“Digital Humanities-2023” in Graz live: ideas, methods and pumpkin seed oil

Abstract

The article presents the observations of a live participant of the “Digital Humanities -2023”, held in Graz, Austria in the summer of 2023. The “Digital Humanities” Congress is held annually by the Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO). Digital Humanities (DH) are at the intersection of computing or digital technologies and the disciplines of the humanities. It involves the development and use of digital resources and methods in the humanities, as well as the analysis of their application. DH scholarship means collaborative, transdisciplinary, and computationally engaged research, teaching, and publishing. The annual ADHO Conference on Digital Humanities is the central and largest event of the international Digital Humanities community and brings together scholars from around the world, providing them with a unique opportunity to exchange ideas and research results, and to promote future collaboration. Particular attention is paid to historical issues presented at the congress, both in workshops and at section meetings and poster presentations. Statistical observations are presented, and a frequency analysis of the occurrence of keywords is carried out. The main conclusion of the study is the observed trend towards an increase in historical reports, posters and workshops. A noticeable increase in interest in historical sources, historical databases and geographic information systems, and virtual reconstruction of the past using a wide range of digital humanities research tools is noticeable (in comparison with the programs and publications of past Digital Humanities congresses). The 2023 conference theme, “Collaboration as an Opportunity,” is about the transdisciplinary and transnational collaboration, showing how increased cross-national collaboration—across continents and geopolitical locations—can transform regional knowledge hubs into international networks of excellence in research for the benefit of the global digital humanities community. Historians have firmly taken their place in contemporary digital humanities research.