Digital Humanities (DH) has emerged in the last decades as an exciting and challenging field of research, combining – in an international and interdisciplinary effort – theory, practices and methods from multiple fields in the Humanities, Software Engineering, Computer and Data Sciences. This has resulted in innovative research, and the creation of promising new directions for the Humanities.

While DH has developed successfully in the UK and Ireland, with the establishment of world-leading centres in both countries, there are major opportunities for further development and innovation by bringing together their complementary strengths. We seek to nurture the capacity for excellent research and teaching in DH, to establish and sustain more effective connections with non-HE sectors (notably Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums, the technology and creative industries), and to create new pathways for collaboration. The Association will build a collaborative vision for the field, creating new and sustainable long-term partnerships in alignment with the international community. Together we will consider and interrogate the concepts of sustainability, inclusivity, training, advocacy and career progression, among other key questions.

Past, Present, Future

The Association is currently in a transitional stage. Growing out of the Digital Humanities Research Network project. This project was jointly supported and funded by the AHRC and IRC (AH/V002163/1 and IRC/V002163/2), and conducted by a number of partner institutions in collaboration with stakeholders across the DH community. Together, the DH community in the UK and Ireland collaboratively developed a roadmap for the Association’s first three years. This roadmap includes goals around community building, governance, programming, and publications. Until the adoption of a formal constitution, the Association operates according to its Terms of Reference.