MSU’s Digital Humanities Program is hosting its third annual Global Digital Humanities Symposium on March 22 and 23 at the MSU Main Library. This year’s symposium will focus on the growth of the digital humanities in under-resourced and underrepresented areas.

For the past 20 years, Michigan State University has developed a strong research area in culturally engaged, global digital humanities. Today, many scholars in the humanities at MSU are involved in digital projects relating to global, indigenous, and underrepresented groups and topics.

“In this third year of the Global Digital Humanities Symposium, we are looking to deepen our relationship with scholars from around the world who are working in areas of critical diversity and its intersection with digital,” said Kristen Mapes, Digital Humanities Coordinator in MSU’s College of Arts & Letters. “Similar to past years, this symposium will feature presentations from MSU students and faculty as well as from graduate students and faculty from three continents and around the United States.”

In this third year of the Global Digital Humanities Symposium, we are looking to deepen our relationship with scholars from around the world who are working in areas of critical diversity and its intersection with digital.

The two-day Global Digital Humanities Symposium provides an opportunity for leaders in the digital humanities to come together and meet with local experts, faculty, and students to reflect on issues, challenges, and practices in the field.

The keynote speakers are:

• Schuyler Esprit, Dean of Academic Affairs at Dominica State College in Roseau, Dominica. She also is the Founding Director of Create Caribbean Inc. at the Research Institute at Dominica State College.
• Lisa Nakamura, the Gwendolyn Calvert Baker Collegiate Professor in the Department of American Cultures at the University of Michigan. She also is the Coordinator of Digital Studies at the University of Michigan.

The symposium also will include presentations, a panel on Environmental Digital Humanities, and 5-minute lightning talks. These events will be led by researchers and professors from around the world. Events will take place in the Green Room on the fourth floor of the MSU Main Library.

“In the second year of the Critical Diversity in a Digital Age initiative and with the new Digital Scholarship Lab – a collaboration between the College of Arts & Letters and MSU Libraries –  now open, the Global DH Symposium comes at an exciting time for Digital Humanities at Michigan State,” Mapes said. “We are thrilled to host the symposium in the Main Library this year and to highlight the new Digital Scholarship Lab during the reception. We look forward to seeing how these two initiatives facilitate and foster new critical, global work in DH at MSU in conversation with the work of the scholars we bring in for the annual symposium.”

We are thrilled to host the symposium in the Main Library this year and to highlight the new Digital Scholarship Lab during the reception. We look forward to seeing how these two initiatives facilitate and foster new critical, global work in DH at MSU.

Universities that will be represented at the symposium include Columbia University, University of Maryland, Oregon State University, University of Lagos in Nigeria, Habib University in Pakistan, and many more.

Attendance is free, but registration is required to guarantee your spot. Registration is open until Friday, March 9.

For those unable to attend, events also will be live-streamed on the MSU Digital Humanities YouTube page.

“In planning this symposium, we are always looking at how we as conference organizers can create an ethical and inclusive space,” Mapes said. “New this year are inclusive initiatives such as a quiet room, nursing mothers’ room, and an all-gender restroom. We have also deepened our commitment to making participation in the symposium low barrier by providing funding support opportunities for all presenters.”

For more information, including the full schedule of events, visit the Global Digital Humanities Symposium website.