Missouri State University will have a new Digital Humanities Lab (DHL) beginning Fall 2024, thanks to a collaborative effort between the Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (RCASH) and the Missouri State University Libraries.

Located in the lower lever of the Duane G. Meyer Library, the DHL will provide resources and guidance for faculty and students to create digital scholarship projects, according to RCASH Associate Dean Dr. Jason Jolley.

A ribbon-cutting opening ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. Sept. 17 in the lower level of Meyer Library.

The event is open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Using technology to study cultures and societies

According to Jolley, the term “digital humanities” reflects an interdisciplinary approach to studying the humanities using digital tools and technologies. Subjects as wide-ranging as literature, languages, history and philosophy can all benefit from digital humanities research.

The primary goal of digital humanities research, he added, is to learn more about human societies. “Digital humanities scholars use computational methods to analyze, visualize and interpret cultural artifacts and texts,” Jolley said. “By employing techniques such as text mining, data visualization and digital mapping, digital humanities projects provide new insights and perspectives on human culture and society.”

Digital humanities scholars also use complex tools in their research, Jolley explained. Examples include high-resolution digital cameras, virtual reality systems for immersive historical experiences, scanning technologies and 3D modeling.

“These tools enable researchers to capture, analyze and present humanities data in innovative ways, making research more accessible and engaging to broader audiences,” he said.

Finally, in another use for digital humanities, research can be shared through online archives, interactive exhibits and open-access publications.

Missouri State’s new DHL will offer all these resources to students and faculty throughout the university community.

From idea to reality: creating a collaborative space for the humanities

RCASH faculty members had been talking about a digital humanities lab since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

First suggested by Dr. Heidi Backes, associate professor of Spanish in the Department of Languages, Cultures and Religions, the DHL would be a place where faculty and students in the humanities and other disciplines could engage in digital humanities research.

“I first brought this idea to Dean Wahl in late 2019 because I wanted to give more visibility to the work that we do in the humanities here on campus,” Backes said. “There is a widespread misconception that the humanities are no longer relevant or useful, and this could not be further from the truth.”

RCASH reached out to Meyer Library to form an exploratory committee to make the DHL a reality. Committee members included Jolley, Backes, library Associate Dean Rachel Besara and library Professor Joshua Lambert.

The project quickly gained the support of Dean Shawn Wahl of RCASH and Dean of Libraries Tom Peters. From there, the DHL Team expanded to include Nathan Neuschwander, library technology strategist, and Angela Barker, director of information technology and operations for RCASH.

More than just a resource center

When first discussing the DHL, its creators wanted a physical space for digital humanities research. Yet they also wanted to create a collaborative environment that would benefit the university and surrounding community.

As an example, Backes said one goal for the DHL is to stimulate student and faculty engagement by sharing research.

[The DHL] “can be shared with the community at large, whether in the form of public presentations, undergraduate conferences, academic publications and the creation of open access materials,” she said. “The humanities lab will highlight the practical applications of humanities studies to real-world problems.”

Yet another goal of the DHL is to support the university’s public affairs mission, Jolley added. The DHL could boost retention and recruitment while raising the university’s academic profile.

“The DHL will establish MSU as an innovative destination for liberal arts studies with real-life applications,” Backes agreed. “We want to show that the work that we do is relevant, practical and applicable to everyday life, and that the ‘soft skills’ we teach in our disciplines are easily converted into career paths for our students.”

Providing state-of-the-art resources for teaching and research

Missouri State’s DHL will be an all-encompassing, state-of-the-art resource center that encourages digital humanities teaching and learning, Jolley said.

Facility resources already include hardware and software commonly used in the humanities, he noted. The DHL will have five new dedicated workstations (macOS and Windows) with access to Adobe Creative Cloud applications. Other resources include photography and video equipment, image editing software, scanners, drones and data analysis software.

In addition, the DHL will keep lists of campus-wide digital scholarship resources and faculty and staff with expertise in specific areas. The nearby Innovation Lab will also provide resources and support, according to Jolley.

Finally, the DHL will have a dedicated website to host and distribute DHL projects.

Creative spaces for everyone

Backes said having a dedicated physical space for digital humanities research was “vital” to the DHL mission.

“Students feel a more personal connection and greater sense of belonging to a community on campus when they have a shared space — for example, science laboratories, music halls and theaters,” she explained.

And although the idea for a DHL came from humanities faculty, Jolley emphasized it was created to support interdisciplinary collaboration. Thus, its resources are available to all faculty and students across the entire university.

When describing her original vision, Backes said interdisciplinary collaboration was a primary objective.

“I wanted to promote the creation of a physical space on campus where faculty and students could engage in collaborative projects that showcase the relevance of the work that we do while also making it accessible to the community,” she said.

Meeting a growing need

Meanwhile, Missouri State’s new DHL reflects a growing trend in digital humanities scholarship across the country, Jolley noted. He cited DHLs at University of Georgia, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Yale University and Rutgers University as examples.

“DHLs are becoming common at universities across the country, as the importance of digital scholarship in the humanities increases worldwide,” he said.

Future goals

Plans are in the works to acquire additional assets, based on specific project needs and available funding, according to Jolley. Other plans include a project proposal system tied to project micro-grants.

More than anything, though, both Backes and Jolley hope the university and surrounding communities engage with the DHL.

“With the opening of this new lab, we can bring people to campus to show them our collaborative work as it happens in real time — moving our research into a more public space, greatly enhancing our visibility and emphasizing how our work benefits the community at large,” Backes said.

Visit the Digital Humanities Lab