With the special theme of DHNB2025 ‘Digital Dreams and Practices’ we aim to delve into the synergy between dreams in digital humanities and their practical applications, seeking to maximize value for both academia and society at large. Our focus sharpens on the transformative potential of AI, its integration with traditional humanities, and its role in transcending academic boundaries. We invite scholars, practitioners, and societal stakeholders to explore:

(1) the integration of traditional humanities scholarship with computational techniques;

(2) the transition of digital humanities research from the ‘ivory tower’ of academic theory to societal practice;

(3) the practical applications of Artificial Intelligence.

 

Integrating traditional humanities and computation

DHNB has long been committed to the importance of both domain expertise and methodological precision in research excellence. Digital humanities begin with explorations of data with a humanities lens, but the strongest impact is achieved when solid computational methods are applied to questions important to established fields with long research traditions. We especially invite contributions that are theory-driven, question-focussed, and advance open cases of interest in the humanities and related fields.

Coming down the ‘Ivory Tower’

Digital humanities research is highly relevant to the modern world, extending from practical uses of data in the humanities to offering perspectives on societal issues. This requires deliberate efforts to step outside academic discourse and actively engage with non-academic entities, including state institutions, NGOs, and private companies. We especially invite contributions that emphasize and develop the societal relevance of digital humanities and actively cultivate collaborations between academic researchers and non-academic organizations. We are particularly interested in proposals that showcase these partnerships, highlighting the tangible outcomes and lessons learned from such collaborations. By emphasizing the practical applications and societal impact, we aim to showcase research whose value extends beyond academic circles.

Artificial Intelligence and the humanities

In recent years, Artificial Intelligence has become a household topic with the increased power of large language models, user-friendly accessibility in apps like ChatGPT, and profound societal impact, raising concerns about data privacy, fair use of data, and the future of jobs. AI has increasingly shown the capacity to assist in or even automate tasks that have previously relied on human creativity. This encompasses a wide spectrum, from the generation of visual art and the creation of research reports to conducting qualitative readings of text. We especially invite contributions that deal with aspects of AI in practice. We encourage papers that explore the interplay between digital humanities and emerging Artificial Intelligence, including introducing innovative use cases, discussing ethical frameworks, or examining societal implications.

 

Topics of Interest

Topics of interest for the theme of DHNB2025 include, but are not limited to, the following:

Integrating traditional humanities and computation

• Theory-driven research: the possibilities for integrating theory and DH, case studies and critique
• Assessing and improving data quality in research
• Linking questions and methods: operationalization of established questions in humanities and related fields

Coming down the ‘Ivory Tower’

• Knowledge transfer between academic and non-academic sectors
• The role of digital humanities in informing public policy and decision-making
• Community engagement, participatory approaches and inclusion in digital humanities initiatives
• Digital humanities, global challenges and sustainable development
• Digital humanities and GLAM: digital storytelling, digital curation, digital preservation
• Heritage, data visualization, and cultural analytics

Artificial Intelligence

• The use and usefulness of AI in DH
• The role of humanities in developing AI
• Responsible use of sources for developing AI
• Ethical concerns for using AI in the GLAM sector
• Representativity of small languages and cultures in large language models and practical applications using LLMs

Submission types

The conference welcomes the following types of submissions

1. Long papers | 20-minute presentations with a 10-minute Q&A, submitted as either:

• abstract of 1000–2000 words excluding references, or
• full-text of 8–16 pages, including references

2. Short papers | 15-minute presentations with a 5-minute Q&A, submitted as either:

• abstract of 500–1000 words excluding references, or
• full-text of 4–8 pages, including references

3. Posters and demos with an accompanying 1-minute lightning talk, submitted as either:

• abstract of 250-500 words excluding references, or
• full-text of 2–4 pages, including references

4. Paper in mentored pre-conference doctoral consortium

• submitted as abstract of 500–1000 words excluding references
• there are 4-6 bursaries available by DHNB to cover the travel and accommodation costs

5. 60 to 90-minute panels on a specific theme, and combining individual contributions with joint discussion (at least 25 minutes)

• submitted as an abstract of between 1000 and 2000 words (excluding references)
  • including 200-word introduction outlining the panel’s overarching theme, and
  • outlines of individual contributions of 200-400 words

6. Half-day or full-day conference-themed workshops

• submitted as an abstract of between 500 and 1500 words including
  • the introduction of the workshop topic/idea and its importance
  • information about the target audience
  • details about the expected outcome(s)

Workshops can take many forms, from community hacking sessions to thematically focused mini-conferences attached to the main one, whose presentations are either pre-selected, or sourced through separate calls for proposals solicited by the workshop coordinators.

7. Half-day or full-day pre-conference tutorials on tools, technologies, or practical exercises that relate to DH research

• submitted as an abstract of between 500 and 1500 words including
  • introduction of the tutorial
  • information about the tutor(s)
  • details about the expected outcome(s).

 

Submission guidelines

Between the proposal categories, the following conceptual divisions apply: for long papers, the work is expected to be substantial and robust, while short papers can also report on preliminary or tentative results, or on work that is still in progress. Poster papers can either be small self-contained works, present work-in-progress or be general project descriptions. When submitting works in progress for which you’re looking for constructive developmental feedback, please indicate this in the submission. This ensures that we can apply the appropriate review criteria to your submission, and gives us the option to see whether we can organise sessions specifically facilitating such feedback.

Papers and posters can be submitted either as full-texts or as abstracts. Both formats are typically expected to give an introduction, research questions, material, methodology and results of the study. The programme committee also reserves the right to accept submissions in a category different from the one submitted in, so e.g. a long paper can be accepted to be presented as a short paper or as a poster in the poster session.

DHNB2025 has a new Doctoral Consortium track with the idea that doctoral students could present their ongoing studies, and get mentored by more experienced scholars. This consortium will take place during the pre-conference events. To encourage young researchers to participate in the conference, DHNB will provide up to six bursaries to cover reasonable travel and accommodation costs (up to 500€) for participating in this event. You can apply for the bursary at the same time as submitting your proposal. Please spread the word among your colleagues, friends, and students!

All proposals should be submitted in English via the ConfTool conference management system by the 22th of October, 2024. Submitted proposals will undergo a single-blind peer-review process whereby the reviewers know the names/affiliations of the abstract authors and co-authors. Authors may be asked to make revisions before publication. The notifications will be sent out on December 15th. Authors will be asked to review their submissions before the publication.  At least one author of each accepted paper must register for the conference and present the paper. 

All full-text submissions must be formatted according to the DHNB PUB template, as they will be published in a citable conference proceedings collection (https://journals.uio.no/dhnbpub/). The abstracts, on the other hand, will be gathered into a book of abstracts. After the conference, a separate call for post-proceedings will be issued, with its own deadlines for submissions, reviews and revisions. Additional information and instructions can be found on the DHNB website: https://dhnb.eu/publications/.