“Digital Humanities-2024” in Washington: Reinvention, Responsibility and Hybrid as a Lifestyle

The article presents the observations of an online participant of the “Digital Humanities-2024” conference held in Washington, DC in the summer of 2024. The Digital Humanities Congress is held annually by the Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO). Digital Humanities are usually at the intersection of computer or digital technologies and the actual agenda of the humanities. The role and importance of historical studies in the interdisciplinary field of digital humanities is growing every year. The annual ADHO DH-conference is the central event of the international DH-community and brings together scholars from all over the world, providing them with an opportunity to exchange ideas and research results, as well as promoting future collaboration. The article pays special attention to the historical issues presented at the congress. Brief statistical observations are presented. In 2024 (as in the past year), a trend towards an increase in historical papers can be seen. There is a growing interest in historical sources, historical databases and geographic information systems, issues of virtual reconstruction of the past using a wide range of digital humanities research tools. The conference theme of 2024 is “Reinvention and Responsibility,” it highlights two interconnected imperatives for the digital humanities community. Reinvention is a call to act with creativity, compassion, and intentionality to better meet the needs of our communities, while responsibility asks us to address those inequities and injustices that the global pandemic has recast in increasingly sharp relief. Explaining the essence of the congress theme, the organizers noted that recent years have forced the community to reinvent ourselves as colleagues, collaborators, and educators in ways that have had both positive and negative impacts. The theme of reinvention and responsibility encourages to reflect on these experiences, acknowledge our responsibilities towards our DH-communities, and—with those reflections—take steps.

digital humanities, ADHO, historical data science, digital history, digital research infrastructures, Zotero, Omeka, Tropy, reinvention, responsibility