Editors’ Summary: This piece provides a detailed report on using AI to transcribe manuscripts and the development of standards for transcription of medieval manuscripts. The research team began by creating a uniform database of over 300 medieval manuscripts across many languages. The standardization of this database allowed the corpus to be used to train an […]
This issue was curated by Colleen Nugent McLean, DHNow Project Manager and Zhihui Zou, DHNow Guest Editor. Our first Editors’ Choice highlights how data visualization can be used to change perceptions, using a case study of the planet Mars. The author demonstrates how the presentation of data directly shapes how that data is understood. The […]
Editors’ Summary: Rhea Shukla’s work combines graphic design seamlessly into data processing and visualization. This project reminds us about visual accessibility: information needs to be made easy for members of the public (and not just for academics) to grasp and understand. This is where skills in graphic design, UI/UX development, and user research come into […]
Editors’ Summary: In this paper, the authors challenge the field of Digital Humanities’ current reliance on environmentally damaging digital infrastructures. They call for a fundamental transformation of the field through the adoption of an ethics of ecological care. This paper critiques DH’s complicity in extractive practices and digital techno-solutionism, and proposes a potential solution. Their […]
Join us for Douglass Day 2026! Every Valentine’s Day, we invite you to a birthday party for Frederick Douglass. Although Douglass never knew his birthdate, he chose to celebrate every year on February 14th. We celebrate this date as a moment for creating Black history together. How can I get involved? See full post.
Editors’ Summary: In this post, Douglas A. Boyd introduces an open-source tool for comparing the accuracy of machine-generated transcriptions to determine which is best suited for your project. His tool, the Transcript Accuracy Auditor, compares a machine‑generated transcript to a human‑corrected reference of the same interview and provides a score for WIP (Word Information Preserved) […]
This issue was curated by Colleen Nugent McLean, DHNow Project Manager. Our first Editors’ Choice critiques DH for its entanglement with environmentally damaging digital infrastructures and asserts that DH is not neutral in the climate crisis. The authors propose a new framework that would reframe DH as a field in relation to the environment. The […]
Editors’ Summary: Tiziana Pascuito’s “From Rigid Taxonomies to Networks of Relationships” uses a case study of Arabic manuscripts to highlight the utility of the CIDOC Conceptual Reference Model, a cultural heritage ontology that allows for dynamic networks. The author demonstrates how traditional approaches classify documents into separate compartments, such as “Astronomy.” Using an ontology based […]
On January 1, 2026, we celebrate published works from 1930 and published sound recordings from 1925 entering the public domain! Their arrival marks another chapter in our shared cultural heritage: the freedom to breathe new life into overlooked works, remix enduring classics, and circulate the oddities we discover in thrift stores, family attics, and forgotten […]
Understanding the social and historical context of data is essential for all responsible data work. We host datasets that are paired with rich documentation, data essays, and teaching resources, all of which draw on context and humanities perspectives and methods. We provide models for responsible data curation, documentation, story-telling, and analysis. Learn more about our […]
