New Storytellers: Digital Ethnic StudiesThe Seventh Annual Nebraska Forum on Digital Humanities
October 25-26, 2018
Our objective this year is to feature new stories and new storytellers in the field of digital ethnic studies broadly. The forum will be organized as a workshop for scholars working predominately in Minority Serving Institutions and aimed at developing new approaches in designing scholarship that engages with communities in meaningful ways. The forum will address two major questions for scholars working in this field: what is needed to advance Digital Ethnic Studies? and What stories in this field are suited for the digital medium? All participants will work in teams to tackle these questions and come up with ideas, designs, and solutions aimed at developing both at the field and their individual scholarship. The forum will also seek to build up a community of scholars working together as a cohort. We will have group dinners to learn more about one another's scholarship and teaching, and we will have a special showing of artwork by Kara Walker, Gordon Parks, and others, from the permanent collection of the Sheldon Museum of Art. The group will also have a special showing at the Ross Theater.
The hashtag for this event is #DHethnic18
Thursday, October 25
Sheldon Auditorium
Free & open to the public
3:30-5:00 A Roundtable on Digital Ethnic Studies
- Roopika Risam, Salem State
- Shearon Roberts, Xavier University
- Alberto Rodriguez, Texas A & M University, Kingsville
- Ken Price, UNL (moderator)
Friday, October 26
Jackie Gaughan Multcultural Center
By invitation
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m., Registration and Coffee
9:00 a.m. - 9:10 a.m., Welcoming Remarks
9:00-10:30 Workshop
10:45-11:30 Presentation round and critique and discussion
12:00 Lunch and lightning round of CDRH projects
1:30 Workshop
2:00 Presentation round and critique
List of participants:
Invited speakers from Xavier, Texas A&M-Kingville, and Salem State U, respectively
Shearon Roberts (Mass Communication)
Alberto Rodriguez (History)
Roopika Risam (English)
CUNY/College of Staten Island
Amy Stempler (Interim Chief Librarian)
Artemida Tesho (History)
Fisk University
Holly Hamby (English)
Brandon Owens (Library)
Huston-Tillotson University
Rosalee R. Martin (Sociology)
Sumor Sheppard (Spanish)
U of Minnesota Morris
Becca Gercken (American Indian literature, multicultural literature)
Stephen Gross (University archivist)
TAMU-Kingsville
Aniruddha Mukhopadhyay (English)
Craig Meyer (English)
Xavier University of Louisiana
Biljana Obradovic (English)
Sharlene Sinegal-DeCuir (History)
Hunter College (CUNY)
Iris Finkel (Librarian)
Fresno State University
J. Ashley Foster (English)
Leece Lee-Oliver (Native American Studies and Women's Studies)
Tammy Lau (Archives and Special Collections)
Jenny Bahn (Anthropology)
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Laura K. Muñoz (History)
Dawne Curry (History)
The Nebraska Forum on Digital Humanities is an annual, thematic exploration of issues in Digital Humanities at UNL. It is a reinvention of the Nebraska Digital Workshop, which has been held annually since 2006. UNL is well-known internationally as a leader in Digital Humanities research via the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, which is the major sponsor of the Forum. The program has also been funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities and private donations.
For additional information, view our past fora and past workshops.
The Nebraska Forum on Digital Humanities is an annual, thematic exploration of issues in Digital Humanities at UNL. It is a reinvention of the Nebraska Digital Workshop, which has been held annually since 2006. UNL is well-known internationally as a leader in Digital Humanities research via the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, which is major sponsor of the Forum. The program has also been funded in part by the Nebraska Humanities Council and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.

Shaping the FutureThe Sixth Annual Nebraska Forum on Digital Humanities
April 12-13, 2018
Digital humanities students and alumni are shaping the future of research and scholarship, cultural heritage, public citizenship, and shared humanity. The 2018 Forum participants will consider how their education in digital humanities has shaped their approach to teaching, technology, communication, and public service, as well as the futures they imagine for these areas. The Forum will also highlight the role of digital humanities education in preparing students for a range of digital futures.
The 2018 Nebraska Forum on Digital Humanities will be held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on April 12-13, 2018. The forum will open with a keynote presentation by Dr. Simon Appleford of Creighton University at the Center for Great Plains Studies on Thursday, April 12. The keynote presentation is free and open to the public. On Friday, April 13th, invited panelists and student researchers will share their own research and their visions for the future. Registration is required for the Friday events. Registration is free. Please register by April 4th.
In conjunction with the Forum, a Digital Humanities bootcamp will take place, sponsored by the UNL Digital Humanities Student Association.
#NEforum18
Thursday, April 12
Great Plains Art Museum at
the Center for Great Plains Studies
1155 Q Street
Free & open to the public
3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m., Keynote
Simon Appleford, Assistant Professor of History at Creighton University and Associate Director of the Creighton Digital Humanities Initiative
Friday, April 13
Lied Commons, Lied Center for Performing Arts
Free registration is required for all April 13th events.
8:30 a.m. - 9:00 a.m., Registration and Coffee
9:00 a.m. - 9:10 a.m., Opening Remarks
9:10 a.m. - 10:30 a.m., Digital Futures Panel
Sarita Garcia, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Center for Digital Research in the Humanities
Jason A. Heppler, University of Nebraska at Omaha
Luke Hollis, Archimedes Digital
Grace Thomas, Library of Congress
Rebecca S. Wingo, Macalester College
10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m., Lightning Talks Celebrating Student Work
The call for student research lightning talks is now closed.

Breaking Down Barriers: Social Justice, Cultural Memory and the Digital HumanitiesThe Fifth Annual Nebraska Forum on Digital Humanities
April 6-7, 2017
This year, the Nebraska Forum on Digital Humanities will feature digital scholarship that engages with communities in meaningful ways. The participants are each involved in projects and research that work to uncover traditionally silenced or under-represented communities, challenging systems of discrimination. With this forum, we hope to encourage the digital humanities community to create and employ critical technologies and methodologies in concert with and in relationship to more public forms of scholarship. These projects provide potential models of engagement using the digital medium to move scholarship and scholarly activity through communities. Topics of discussion will include: What contributions can digital scholars offer community-based social justice initiatives? What new audiences for digital scholarship are there and how do they form? How do digital projects circulate scholarly work in communities? What are the implications of engaging in public-facing scholarship?
The 2017 Nebraska Forum on Digital Humanities will be held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on April 6-7, 2017. The forum will open with a keynote panel and reception on Thursday, April 6th at the Center for Great Plains Studies. April 6th events are open to the public.
On Friday, April 7th, invited scholars will share their research and engage in discussion. Registration is required for all April 7th events.
Thursday, April 6
Great Plains Art Museum at
the Center for Great Plains Studies
1155 Q Street
Free & open to the public
3:30 p.m. – 4:45 p.m., Keynote Panel
Moderated by William G. Thomas III
Adam Rothman, The Georgetown Slavery Archive, Georgetown University
T. L. Cowan, FemTechNet (Feminist Technology Network), Digital Cultural Practices, University of Toronto
Jim Gerencser, Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center, Dickinson College
Susan Rose, Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center, Dickinson College
4:45 p.m. – 5:30 p.m., Reception
Friday, April 7
Kauffman Academic Residential Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Registration is required for all April 7th events.
8:30 a.m. – 9:15 a.m., Registration and coffee
9:15 a.m.- 9:30 a.m., Opening Remarks, Steve Goddard, Interim Vice Chancellor for Research & Economic Development
9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Presentations
Moderated by Emily J. Rau
Brandi M. Waters, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History and African American Studies, Yale University
Christy Hyman, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Emily Hainze, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, Heyman Center for the Humanities, Columbia University
1:15 p.m. - 2:45 p.m., Round Table and Collaborative Session with all speakers
Moderated by Elizabeth Lorang


Video Games and the HumanitiesThe Fourth Annual Nebraska Forum on Digital Humanities
April 7-8, 2016

Registration is required for April 8th events.
Engaging humanistic endeavors as wide as storytelling, art, and music, the massive and growing cultural presence of video games presents a variety of opportunities for scholars of the humanities. This year, the Nebraska Forum on Digital Humanities will discuss the role of video games in DH, and the many ways in which humanities scholars might approach this exciting and expanding field. Topics of discussion will include the creation of games as digital humanities scholarship, the use of games in the classroom, how games relate to digital simulations and visualizations, the gamification of labor in DH projects, and how humanist scholars might critique and shape the gaming world.
The 2016 Nebraska Forum on Digital Humanities will be held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on April 7-8, 2016. The forum will open with a keynote address and reception on Thursday, April 7th at the Center for Great Plains Studies.
On Friday, April 8th, invited scholars will share their research and engage in discussion.
Thursday, April 7
3:30 – 4:30 p.m., reception 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
Great Plains Art Museum at
the Center for Great Plains Studies
1155 Q Street — Free & open to
the public
Keynote Speakers
- James Paul Gee, Arizona State University
- Kari Kraus, Universtiy of Maryland
Friday, April 8
8:30 a.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Forum Participants:
- Katie Kaczmarek, University of Maryland
- Joshua McCoy, American University
- Sarah Murray, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Cole Wrampelmeier, American University

Digital Cultural HeritageThe Third Annual Nebraska Forum on Digital Humanities
April 9-10, 2015
The 2015 Nebraska Forum on Digital Humanities will be held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on April 9-10, 2015. The forum will open with a keynote address and reception from 3:00-6:30pm on Thursday, April 9 at the Center for Great Plains Studies.
On Friday, April 10, invited scholars will share their research and engage discussion around the Forum's central theme, "Digital Cultural Heritage." The forum will take place from 8:30-3:00pm on Friday, April 10th at the Great Hall of the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management on the UNL campus.
For more information, visit the 2015 Nebraska Forum on Digital Humanities page.
Presenters
- Cecilia Lindhé, Director of HUMlab and Associate Professor of Comparative Literature, Umeå University, Sweden
- Rob Leopold, Deputy Director of the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, Smithsonian
- Maurizio Forte, William and Sue Gross Professor of Classical Studies, Duke University
- Rachel Optiz, Executive Director of SPatial Archaeometry Research Collaborations, Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies, University of Arkansas
- James Coltrain, Assistant Professor in History and Faculty Fellow in Center for Digital Research in the Humanities (CDRH), University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Marie Saldana, PhD Candidate in Architecture, University of California, Los Angeles
- Ethan Watrall, Assistant Professor in Anthropology and Associate Director of MATRIX: Center for Digital Humanities & Social Sciences; Director Cultural Heritage Informatics Initiative
Videos
Digital Ductus. Medieval Materiality in Digital Installations and Archives
Abstract & Bio3D Archaeology, Mind and Beyond

Digital Histories and Digital AuthorshipThe Second Annual Nebraska Forum on Digital Humanities
April 10-11, 2014
The 2014 Nebraska Forum on Digital Humanities was held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on April 10-11, 2014. A public lecture on Thursday, April 10, "Teaching, Writing, and Researching in the Digital Age," opened the Forum. On Friday, April 11, invited scholars shared their research and led discussion around the Forum's central theme, "Digital Histories and Digital Authorship."
Abstracts and bios for all Forum participants are linked below or you may view the complete list.
Presenters
- Ruth Mostern: The Rise of the Large Scale and the Future of the Humanities
Abstract & Bio - T. Mills Kelly: Exploring, Remixing, Analyzing: Teaching History
with Digital Media
Abstract & Bio - Matthew L. Jockers: Text Mining and its Enemies; or, How Authors
Guild Got it Wrong and Fair Use Got Defined Fairly
Abstract & Bio - Vanessa Holden: Tumbling Towards Scholarly Community: A Report on
the Queering Slavery Working Group
Abstract & Bio
- Ben Schmidt: Visualizing Systems and Imagining Individuals in
Historical Data Narratives
Abstract & Bio - Kyle Roberts: Remediating the Library: The Jesuit Libraries and
Provenance Project
Abstract & Bio - Amanda Visconti: What if we build a digital edition and everyone
shows up? Public Humanities, Participatory Design, and Infinite Ulysses
Abstract & Bio
Digital Humanities Bootcamp
The UNL History Graduate Student Association and the Department of History sponsored a Digital Humanities Bootcamp in advance of the Forum, April 9-10, 2014. The Bootcamp was intended to help scholars "get started" in digital humanities, and presentations focused on learning the basics and applying digital technologies to humanities research. For more on the Bootcamp, see dhbootcamp.wordpress.com

Hacking at BooksThe First Annual Nebraska Forum on Digital Humanities
February 7, 2013
The 2013 Nebraska Forum on Digital Humanities was held at the Great Plains Art Museum on February 7, 2013. The forum addressed provocative questions about what we knew—and thought we knew—about the humanities and how digital tools could reveal surprising gaps in our understanding.
Speakers Ted Underwood, associate professor of English at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and Tanya Clement, assistant professor in the School of Information at the University of Texas at Austin, spoke about their groundbreaking research, using computational methods to uncover new insights into literature and literary history.
Underwood's talk, titled "How Well Do We Understand Literary History?", challenged the common notion that the literary history of Britain and North America between 1700 and 1900, though thoroughly studied for decades, is well understood. His argument for this emerged from surprising results of his research, which involved searching and analyzing hundreds of thousands of digitized books. Such "data-mining" demonstrates that we still lack a stable understanding of basic literary concepts like "genre" or "poetic diction," or even "literature" itself.
Clement's talk, titled "Sound Seeings, or High Performance Sound Technologies for Access and Scholarship," revealed the emerging digital approaches for research and preservation of audio recordings. Hundreds of thousands of spoken text audio files—including poetry readings, Native American stories, and presidential speeches—remain untapped in archives throughout the world. Clement is part of a team developing original computational tools that help us visualize and understand our sound culture in new ways. Rather than solely fixating on written text, these projects bring tone, rhythm, and other auditory clues to the table, potentially enabling a range of new revelations.
Both lectures offered exciting new research that asked fundamental questions about the humanities to a broad and diverse audience. Though different in their subjects of interest, the talks by Underwood and Clement were united in their discussion about the transformational possibilities inherent in emerging digital tools and methods.