Undergraduate study

Students can undertake a Bachelor of Arts with a Major or Minor in Digital Humanities. These programs of study can be undertaken in conjunction with courses across the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Students may also encorporate their Bachelor of Arts (Digital Humanities) into a Flexible Double Degree.

• Digital Humanities Major
• Digital Humanities Minor

Postgraduate Study

The Master of Digital Humanities and Public Culture enables students to develop high level skills in digital literacy and applied humanities. A flexible structure allows students to learn emerging digital research methods, advanced critical thinking and data analysis. Students gain an understanding of how academic research is applied in broader society and are supported to develop communication skills across traditional and digital platforms aimed at both the academic and public spheres. Students will collaborate with researchers from across the ANU, and have the opportunity to engage with the national cultural institutions, the public and government sector, and international organisations in Canberra. For full details of the program and eligibility requirements see the Programs and Courses website.

• Master of Digital Humanities and Public Culture
• Master of Digital Humanities and Public Culture (Advanced)

Key Digital Humanities Courses at ANU

The Centre for Digital Humanities Research runs the following courses, these can be undertaken as part of an undergraduate major or minor, or at a Masters level.

HUMN1001: Digital Culture: Being Human in the Information Age

This course will introduce students to some of the major concepts, practices, and implications involved in the use of digital technologies in the humanities - the group of academic disciplines interested in examining what it means to be human from cultural, historical, and philosophical perspectives. From the vantage point of these new 'digital humanities', we will examine the contemporary shift away from a predominantly print culture to one that is increasingly digital and online, while at the same time analysing and critiquing the emerging cultural practices that accompany this development. In so doing, we will seek to better understand the historical influence of new technologies on how we think of ourselves and our cultural heritage, both individually and collectively; how we interact socially and politically; how we determine public and private spaces in an increasingly connected world; and how we can use digital technologies to produce, preserve, and study cultural materials.

HUMN2001: Introduction to Digital Humanities and Public Culture - Tools, Theories and Methods

A revolution is underway in humanities and social science research. Information and communication technologies are transforming the way in which students and scholars approach their subject matter. New questions arise when texts, images, and sound are rearranged in ways unimaginable before the digital age. The term 'digital humanities' refers to these changes and to the critical, epistemological, and methodological challenges they pose. This course provides an introduction to some of the most exciting areas in current digital humanities research, as well as an exploration of its history and impact as an interdisciplinary field, the theoretical issues it raises, and the major methodological debates it has provoked over the last few decades.

HUMN3001: Digital Humanities and Public Culture: Projects and Engagement

This course will allow students to develop and critically assess a range of digital humanities skills, research methods, and best practices. Students will be asked to engage with cutting-edge research methodologies in the growing interdisciplinary field of the digital humanities, focussing on the issues and approaches that directly address the ongoing digitisation of our shared cultural record. The scope and scale of these issues will allow students to investigate a variety of humanities questions in a project-based manner across multiple media and using various methodologies. Students will therefore experiment with at least four different types of data - drawn from existing open-access digital humanities collections - along with corresponding data analysis techniques to answer a set of humanities-related research questions. These methods may include: digitisation techniques; text encoding and analysis; data gathering and analysis; 'distant reading' and data mining; network analysis; data visualisation; and geo-spatial mapping, among others.

Other Undergraduate Courses

HUMN2002: Gutenberg to Google: Histories of Information

The digital age is changing our interaction with information profoundly. The printed book and newspaper is under threat, the publishing industry is undergoing significant change, and issues surrounding information, such as freedom of information, copyright, and intellectual property, and the very ways in which we read, write, understand, and communicate are being debated and reconsidered. This course seeks to place these debates in historical perspective by exploring the history of information in the modern age.

HIST2237: Digital History, Digital Heritage: the past in a digital present

What does it mean to practice history in the digital age? How are digital technologies shaping the way we conceptualise the past, design and conduct historical research, and communicate our findings? What does digital history offer in terms of innovative and substantive new ways of understanding the past, andhow has it changed the way society 'consumes' the past? Exploring these questions and more, this course introduces students to the theory and practice of researching, writing, and presenting history in a digital world.

Graduate Coursework

Staff teach into the following courses in the Research School of Humanities & the Arts' Masters of Digital Humanities and Public Culture

HUMN6001: Digital Humanities: Theories and Projects

Information and communication technologies are transforming humanities research. The term ‘digital humanities’ refers to these changes and the intellectual, ethical and methodological challenges they pose. This course provides an introduction to the digital humanities, including its history and impact, theoretical issues it raises, the major methodological debates in this field, and the consequences these are having for humanities scholarship. This course emphasises and develops the analytical skills necessary for working at, and engaging with, the intersection of the humanities and technology. No computer skills (beyond basic familiarity with word processing and Internet access) are required.

HUMN6003: Digital Humanities: Methods and Practices

This course will allow students to develop and critically assess a range of digital humanities skills, research methods, and best practices. Students will be asked to engage with cutting-edge research methodologies in the growing interdisciplinary field of the digital humanities, focussing on the issues and approaches that directly address the ongoing digitisation of our shared cultural record.

HUMN8030 and HUMN8031: Digital Humanities and Public Culture Research Project

This course allows students to develop a relevant research project in the areas of Public Humanities, cultural studies, and/or Digital Humanities. Students will be guided by a supervisor in the development of a research topic, discuss appropriate methodologies and practices, and work on their project throughout the semester. This course allows students to develop a project that may have direct industry or professional relevance; and to further develop their project management, writing and/or digital literacy skills. Students will be encouraged to explore projects that are interdisciplinary and employ new media and digital skills and components. Students can choose either a 6 unit project (HUMN8030) or a 12 unit project (HUMN8031).