Date: 3 October 2023 (Tue)
Time: 5 pm(HK time)
On Zoom
Language: English

Please click here to register

Speaker:
Prof. Adam Crymble
Associate Professor of Digital Humanities in the Department of Information Studies
University College London

Technology may be global, but our use of it in humanities work is profoundly local. The digital skills that are widely promoted to humanities scholars in London vary from those taught in Bogota Colombia, or Bengaluru India, and probably also from those easily available to you in Hong Kong. The reasons for these variations are many, including language, research culture, economics, and historical factors (for example, did your region colonise somewhere else, or was it colonised?). These skills variations can lead to real strengths and locally-driven approaches to education that create centres of excellence in particular fields. But, because few people notice the differences unless they move abroad, there is a risk that local digital skills culture may leave some scholars missing out on approaches that would really help them to excel. This talk discusses the importance of taking charge of your skills development and of ensuring that your local digital skills provision is well suited to the tasks local scholars really need, not just what has always been taught.

This talk emphasizes the significance of locally tailored digital skills development for humanities scholars. While technology is global, its application varies based on factors like language, research culture, and history. These variations can create centres of excellence but may leave some scholars without access to beneficial approaches. To excel, scholars must take charge of their skills development, ensuring that local digital skills provision aligns with their specific needs. Institutions should also adapt their curriculum to meet changing demands. By embracing these principles, scholars can bridge gaps, leverage technology effectively, and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in their fields.

About the speaker:

Dr Adam Crymble is an Associate Professor of Digital Humanities at University College London in the United Kingdom. He is a founding editor of the award-winning Programming Historian, a multilingual suite of publications that offer more than 200 free digital skills tutorials in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. His research looks at how digital approaches to scholarship can help us to better understand the history of migration. His most recent book, Technology and the Historian (2021), looks at how the discipline of history has evolved in the digital era, and the challenges and opportunities that have presented