Digital Humanities Interns 2023/24 part 4

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Each year we ask our interns to write a blog post at the end of their time working with us looking back on their time in the DH Lab. Here is the fourth of this year’s blogs from Phoebe:

Hi, I’m Phoebe and I’ve just completed my internship at the Digital Humanities Lab here in Exeter alongside my course as a second-year History and Archaeology student. It seems to have flown past but looking back I’ve had such an amazing experience as an intern at the DH Labs and have worked on a huge number of projects- I’m not sure how we fit it all in! 

During my time at the Labs, I’ve worked on digitising the Theatre Royal, Exeter Playbill Collection, Institute of Cornish Studies Elections Project and the Family Farming in West Penwith Tapes for Penryn Archive as well as recently working on creating photogrammetry models for the Archaeology teaching packs. I’ve also has great fun playing with the 3D printers at the labs, making cute Christmas decorations and experimenting with different designs.  

 My first successful 3D print! 

In-between all that, I’ve worked closely with Adrián Oyaneder, creating 3D models using photogrammetry from photos he took of petroglyphs in the Atacama Desert. It was this project which inspired me to pursue my dissertation topic where I’ll be using the skills and techniques I’ve learned from working at the Labs. My colleagues at the DH Labs have been incredibly supportive and encouraging of my dissertation project so I’ve really benefitted from all their innovative help and enthusiasm to experiment.  

 Photogrammetry model of rocks near Reed Hall as practice for my dissertation work 

Experimenting with RTI in the field 

It’s amazing to think of how much has been done in only a year, especially when I came to this opportunity with no prior skills or experience in this field. My colleagues here have been brilliant in their support and patience as they taught me all they know and helped develop my confidence when working with technology while overcoming its challenges. I’ve learned so much, from 3D capture techniques like photogrammetry and RTI, to how research is effectively conducted and what is involved when storing and caring for delicate archived materials. I’ve also gained a new appreciation for just how valuable digital heritage is in today’s world. Working with digital heritage in such a direct and active way has given me a taste of what this environment is like and encouraged me to pursue it after I graduate.  

I’ll be sad to leave this internship, but I’ve loved working with my fellow interns and the DH team! 

Digital Humanities Interns 2023/24 part 3

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Each year we ask our interns to write a blog post at the end of their time working with us looking back on their time in the DH Lab. Here is the third of this year’s blogs from Sophie:

I have found my time working in the Digital Humanities Lab to be an incredible learning opportunity and it has taught me invaluable skills using technologies I had not had the opportunity to work with before. The DH team provided a variety of weekly training sessions such as in using RTI (Reflectance Transformation Imaging), 3D printing, photogrammetry and coding, amongst other things, allowing me to complete projects in fields which I had never encountered before!
The first project I took on was digitising reel to reel tapes for Penryn campus, the tapes contained interviews with Cornish farmers and so were a really interesting piece of oral history, especially as they referenced the surrounding areas in Devon and Cornwall! The project allowed me to learn how to use the tape-recording equipment as well as how to edit and enhance audio on Audacity, this helped me with my Art History assignments as we were tasked with creating an app trail for our field trip to Florence; the skills I learnt at my internship were really helpful in the recording and editing of this material. We also, as an intern team, transcribed these recordings of the Cornish farmers using AI software, which made the recordings more accessible as the AI was able to pick out sections of audio which were hard to hear normally which really brought the interviews to life!

Another fun project I was apart of was helping one of the researchers in the lab with remote archaeological sensing in Chile, this involved using Google Earth Pro to spot new archaeological sites in the Chilean mountains. Another intern and I, with guidance from researcher Adrián, were able to spot historic farming sites, small settlements and animal traps. This was an immensely rewarding project which I never would have had access to without the Lab!
As well as these I also took on smaller personal projects, after the 3D print training I used Sketchfab to create my own chess piece which I then went on to 3D print using the Ultimaker. It was amazing to be able to hold the final product knowing I had designed and printed it myself!

The highlight of the internship for me was the trip to Special Collections in the Old Library as it introduced me to resources on campus I had previously been unaware of. Their collection of South West authors was fascinating and it was a special moment to see the original manuscripts of two of my favourite books (Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and Lord of the Flies by William Golding) in person as well as a first edition of Dracula!

My internship at the Lab has taught me so much and has given me skills I have been able to develop not only through my projects in DH but also in my degree. Thank you to the entire DH team for an amazing year and I hope the new interns have as much fun as I have!

3D Printing Display

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The objects you can see here on display here have been made by our Digital Humanities staff members and interns. They illustrate the range of projects the lab has worked on since it opened in 2017 and demonstrates how we have harnessed the potential of 3D printing to bring objects from the past to life. Take a look at the display in the Digital Humanities Lab breakout space to learn more.

What is 3D printing? 3D printing is the process of creating a three dimensional object layer by layer using computer created design. In the Digital Humanities Lab we mainly print in PLA (Polylactic Acid) plastic and resin as these are well suited for creating high quality replicas.

3D printing is a extremely valuable tool for the digital humanities as it enables the recreation of historic objects that reflect the details and intricacies of the original artifact. 3D printing encourages accessibility as it means that we can handle and learn from the replicas without damaging the originals.

At the Digital Humanities Lab we use photogrammetry, which is the process of taking multiple overlapping photographs of an object. This creates a digital 3D model which can then be printed into a physical object.

Litho Print and Exeter Rock. The photograph of the DH Lab and resin model of the Exeter Rock demonstrates the range of models we can create using a variety of materials.

Blue Boy Statue. The model you can see on display is a replica of the original statues which were made to commemorate the rebuilding of St John’s Hospital School between 1859-60 which was set up as a charitable foundation. Students at the school were nicknamed the Blue Boys as the students wore blue caps and gowns. The original cast iron statues are now displayed in Exeter School Archives, The Maynard School, Princesshay shopping centre and Royal Albert Memorial Museum.

Pick up the Blue Boy to see the internal structure of the print as the model is created in layers where each layer forms a cross section that supports the next.

Wax Votive Offerings. Circa 15th Century. Following bomb damage to Exeter Cathedral in 1942, several medieval wax votive offerings were discovered behind a stone canopy. They comprised of: a horses head, feet, heads, hands, a foot in a pointed shoe and a complete female figure. As these objects are extremely fragile they are not on public display. The Digital Humanities Lab combined photogrammetry, 3D printing and wax casting to create replicas, thus enabling more people to explore the fascinating details of these rare historic items.

Early Christian Bread Stamps. Held in trust by the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, this double sided early Christian bread stamp has a monogram of Christ on one side and A O on the other which symbolises alpha and omega. This is thought to be used for stamping Eucharistic bread. Pick up the stamps to feel the difference between resin and PLA filament prints.

Granite boulders (AD 1000-1200). Granite boulders with late pre-Hispanic colonial, and sub-contemporary rock engravings from the archaeological site Pampa Chiza, located in the Atacama Desert, northernmost Chile. This site features over thirty engraved boulders with zoomorphic, anthropomorphic, geometric, and abstract figures. The high frequency of high mountain fauna such as rheas and camelids, combined with human figures rowing on sea rafts, and its unique location between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes mountains, highlight the dramatic contrasts of this desert landscape as a gateway between the sea and the high mountains. The granite boulders were captured in 3D via structure-from-motion photogrammetry and have been printed in resin.

Geographical Landscapes. Using aerial drone photography we can create 3D models of large landscapes and reduce the scale to create miniature replicas. These models reveal the surface texture and terrain of hill forts which are of archaeological significance. These are useful teaching tools for students as it enables them to learn about places that would otherwise be inaccessible.

Sound Waves. In the Digital Humanities Lab we work with audio and visual media, specialising in podcast production and recording oral history interviews. This experimental print was made as a teaching tool to visualise the sound waves and meter in poetry.

Digital Humanities Interns 2023/24 part 2

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Each year we ask our interns to write a blog post at the end of their time working with us looking back on their time in the DH Lab. Here is the second of this year’s blogs from Daisy:

Working as part of the Digital Humanities Team alongside my third-year studies has been an incredible opportunity. From processing reel-to-reel tapes of Cornish farmers to building 3D prints in the Makerspace, this placement has taught me an astounding range of technical skills that I look forward to applying in my further study and future career. A particular highlight was getting to explore the audio-visual suite, namely, practise recording and editing my own pseudo-scripts. As an aspiring journalist, this was invaluable and immediately applicable to my goals beyond university study as well as proving to be the perfect titbit to bring up in my master’s interview!

Beyond media experience, the DH Lab provided the support to pursue my interest in textile history. I was able to look through a large collection of scraps collected by a 19th century socialite which detailed her dresses and their adornments. From this, coupled with my use of the lab’s access to Adobe Photoshop while working on the front desk, I was able to reconstruct an approximation of what a whole piece of fabric may have looked like from a two-by-six-inch scrap of embossed satin. ‘The Art of Fiction’ project (@artfictionproject) who had previously posted the page of the book containing these small snippets of fabric then uploaded this image onto their Instagram page. It was wonderful to get the chance to breathe new life into a beautiful piece of textile history and to then have this shared where it would most be of interest. Working as part of the DH Lab often means working with the wider University team, across both the Streatham site and Penryn archives, and this small project provided a micro-scale model of the creative community Digital Humanities forms a key part of.

As well as the chance to work on my own projects, shifts spent in the lab offered a variety of ways to process and digitise media. This involved spending time taking high quality 150mp photographs of 19th century playbills, school photographs from the 1970s and small letters that sometimes included absent minded sketches made by the author. As well as professional archival photography and audio-visual editing, the intern team were regularly trained on new equipment. These techniques included photogrammetry, namely constructing 3D models from repeated and slightly differing photographs, and RTI, photographs taken at different heights and angles of light in a specially constructed dome. These training sessions fed into our individual lab sessions in which I began my RTI work by processing handmade lace from a team member’s collection. From further discussions with Gary Stringer on his collection of textiles, he brought in a set of lace bobbins and explained the history of lacemaking itself, specifically regarding Bedfordshire lace. I was then lucky enough to try out a few basic stitches and am now searching for a set of bobbins for myself!

Although my degree and much of my work has focused on the humanities, I’ve enjoyed the more mathematical, technical side of work at the lab just as much. Taking on this placement with the lab has shown me how my degree significantly overlaps in the real world, using skills from both Art History and Mathematics together to produce digital resources. Both Julia Hopkin and Gary Stringer have provided invaluable teaching on the applications of coding, guiding the internship team through the basics of coding and Badger 2040 badges.

One of my last commitments as an intern was helping at the Open Day for the university, answering visitors’ questions and providing tours around the lab. It was the perfect day to bookend both my student experience and my time at the lab, showing potential Exeter University students around the facilities and speaking about how much the DH Lab has to offer.

Reflecting on my time with Digital Humanities, I would highly recommend anyone interested to apply to the internship placements. As a truly entry-level job, you work as part of a supportive and welcoming team to learn countless professional skills that are useful in any industry and provide you with a foundational knowledge of the work environment while you study. It has made what would already have been a memorable year even more so and I can’t thank the team enough for their enthusiasm and generosity!

Digital Humanities Interns 2023/24 part 1

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Each year we ask our interns to write a blog post at the end of their time working with us looking back on their time in the DH Lab. Here is the first of this year’s blogs from Emily:

Hi – I’m Emily, a second year English and Communications student and 2023/24 intern here in the DH Lab. Working in the Digital Humanities Lab this year has been an amazing experience and one which has provided new ways to engage with my own academic and creative endeavors – my favourite aspects of the job have been developing new technical skills and getting the opportunity to support current research. 

At the start of the year, we received training in photography, photogrammetry, RTI, and eventually 3D printing. I really enjoyed seeing these skills build on each other with the progression from taking high quality images, to how 3D models can be made from those photos using Agisoft Metashape, and then learning how to use the 3D printer in the Makerspace to make physical objects from the models. Here are some of the models I made during training in the autumn term: 3D models by echircop – Sketchfab 

My favourite things I 3D printed were these articulated lizards, using multicoloured filament – these were always popular on open day tours too! 

Besides taking photos in Lab 1 and 2 to digitise a variety of paper archival collections, the projects I spent the most time on were audio and video editing. Firstly, I worked on the Cast in Stone project, editing interviews about the legacies and impacts of colonial statues on their local areas. I mainly cut out erroneous or irrelevant material from the interview audio and added title cards. This was a great opportunity to learn new software, as I had not previously used Adobe Premiere Pro, and I enjoyed getting to use my technical skills to make these interviews publicly accessible. They are available here: Cast in Stone Interviews 

A screenshot of the editing process in Adobe Premiere Pro

Alongside the other interns, I also worked on a set of interviews with Cornish farmers from the Penryn Campus archive. These were recorded on reel-to-reel tapes, which were digitised in Lab 3, and many had poor audio quality. I used Audacity to amplify the volume of the recordings and remove as much background noise as possible, which was a fun and experimental process of figuring out what worked best on each individual recording. Following this, I used software called TurboScribe to create transcripts of each recording. This came with some challenges, as the software couldn’t always accurately transcribe due to accents and remaining issues with audio quality, so a lot of manual edits were necessary. This project was a valuable experience of the many moving parts and various stages that go into audio digitisation, and how to stay organised during this process. We kept a detailed spreadsheet and notes so that the whole team working on it was continually updated. I particularly enjoyed the experimental nature of many parts of this project, as it allowed me to deepen my knowledge of audio editing and try out new things like transcription.

I have loved working in the DH Lab this year! It has been exciting to explore the wide range of activities that fall under digital humanities (alongside what I’ve already mentioned, I was able to learn about coding, handling different kinds of archival objects, and making digital editions of texts) and working with such a supportive and enthusiastic team has been wonderful. I would highly recommend any students reading to consider getting involved with the DH Lab by applying to next year’s internship or looking into HASS modules that engage with digital humanities – you might be surprised by what you can learn!

2D & 3D Photography Conference 2024

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Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
2&3D Photography Conference

Between 29th – 31st May 2024 myself, Julia and Ellen had the privilege of attending the 2 & 3D Photography, Practice and Prophecies Conference held at the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. The conference bought together photographers, restorers, conservators, archivists, data analysts and cultural heritage professionals from all around the world to learn new techniques and share ideas. The three days were packed full of fascinating lectures, hands on workshops, eye-opening roundtable discussions and networking opportunities. A diverse range of topics were explored from photometric stereo, best practices for storing metadata, colour management, integrating RTI and Photogrammetry, digitising museum collections and the impact of generative AI on the cultural heritage sector.

The Rijksmuseum’s impressive auditorium and mega screen.

I really enjoyed the conference as it was very exciting to hear about the wide range of projects and new techniques that are being developed across the world within the cultural heritage sector. As someone relatively new to the field of 2D and 3D digitisation I really appreciated the opportunity to learn from experts. One of the main themes that stood out to me throughout the conference was the importance of collaboration to solve problems as 3D digitisation can be particularly challenging.

What I will take away from the conference is a greater appreciation and understanding of the importance of digitising cultural heritage objects and sites in the current climate, before they are lost or destroyed by environmental damage. While it is important to digitise these historic items before they disappear, digitisation still needs to be done purposefully and meaningfully. Therefore, when digitising objects in my current practice I will be conscious of not simply reproducing an object but doing it in such a way that preserves its uniqueness while also enabling people to learn something new about it.

Ellen (Digital Humanities Intern) who attended the conference as part of research for her dissertation project says: “The conference opened many opportunities for me, especially as it allowed me to learn about cheaper and faster methods of digitisation whilst still producing high quality images.”

The presentation which stood out to me was by Kira Zumkley who explored the expert vs non expert perceptions of 3D digital models of museum objects. I thought this was fascinating as she highlighted that perceptions of 3D models are not always positive. Where 3D may have the initial wow factor of showcasing what digital techniques can achieve, these displays can often get lost in museum settings. Therefore, it is important to ensure digitisation is meaningful and purposeful to engage new audiences. I also really enjoyed Lieslore Tissen’s presentation on the perception and application of facsimiles in museums, especially his discussion of cultural sensitivity surrounding the reproduction of certain items. Ultimately, it is essential that digitisation is respectful of the cultural customs associated with the object and the community where they originate from.

On the final day of the conference, I attended two interactive workshops as part of the experience. In the workshop on visualising the interior and exterior of 3D objects we looked at how a combination of photogrammetry and CT scans creates a much more detailed model and more interactive experience for those viewing the object. I hope to incorporate this technique into my own work and research.

The Responsible XR workshop was exceptionally interesting as it mostly explored the possibility of recreating historical spaces and stories in digital spaces such as the metaverse. This raised lots of ethical discussion over what is appropriate to digitally reproduce, whether personal letters or documents should be included. It also raises the question of can we ever truly recreate a historical environment without risking the spread of misinformation or letting personal bias influence how we present history in the digital sphere. The conversation also extended to include the question of inclusivity, particularly to the extent to which virtual reality headsets could be adapted for older generations and whether some historical content is suitable for younger audiences while not discrediting how gamification can help make history more engaging.

This experience has provided me with many opportunities and ideas that previously I did not think were possible. I am looking forward to incorporating what I have learned into my dissertation research, and I cannot wait to get started!

Thank you so much to the University of Exeter Digital Humanities Lab, Technical Strategy and Operations and the University of Exeter Library for funding this inspiring experience.

To find out more about the conference, visit the online magazine here

Can you spot members of the DH team? Image by © Rijksmuseum 2024

Gudrun Bennett, Digital Humanities Technical Assistant

Section 28 and its afterlives

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From October to early November 2023, I was lucky enough to be a part of the ‘Section 28 and its afterlives’ project. The project aimed to mark the 20th anniversary of the repeal of this homophobic legislation with an exhibition which put the voices and experiences of LGBTQ+ people at its heart. The exhibition was placed in the Forum at the university from 13th-17th November and then moved to Positive Light Projects in Sidwell Street from 17th-23rd November.

What is Section 28?

· Section 28 was a piece of legislation brought in by the government in 1988 and was repealed in 2003.

· The clause prohibited schools and local authorities from “promoting” homosexuality, labeling it as a “pretended family relationship”.

Section 28 perpetuated fear, silence, shame and secrecy. The aims of this project are to promote the visibility of LGBTQ+ people and use their stories to educate, remember and highlight the long shadow that Section 28 has left. This important piece of history therefore speaks now to debates around queer spaces in schools but also to the conversations around trans rights in the UK.

What was my role?

My role as a Digital Humanities Intern has been to work with the oral history interviews to ensure they were ready for an audience. Using Audacity, I was able to cut out background noise, cut clips to be concise and ensure the audio was of good quality. I also prepared the transcripts that would sit alongside the audio on the project website, and QR codes that linked to the website and could be incorporated into the exhibition. The recordings, transcripts, and QR codes together produced fantastic results, allowing people to listen, read and access the material as they walked past but also engage with it in their own time.

Myself and the other interns at the exhibition in the Forum on campus.

To promote the exhibition, I created promotional material in the form of a trailer:

I wanted to capture the emotive nature of the oral histories: the reaction to its repeal, how the legislation impacted people at the time, the extent of this effect and the afterlives of such a damaging policy… not an easy task in a 30-second clip!

I kept the design simple, using only the pink triangle (a key part of both the branding of the project and the symbol of protest at the time) to make the material eye-catching. I wanted to maintain the idea that the voices were front and centre to keep the project cohesive.

I would especially like to thank Chris Sandal-Wilson and his team for their constant support with all aspects of the project. Their vision allowed for an inclusive, thought-provoking exhibition that holds historical significance but also opened up conversations about LGBTQ+ rights and experiences in today’s society.

I’m looking forward to continuing this work with the Section 28 team in 2024.

The Section 28 team with Ben Bradshaw MP

Where can I learn more?

This is a continuing project, which has secured more funding to be able to continue to build a growing collection of oral histories. If you would like to share your experience, you can get in touch through the form on the website

https://s28afterlives.exeter.ac.uk/contact/

Anna Ross- Digital Humanities Intern 2023-2024

Digital Preservation Day 2023

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It’s World Digital Preservation Day! Two years ago, we posted about the work the DH team were doing to ensure the long-term sustainability of archival collections and the digital content we create in the Lab. Since then, we’ve been collaborating with colleagues from across the university to work harder than ever on digital preservation, and World Digital Preservation Day 2023 seemed like a great opportunity for an update on what we’re working on. 

Developing our capabilities in capturing legacy media  

Examples of media storage

One of the Lab’s specialities is safely capturing the contents of legacy media. In the past few years, the lab team and intern team have collaborated with colleagues in the Drama Department to digitise several extensive collections, including VHS recordings of Exeter City Football Club, and cassette tapes containing interviews with farmers from around Devon and Cornwall from the 1980s. 

We’ve also been working on expanding the range of early digital media we can work with – particularly to help the University Special Collections and Bill Douglas Cinema Museum access and preserve some of their older and more challenging collections. We are currently setting up two ingest workstations with tools like Bitcurator, and creating guidance for colleagues, such as a Field Guide to Legacy Media to help with identifying media types and the file formats and hardware they may require. Student interns in the DH lab and the BDCM have already been putting the workflows to the test capturing content from hard drives and floppy disks, with very successful results so far! 

Archiving project websites 

Our portfolio of research websites has also expanded since 2021, and we continue to work on making sure the data and interfaces of our websites will be accessible in the long term. Our first step has been using the Wayback Machine to create copies of website interfaces, to make sure a version will be available online even after the live site becomes unavailable.  

We have also been learning how to use tools like Browsertrix-crawler and Conifer to create our own web archive files. Finding ways to use the software to capture the wide range of content included on our websites has been a challenge, but we are now able to make our own copies of most of our sites, enabling us to deposit them in ORE (the University of Exeter data repository) and Zenodo, for secure long-term storage.  

Following our own learning journey, we are working on providing guidance to help web site users find and view the different sorts of web archives that we hope to make available. 

Open-Access Data 

As well as web archives, we have also been starting to deposit project datasets in data repositories, both to ensure their long-term safety and to make open-access copies available. The Exeter Digital Humanities community on Zenodo now includes datasets from the Lawforms project and the Hardy’s Correspondents project, available under CC-BY licenses. As current projects wrap up, we hope to continue to expand the collection of datasets there. 

Giving advice and raising awareness  

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the DH team continues to work to raise awareness about digital preservation both within the university and beyond. Part of our role is supporting research teams from the early stages of developing grant applications right through to archiving project outputs, and we provide advice and support for implementing good data practices throughout. We provide regular training workshops on how to plan data management for funding applications. Recently, we have also given presentations about digital sustainability to conferences of researchers and heritage professionals, to encourage them to consider the long-term safety of their data from the beginning of their projects. 

Two years on from our first post, it’s great to look back and see how far we have come. We have really expanded the skills and equipment we have available, and the support we’re able to provide. However, we are pleased to say we are still learning and developing our capabilities, and collaborating with colleagues to put new skills into practice. Digital preservation is a never-ending task, and the University collections continue to provide a steady stream of new and exciting challenges for us all. 

AHRC iDAH Virtual Summer School in digitisation and analysis of textual sources 

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Course 1: Text extraction from printed sources (11 & 12 September) 

Course 2: Text extraction from handwritten sources (13 & 14 September) 

Course 3: Digital ‘Distant reading’ with Voyant Tools and AntConc (11 & 12 September) 

Course 4: Digital ‘Close reading’ with NVivo (13 & 14 September) 

Optional: Bring Your Own Data Surgeries (15 September, a.m. & p.m.) 

The aim of these four short online training courses is to provide Arts & Humanities researchers with foundational knowledge and skills in automated text extraction and analysis of textual sources, using free or widely available commercial applications. The aim is to allow participants to apply digital visualization and analysis techniques to source materials, including those which only exist in physical form, such as books, manuscripts, and archives. 

Delivered by the University of Exeter as part of the AHRC’s iDAH Digital Skills Training Network, these courses are intended for academic professionals, researchers in Higher Education Institutions and Research Organizations, and librarians conducting research related to Arts and Humanities topics. They are foundation level, and do not require programming skills or prior experience. All courses are two, full-day sessions (+ optional half day). They will be conducted fully online, with a maximum of 10 participants on a first-come-first-served basis. To apply please fill in the application form. 

Course 1: Text extraction from printed sources 

This course will instruct participants in best practices for converting physical objects containing printed text, such as books, manuscripts and archives, into digital formats by using scanners, DSLR cameras and mobile phones. It will then focus on the use of OCR tools and techniques, such as Google Docs OCR, Adobe Acrobat Pro DC and ABBYY FineReader, to convert images of text into searchable and processable digital text. 

Course 2: Text extraction from handwritten sources 

This course will instruct participants in best practices for converting physical objects containing handwritten text, such as correspondence, manuscripts and archives, into digital formats by using scanners, DSLR cameras and mobile phones. It will then focus on the use of the online Transkribus HTR platform to convert images of text into searchable and processable digital text. 

Course 3: Digital ‘Distant reading’ with Voyant Tools and AntConc 

This course will cover a variety of methods for ‘distant reading’ (high-level analysis of texts and corpora), using freely available software. Voyant Tools will be used for rapid visualization and exploration of word patterns within a text. AntConc allows users to perform a variety corpus linguistics analysis techniques. 

Course 4: Digital ‘Close reading’ with NVivo 

This course introduces participants to NVivo, a software package widely available through university licenses and used for the close analysis of primary sources. Participants will learn how to transcribe and annotate texts and perform analysis and visualizations based on methods such as topic modelling, thematic clustering and sentiment analysis. 

Optional: Bring Your Own Data Surgeries 

An optional Friday morning or afternoon session will provide participants will some additional support when applying these methods to own materials and sources. 

For additional information or any further inquiries, please feel free to email us digitalhumanities@exeter.ac.uk and we will respond promptly.  

Digital Humanities Interns 2022/23 part 4

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Each year we ask our interns to write a blog post at the end of their time working with us looking back on their time in the DH Lab. Here is the fourth of this year’s blogs from Heide:

Hello, I’m Heide, now a third year English Undergraduate (and set to graduate July 2023). I have been lucky enough to have another year working as an intern at the Digital Humanities Lab and have worked on more exciting projects since my last blog post.  

This year I continued to digitize letters and manuscripts from the Culver House collection using the A0 Copystand in Lab 1, exploring the “Busy Bee” manuscripts and the historical life of Culver House with our Lab Technician, Bronte Lyster. Other notable 2D photography projects included historical maps of Exeter from the University’s Special Collections and playbills from the Exeter Theatre Royal.  

One project in Lab 2 featured using the archival book cradle to digitise a text titled L’Historia Ecclesiastica owned by Queen Elizabeth’s head executioner. The text featuring marginalia written by the man himself! The text’s digitisation allowed a previously inaccessible text to be preserved and made available to researchers with specific page requests.  

This year brought the production of my first flawless photogrammetry model. Although the antler bone knife from the archaeology department’s teaching packs was not as cute as my gray crochet bunny from my first year, it certainly made a better photogrammetry model subject. I have been working alongside our other interns to produce photogrammetry models of the University’s archaeology teaching packs. These models would allow more accessible teaching, remote learning and easier access  to the artifacts for analysis outside of the classroom. This project follows on from the work I mentioned in my previous blog post – the Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI)  models that I helped produce of archaeological arrowheads. We have produced both RTI and Photogrammetry models of the teaching materials.  

My colleague, Julia Hopkin, sparked my interest in spinning by helping me to print my first 3D printed Turkish drop spindle on our Ultimaker printer at the start of my year. After the initiation of our new Formlabs resin printer I am now the proud owner of a resin printed Turkish drop spindle as well. The new resin printer has allowed us to create beeswax replicas of original beeswax fragments through the process of creating a photogrammetry model of the original fragment, printing the photogrammetry model in the resin printer, creating a cast of the print using silicone, then pouring and setting molten beeswax into the moulds to create a replica. These replicas are incredible, as the original wax artifacts are extremely fragile and prone to decay so are not on display at all.  The replica creating session was also quite fun to do and displays the full circle of digital humanities from the physical to digital and back again.  

This year I also worked alongside a team on the start of the Connecting Late Antiquities project which seeks to digitise all volumes of the Prosopography of the Latter Roman Empire (or PLRE for short). For most of my contribution I worked on troubleshooting and machine learning in ABBYY Fine Reader, a software that allows for some machine learning and training for Optical Character Recognition (OCR). OCR allows for the conversion of photographical text into editable text to be used for XML markup and eventual online publication. The PLRE volumes will also be updated with new knowledge that has developed in the field. For more information on Connecting Late Antiquities please visit the link provided below.  

Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed my two years as a Digital Humanities intern and have found it to be an invaluable experience. The skills I have learned in both digital archival technology as well as customer service have helped shape my career path and university experience. I enthusiastically recommend the intern position for both the invaluable skills and the enjoyable workplace experience that would benefit any Exeter University student.  

For anyone who would like to read my previous blog post please find a link to it here: https://digitalhumanities.exeter.ac.uk/2022/07/digital-humanities-intern-heide/  or visit digitalhumanities.exeter.ac.uk  

To find out more about Connecting late antiquities visit https://news-archive.exeter.ac.uk/homepage/title_953010_en.html#:~:text=Connecting%20Late%20Antiquities%20will%20begin,on%20the%20Cambridge%20Core%20platform.