Hesburgh Libraries

Lecture Overview

All are welcome to join us for a digital humanities lecture and discussion led by Sorin Matei, Professor and Director of Purdue University’s Data Storytelling Network.

Professor Matei studies the relationship between information technology, group behavior, and social structures in a variety of contexts. Humanities provide a holistic account of human existence. The subject of humanities is the human experience seen as a whole, rooted in material practices that take place in space. Professor Matei sees space as one of the central connecting sinews in the humanistic body of knowledge and he proposes that a programmatic approach to humanities in general and to digital humanities in particular should start with space.

The presentation will discuss the use of maps and spatial analysis to anchor humanistic and social scientific research. He will discuss the use of maps in capturing societal fears, otherness, and historical events, especially in military history. The presentation will conclude with some thoughts about the role and meaning of digitization in expanding rather than diluting the mission of humanities.

Sponsored by: College of Arts and Letters, College of Science, Hesburgh Libraries, Medieval Institute, Notre Dame Research, and the Office of Digital Learning