Who has Access to the Digital Humanities?
Diversity and Inclusivity in DH in Ireland and the UKOne of the dreams of information and communication technologies is that of equitable and open access to information, to services, and to opportunities. We know, of course, that this is only true on the surface, and that technological systems tend to recreate the inequities of the cultures and societies that build them. As such, the dream of the digital humanities as a ‘big tent’ (that is, capacious, broad and inclusive) is also one that we need to constantly query and challenge if the field is to have a claim to being inclusive and diverse.
This is a particularly pressing issue as we explore the potential for a regional DH network to support the use and promotion of DH methods in the UK and Ireland. We have therefore asked our growing community to co-create an event on the state of inclusivity in DH in our countries, and how we might actively strive to improve from this baseline. This virtual event took place on 22nd October, 2021, from 09:30-15:30.
Our final discussion paper, based on the outcome of this workshop, is published here.
Workshop Schedule
| Schedule | Outline |
| 09:30 – 10:00 | Welcome to participants from the network PI (Jane Winters) |
| 10:00 – 10:45 | Framing the problem (James Smithies) |
| 10:45 – 11:00 | Questions and discussion (chaired by Lorna Hughes) |
| 11:00 – 11:15 | Convenience break |
| 11:15 – 12:00 | King’s Digital Lab Software Development Lifecycle (Arianna Ciula/Neil Jakeman) |
| 12:00 – 12:15 | Questions and discussion (chaired by Charlotte Tupman) |
| 12:15 – 13:15 | Convenience break |
| 13:15 – 13:35 | Teaching: the Department of Digital Humanities at King’s, evolution and programmes (Paul Spence) |
| 13:35 – 13:55 | Teaching: the University College Cork Digital Humanities department and programme (Orla Murphy) |
| 13:55 – 14:15 | Capacity enhancement: The National Archives (UK) perspective (Pip Willcox) |
| 14:15 – 14:30 | Questions and discussion (chaired by Michelle Doran) |
| 14:30 – 15:00 | Training: National landscape and requirements for RSE training in the UK and Ireland (Dave De Roure and Orla Murphy) (introduced by Federico Nanni) |
| 15:00 – 15:15 | Questions and discussion (chaired by Federico Nanni) |
| 15:15 – 15:30 | Convenience break |
| 15:30 – 16:00 | Creative industries provocation (Alex Morrison and Andy Cummins) (introduced by James Smithies) |
| 16:00 – 16:30 | Discussion and next steps (chaired by Arianna Ciula) |