Embrace the Past. Design the Future.
The UNF Digital Humanities Institute (DHI) promotes collaboration on interdisciplinary projects that combine the use of technology with materials and methodologies from the Humanities, Fine Arts and Social Sciences. In the broader scholarly community, “Digital Humanities” refers to a set of scholarly practices and ideas about collaboration that evolved when researchers began using new digital tools to answer old humanities questions and using digital media to bring humanistic materials to broader public audiences. UNF's DHI coordinates events exploring the theory and practice of Digital Humanities scholarship, and provides a forum for faculty, staff and students to work together on the design and implementation of digital projects. The DHI supports a diverse portfolio of digital projects, hosts the annual UNF Digital Projects Showcase, schedules relevant programing that promotes DH projects, offers trainings and workshops on DH methods, and oversees the minor in Digital Humanities.
Our History
The Digital Humanities Initiative began in the fall of 2015 as informal association of faculty, staff and students from across campus, with the goal of promoting collaboration on projects that combine the use of technology with materials and methodologies from the Humanities, Fine Arts and Social Sciences. From 2015 to 2018, the Digital Humanities Initiative was led by founder and interim chair Dr. Clayton McCarl, associate professor of Spanish, with input from an advisory committee comprised of faculty from Brooks College of Health; the Coggin College of Business; the College of Arts and Sciences; the College of Computing, Engineering and Construction; and the College of Education and Human Services. Faculty and staff from the Center for Instruction and Research Technology (CIRT), the Office of Faculty Enhancement (OFE), Information Technology Services (ITS), the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP), the Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR) and the Thomas G. Carpenter Library also played a critical role in supporting the Initiative. In the spring of 2018, the Initiative applied successfully to establish itself as a formal institute. Since then, the Digital Humanities Institute has continued to collaborate with faculty, staff, and students across campus to promote interdiscplinary projects and coordinate a range of events for the DH and UNF community to enjoy.