The School of Advanced Study at the University of London seeks proposals for Born-Digital Collections, Archives and Memory, to be held April 2-4, 2025. From the call:
Digital research in the arts and humanities has traditionally focused on digitised objects and archives. However, born-digital cultural materials that originate and circulate across a range of formats and platforms are rapidly expanding and raising new opportunities and challenges for research, archiving and collecting communities. Collecting, accessing and sharing born-digital objects and data presents a range of complex technical, legal and ethical challenges that, if unaddressed, threaten the archival and research futures of these vital cultural materials and records of the 21st century. Moreover, the environments, contexts and formats through which born-digital records are mediated necessitate reconceptualising the materials and practices we associate with cultural heritage and memory.
Research and practitioner communities working with born-digital materials are growing and their interests are varied, from digital cultures and intangible cultural heritage to web archives, electronic literatures and social media. This international conference seeks to further an interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral discussion on how the born-digital transforms what and how we research in the humanities.
We invite contributions from researchers and practitioners involved in any way in accessing or developing born-digital collections and archives, and interested in exploring the novel and transformative effects of born-digital cultural heritage. Areas of particular (but not exclusive) interest include:
- A broad range of born-digital objects and formats
- Theoretical, methodological and creative approaches to engaging with born-digital collections and archives
- Critical approaches to born-digital archiving, curation and preservation
- Access, training and frameworks for born-digital archiving and collecting
The deadline to submit a proposal is May 15, 2024. The conference, while planned as an in-person event, will have live streaming options to support virtual participation. A limited number of virtual presentations will be supported.
dh+lib Review
This post was produced through a cooperation between Ruth Carpenter, Rachel Hogan, Mimosa Shah, Michelle Speed, Vera Zoricic (Editors-at-large for the week), Nickoal Eichmann-Kalwara and Pamella Lach (Editors for the week), Claudia Berger, Linsey Ford, Hillary Richardson, John Russell, and Rachel Starry (dh+lib Review Editors).