Digital humanities conference beams into Penn

Professionals and students who work in the field of digital humanities—where computing and the humanities meet—are often confronted with the same technological challenges: How can I find the resources I need? What tools are best for the task I want to perform? How do I build understanding within my institution for the goals I want to achieve?

On Tuesday, June 4, digital humanities novices, veterans, and experts will gather at Penn to share their ideas and projects at the PhillyDH@Penn conference in the Special Collections Center on the sixth floor of Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center.

Sponsored by Philly Digital Humanities (PhillyDH) and Penn Libraries, PhillyDH@Penn builds on several earlier events, including The Humanities and Technology Camp (THATCamp@Penn) held at Penn in April of last year. The June 4 conference invites the humanities and cultural communities in Philadelphia to Penn for a day of information exchange, learning, and creative play. Registration is free at the PhillyDH@Penn website.

The theme for the day is “Projects for Anybody, Tools For Everybody.” Participants will finalize the agenda when they arrive. The schedule currently includes two workshop sessions, an “unconference” with a lightning round, and an evening speaker, Michael Edson, director of web and new media strategy at the Smithsonian Institution.

An “unconference” is a highly informal conference in which the program is not set beforehand and there are no presentations.

“Never have so many humanities people interested in technology in the Philadelphia area, from so many institutions, met together under one roof before,” says William Noel, a lead organizer of the program and director of the Special Collections Center at Penn Libraries.

Noel expects PhillyDH@Penn to attract attendees from the greater Philadelphia region, including students, educators, curators, and developers, and administrators from cultural institutions, universities, libraries, museums, archives, and digital media companies.

Participants are asked to bring a photo ID or PennCard for building entry, as well as a laptop or iPad and charger. Proposals for “unconference” sessions are still being accepted.

Workshop sign-ups are being handled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Digital Humanities