Speaker: Milad Doueihei, University of Glasgow

Milad Doueihi is an historian of religions. He is the author of several books published by Harvard University Press in English and by Le Seuil in French and translated in many other languages: A Perverse History of the Human Heart, Earthly Paradise: Myths and Philosophies, La grande conversion numérique, Solitude de l'incomparable: Augustin et Spinoza; forthcoming by Le Seuil: Territoires de l'urbanisme and La rage secrète de l'étranger.

Abstract

Digital Humanities have become fashionable. Projects on both sides of the Atlantic are emerging, offering new tools and environments to scholars and the public at large. These projects often show their history in their current configuration. Thus, we can roughly divide them into the following categories: Content, Access, Circulation and Infrastructure. Some projects have emerged from what is essentially a Search Engine like model (ARTFL is a good example here), while others grew out of the perceived need to provide access to critical content. While such efforts are essential, I would like to argue for a form of Digital Humanism that is essentially a reflection of how the environments as well as the tools we are developing shape and influence our methods. A first step consists in examining the current Social Web and the manner in which it is being imported into Digital Humanities from such a perspective.