Introduction
Thanks to digitisation efforts over the past decades, humanities scholars now have access to large digital data collections which can be analysed computationally and quantitatively. Such datasets offer a huge range of opportunities to develop new approaches to answer research questions, from the practical to the high-profile.
Our Mission
The Humanities and Data Science group has been strengthening relationships and building collaborations at the intersection between data science and digital humanities since its creation in 2017. We raise the profile of data-driven humanities research at the national level, nourish interdisciplinarity, and promote collaborations that seek research excellence while strengthening links with national institutions, organisations, and universities.
The synergy between humanities and data science becomes more important than ever for tackling modern challenges brought by technological advances and AI, ensuring that such advancements are grounded in ethical and human-centred perspectives. By sustaining a constructive dialogue between the humanities and the sciences, we demonstrate how data science research can answer questions relevant to the humanities and vice versa, benefiting both fields.
Our Approach
We achieve our aims through:
- Regular meetings and workshops fostering collaboration
- Joint research projects bridging disciplines
- Knowledge sharing across diverse perspectives and methods
- Community building among experts from digital humanities, historical data research, information science, computer science, natural language processing, and related disciplines
Group Leadership
Our group is led by experienced researchers who bring expertise from across the humanities and data science spectrum:
Barbara McGillivray
King's College London
Co-convenor
Andreas Vlachidis
University College London
Co-convenor
Get Involved
Interested in joining our community? We welcome researchers, academics, and practitioners working at the intersection of humanities and data science.
This independent research group builds on the legacy of the Alan Turing Institute’s Humanities and Data Science special interest group, continuing to advance computational approaches in humanities scholarship.