Altissia Chair: Practical Digital Methods and Tools for the Humanities

Teacher(s)

Tanasescu Chris;

Language

French

Main themes

The digital is not just a "polish of modernity" superimposed on the reality that surrounds us, it is a fundamental movement that confronts the real and the virtual—and actually goes beyond the opposition between the two—, which influences languages, arts, culture, society, systems of thought, and even our perception of space and time. This fundamental digital shift therefore affects the “subjects" that are at the heart of our disciplinary fields in FIAL while at the same time raising important societal challenges, both ethical and democratic.
In this course we look into the practical impact of the (post)digital on the humanities and the opportunities and affordances it makes possible for obtaining better, richer, and subtler results in our studies and research. We will therefore focus on and learn how to use various digital tools and algorithms for effective applications in the humanities, both improving our angle on, knowledge of, and efficiency in, our subject matters and helping to work in cross-disciplinary contexts and be successful when coping with the challenges of the digital age. 
Our practical applications will range from digital archiving bringing together image, text, and sound to 3D modeling to algorithms and tools for history, art history, and archeology to apps for linguistics and literature to data management, visualization, and classification to network visualization and analysis, etc. Student will be allowed to focus on and work with applications most relevant to their subjects or to their main research, cultural, and professional interests.

Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	The goal of this course is to introduce the students to the most advanced and effective digital tools and affordances relevant to their subject matter and/or their personal research/professional interests and help them learn how to deploy them successfully in academic/real-life and job/career-relevant contexts.

Content

This course will provide theoretical knowledge: data format used in human science, concept of data tagging, qualitative and quantitative approach, and the principle of data exchange, transmission and networking.
On the practical front, students will also have the opportunity to experiment and develop expertise with a range of generic or specialised tools. Students can choose the specialised tools that best meet the needs of the various disciplines taught in the Faculty of Philosophy, Arts and Letters.

Teaching methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

Lectures given online alternating with in-class hands-on workshops. In case of worsening of the health situation, the workshops will also be transferred online.

Evaluation methods

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the information in this section is particularly likely to change.

Contribution to a collaborative digital project together with other students enrolled in the course and directed by the instructor. Active participation in the online event presenting the project(s) at the end of the quadrimester.

Other information

English-friendly course: course taught in French but offering facilities in English.

Online resources

Moodle

Faculty or entity

FIAL