Digital Humanities 2015: Global Digital Humanities

I. General Information

The Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO) invites submission of abstracts for its annual conference, on any aspect of digital humanities. This includes, but is not limited to:

humanities research enabled through digital media, data mining, software studies, or information design and modeling;
computer applications in literary, linguistic, cultural, and historical studies, including electronic literature, public humanities, and interdisciplinary aspects of modern scholarship;
digital arts, architecture, music, film, theatre, new media, digital games, and related areas;
creation and curation of humanities digital resources;
social, institutional, global, multilingual, and multicultural aspects of digital humanities; and
digital humanities in pedagogy and academic curricula.

For the 2015 conference, we particularly welcome contributions that address ‘global’ aspects of digital humanities including submissions on interdisciplinary work and new developments in the field.

Presentations may include:

posters (abstract maximum 750 words);
short papers (abstract maximum 1500 words);
long papers (abstract maximum 1500 words);
multiple paper sessions, including panels (regular abstracts + approximately 500-word overview); and
pre-conference workshops and tutorials (proposal maximum 1500 words)

The deadline for submitting poster, short paper, long paper, and multiple paper session proposals to the international Program Committee is midnight GMT, 3 November, 2014. Presenters will be notified of acceptance by 6 February, 2015.

There will be two rounds of workshop and pre-conference tutorial proposals:

Round 1 workshop proposals are due by midnight GMT, 1 October, 2014, with notice of acceptance by 31 October, 2014.
Round 2 workshop proposals are due by midnight GMT, 16 February, 2015, with notice of acceptance by 27 February, 2015.

A link to the online abstract submission system will be available on the conference website: http://dh2015.org/. Please check the website for updates. Previous Digital Humanities conference participants and reviewers should use their existing accounts rather than setting up new ones. If you have forgotten your user name or password, please contact Program Committee Chair, Deb Verhoeven.

To facilitate the production of the conference proceedings, authors of accepted papers will be asked to submit final approved versions of their abstracts via a web-based tool currently under development by ADHO. This tool will be made available in early 2015.

II. Types of Proposals

Proposals may be of five types: (1) poster presentations; (2) short paper presentations; (3) long papers; (4) three-paper or full-panel sessions; and (5) proposals for pre-conference workshops and tutorials. Based on peer review and its mandate to create a balanced and varied program, the Program Committee may offer acceptance in a different category from the one initially proposed, and will not normally accept multiple submissions from the same author or group of authors. Papers and posters may be given in English, French, German, Italian or Spanish.

1) Poster Presentations

Poster proposals (500 to 750 words) may describe work on any relevant topic or offer project and software demonstrations. Posters and demonstrations are intended to be interactive, with the opportunity to exchange ideas one-on-one with attendees. In addition to a dedicated session, when presenters will explain their work and answer questions, posters will be on display at various times during the conference.

2) Short Papers

Short paper proposals (750 to 1500 words) are appropriate for reporting on experiments or work in progress, or for describing newly conceived tools or software in early stages of development. This category of presentation allows for up to five short papers in a single session, with the length held to a strict 10 minutes each in order to allow time for questions.

3) Long Papers

Proposals for long papers (750 to 1500 words) are appropriate for: substantial, completed, and previously unpublished research; reports on the development of significant new methodologies or digital resources; and/or rigorous theoretical, speculative, or critical discussions. Individual papers will be allocated 20 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for questions.

Proposals relating to the development of new computing methodologies or digital resources should indicate how the methods are applied to research and/or teaching in the humanities, what their impact has been in formulating and addressing research questions, and should include critical assessment of their application in the humanities. Papers that concentrate on a particular tool or digital resource should cite traditional as well as computer-based approaches to the problem and should include critical assessments of the computing methodologies used. All proposals should include relevant citations to sources in the literature.

4) Multiple Paper Sessions

These consist of one 90-minute panel of four to six speakers, or three long papers on a single theme. Panel organizers should submit an abstract of 750 to 1500 words describing the panel topic, how it will be organized, the names of all the speakers, and an indication that each speaker is willing to participate in the session. Paper session organizers should submit a statement of approximately 500 words describing the session topic, include abstracts of 750 to 1500 words for each paper, and indicate that each author is willing to participate in the session. Papers that are submitted as part of a special session may not be submitted individually for consideration in another category.

5) Pre-Conference Workshops and Tutorials

Participants in pre-conference workshops or tutorials will be expected to register for the full conference as well as pay a small additional fee.

Proposals should provide the following information:

title and brief description of the content or topic and its relevance to the digital humanities community (not more than 1500 words);
full contact information for all tutorial instructors or workshop leaders, including a one-paragraph statement summarizing their research interests and areas of expertise;
description of target audience and expected number of participants (based, if possible, on past experience); and
any special requirements for technical support.

Additionally, tutorial proposals should include:

a brief outline showing that the core content can be covered in a half day (approximately 3 hours, plus breaks). In exceptional cases, full-day tutorials may be supported.

And workshop proposals must include:

intended length and format of the workshop (minimum half-day; maximum one and a half days);
proposed budget (as digital humanities workshops are expected to be self-financing); and
if the workshop is to have its own call for participation, a deadline and date for notification of acceptances, and a list of individuals who have agreed to be part of the workshop’s Program Committee.

III. Information about the Conference Venue and Theme

DH2015 will take place in Sydney, Australia, the first time this major event has moved outside of Europe and North America in its 26-year history. The theme of ‘Global Digital Humanities’ acknowledges the field’s expansion worldwide across disciplines, cultures and languages.

The conference is hosted at the University of Western Sydney by the Digital Humanities Research Group, a leading centre for collaborative digital humanities in the Asia-Pacific region.

IV. Bursaries for Early-Career and Emerging Scholars

The Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations will offer a limited number of bursaries for early-career scholars presenting at the conference, and there will be additional bursaries available to emerging scholars from Australia and New Zealand. Details and application guidelines will appear on the conference website and on the ADHO website : http://www.digitalhumanities.org. Please check the conference website regularly for the latest information.

V. International Program Committee

Chair: Deb Verhoeven
Vice-Chair: Manfred Thaller

Jeremy Boggs (ACH)
Brian Croxall (ACH)
Øyvind Eide (EADH)
Jieh Hsiang (centerNet)
Diane Jakacki (CSDH/SCHN)
Kiyanori Nagasaki (JADH)
Tim Sherratt (aaDH)
Stéfan Sinclair (CSDH/SCHN)
James Smithies (aaDH)
Tomoji Tabata (JADH)
Karina van Dalen-Oskam (EADH)
Sally Wyatt (centerNet)

Outgoing Chair: Melissa Terras