Last Thursday, the World Languages & Digital Humanities Studio hosted the kick-off DH Meet-Up of the fall semester in J.B. Hunt 207. 

The Meet-Up featured presentations about Digital Humanities projects from World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures faculty. A recap of the presentations are included below: 

Kathleen Condray, professor of German, presented on Mapping Unheard Migrant Voices in Arkansas, a joint project with Linda Jones, chair of the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures, and Ryan Calabretta-Sajder, associate professor of Italian. This research project investigates German, French, and Italian history in the state of Arkansas as well as French interactions with the Quapaw nation. This project aims to make the European immigrant history of the state more accessible to the public through interactive Digital Humanities projects. The website for this project is available here.

From left: Kathleen Condray and Rhodora Vennarucci 

Rhodora Vennarucci, associate professor of classical studies, presented "DH Fieldwork: Digital Technologies on the Marzuolo Archaeological Project." The Marzuolo Archaeological Project (MAP) is an international and multi-institutional fieldwork project at Podere Marzuolo in Cinigiano, GR, Italy involving excavations at the Roman-period site, yielding high-resolution evidence of blacksmithing, woodworking, agricultural production, and the production of terra sigillata pottery. Dr. Vennarucci discussed using ArcGIS and geospatial data recording to reconstruct a "living" workshop at the site, the spatial distribution of artifacts, object photogrammetry and 3D rendering/modeling for Virtual Reality. Learn more about the Marzuolo Project here.

Maria Comsa, teaching assistant professor of French, presented a "DH Curricular Innovation on Padlet" and the outcomes of incorporating Padlet in the French classroom. This research began in spring 2023 as a joint research project with Christian Rosales, who earned a master's degree in the French program, to gauge the effectiveness of using Padlet in French courses to complement instruction. Findings included the impact on improving and increasing writing in French over the course of the semester. 

From left: Annie Doucet and Maria Comsa

Annie Doucet, assistant professor of French, presented on "Teaching at the WLDH Studio: Newline Touchscreen Paleography." Doucet discussed the effectiveness of using the digital touchscreen (located in the World Languages & Digital Humanities Studio) to decipher and transcribe handwritten medieval French transcripts in coordination with the Old French Literature class (FREN 5333). Students were able to learn codicology (the study of manuscripts and codices), critical editions, become more proficient in reading Old French, and gain transcription experience.  

The presentations were followed by a lively Q&A discussion and a reception at the World Languages and Digital Humanities Studio. 

The next DH Meet-Up will take place from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, and will center on project pitches for future DH projects, or projects that are still in the planning phase or early stages. Presenters will be limited to a 3-3 ½ minute project pitch that will then be reviewed by a committee focusing on three criteria (innovation and collaboration, feasibility, and applicability to world languages & cultures) to determine the top three pitches. Stay tuned for the winners!