Workshop reports from the Digital Humanities

Series of events and interviews in the annual theme for 2023/24

What are digital humanities (DH)? More than 800 definitions that convey very different perspectives can be found in the www.whatisdigitalhumanities.com database. This is due to the diversity of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, each of which has its own story to tell about the discovery and use of digital technologies in their research. The wealth of specialised cultures has given rise to countless varieties and facets of IT-supported research. This diversity has become the strength of the digital humanities.

Digital methods are also opening up new insights into historical sources, religious writings and material cultural assets in the humanities. The digital humanities open up, edit and analyse them. Combined with geographical, personal and cultural data, a global knowledge network is unfolding. Read more

Digitale Philologie und der Text des Neuen Testaments

Interview with Church Historian Holger Strutwolf

To evaluate over 5,700 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, all different from each other, and to make the oldest available text of this collection of writings accessible – this is a task that would be impossible without digital tools, databases, and programmes. The lecture deals with how a digital edition of the New Testament is being created today, and the new insights that this can yield. The audience will learn about how the workshop at the Institute for New Testament Textual Research works. Interview

Workshop report "Digitale Philologie und der Text des Neuen Testaments" (Holger Strutwolf)

07.11.2023, 18:15 – 20:00 Uhr; Introduction: Eve-Marie Becker

Location: Hörsaalgebäude des Exzellenzclusters, Raum JO 1, Johannisstrasse 4, 48143 Münster

Digital Religion? Theorie und Praxis der Inventarisierung von christlichem Kulturerbe

Interview with Norbert Köster and Carolin Hemsing from the Faculty of catholic Theology

Many parish churches are home to high-ranking works of art that are difficult to access for research because they are not publicised at all or in remote locations with insufficient quality images. In addition, the closure of parish churches means that art disappears into depots or is sold on the art market. Digitisation is intended to preserve this cultural heritage in the long term. The complex requirements of digitising works of art according to scientific standards and making them available for open access are explained in the first part of the lecture. The second part explores the question of what it means when Christian art moves from the church to the database. Interview

Workshop report "Digital Religion? Theorie und Praxis der Inventarisierung von christlichem Kulturerbe" (Norbert Köster, Carolin Hemsing)

21.11.2023, 18:15 – 20:00 Uhr; Introduction: Ludger Hiepel

Location: Hörsaalgebäude des Exzellenzclusters, Raum JO 1, Johannisstrasse 4, 48143 Münster

‚In bitterer Not wende ich mich an Eure Heiligkeit.‘ Eine Führung durch die digitale Fabrik von „Asking the Pope for Help“

Interview with Church historian Hubert Wolf

The project "Asking the Pope for Help" analyses all the petitions that Jewish people sent to Pope Pius XII and the Church during the Shoah. In addition to these petitions, all documents relating to the respective "cases" in the Vatican archives are also being edited and extensive didactic accompanying material is being offered. The lecture will illustrate how the project's database and web app work and which DH methods are used, without which such a project could not be realised. Interview with Hubert Wolf

Workshop report ‚In bitterer Not wende ich mich an Eure Heiligkeit.‘ Eine Führung durch die digitale Fabrik von „Asking the Pope for Help“ (Hubert Wolf and team)

05.12.2023, 18:15 – 20:00 Uhr; Introduction: Johannes Schnocks

Location: Hörsaalgebäude des Exzellenzclusters, Raum JO 1, Johannisstrasse 4, 48143 Münster

Apocalypse Goes Digital: Digitale Edition und intertextuelle Analyse des 4. Esrabuchs

Interview with the protestant Theologians Lutz Doering and Florian Neitmann

"The digital apocalypse" - this is not another doomsday scenario, but the aim of a project on the 4th Book of Ezra, an ancient Jewish apocalyptic writing. As it is available in many different language versions, the project is developing a digital edition that provides the most vivid possible access to this complex surviving text. In order to be able to analyse how the scripture is interwoven with various ancient cultures, the digital edition will be expanded into an annotation platform on which a global research community can exchange and network its observations. Interview

Workshop report "Apocalypse Goes Digital: Digitale Edition und intertextuelle Analyse des 4. Esrabuchs" (Lutz Doering, Florian Neitmann)

16.01.2024 , 18:15 – 20:00 Uhr; Introduction: Clemens Leonhard

Location: Hörsaalgebäude des Exzellenzclusters, Raum JO 1, Johannisstrasse 4, 48143 Münster

SprachRäume. Religiöse Texte als Ressource im kolonialen Kontext

Interviews with Arabic Scholar Ines Weinrich and Historian Felicity Jensz

This workshop report summarises two projects: "Global Bible: British and German Bible Societies Translating Colonialism" (project leader Felicity Jensz) and "Hindu-Muslim-Jewish Origin Legends in Circulation between the Malabar Coast and the Mediterranean, 1400s-1800s" (project leader Ines Weinrich).

Interview with Ines Weinrich

Interview with Felicity Jensz

Workshop report "SprachRäume. Religiöse Texte als Ressource im kolonialen Kontext" (Ines Weinrich, Felicity Jensz)

23.01.2024 , 18:15 – 20:00 Uhr; Introduction: Angelika Lohwasser

Location: Hörsaalgebäude des Exzellenzclusters, Raum JO 1, Johannisstrasse 4, 48143 Münster