The Center for the Humanities, NYU Libraries, and NYU Research and Instructional Technology fund the initial development of new research projects that will analyze digital sources, apply algorithmic methods to humanities data, or create digital publications, exhibits, or websites. The goal of the program is to seed projects that may go on to receive greater funding from other sources or otherwise build NYU’s institutional capacity in Digital Humanities work.
We are excited to announce this year’s cohort of funded projects. Congratulations to them all!
MUTUN: A Platform for Arabic Corpus Management and Analysis
Contributors: Antonio Musto, Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies (GSAS); Jeremy Farrell (NYU AD), and Giovanni DiRusso (Harvard)
Abstract
Recent advances in building high-quality textual corpora and the application of computational methods of analysis such as Natural Language Processing (NLP) have allowed Humanities scholars to pose new and fundamental questions in their respective fields. However, a lack of technical capacity in these areas is still a hurdle for many researchers, especially those working with under-resourced languages like Arabic. We address these issues by prototyping the MUTUN platform for streamlining Arabic-language corpus development and analysis for non-technical researchers in the Humanities. Specifically, the proposed corpus management tool will enable users to: (1) create a corpus by importing texts from existing corpora or adding their own digitized texts; (2) utilize a variety of organizational features for textual metadata, biobibliographical functions, and advanced corpus search capabilities; and (3) automatically annotate and analyze their corpus using the suite of NLP tools for Arabic-script texts developed by the CAMeL Lab team (NYU Abu Dhabi). Implementing new Digital Humanities tools in concert with the corpus building capabilities of MUTUN will empower non-technical researchers by providing an accessible digital toolbox for Arabic texts. Going forward, we will seek additional funding from national and international granting agencies in order to build out the platform for wider adoption.
Biblio-Política: A Digital History of the Chicano Studies Library
Contributors: Amanda Belantara, NYU Libraries; Emily Drabinski, CUNY Graduate Center; Richard Chabrán; Lillian Castillo-Speed, UC Berkeley
Abstract
Biblio-Política is a virtual exhibit that documents and shares the story of the Chicano Studies Library at UC Berkeley, one of the first dedicated Chicano Studies libraries in the United States. The project will digitize and make available early library ephemera, photos, and records documenting the library’s unique knowledge organizing system, and create original oral history interviews with some of the library’s early staff. The custom designed exhibit will amplify the little-known stories of innovative library workers while showcasing each digital object with detailed metadata. The exhibit will be built using Wax, an extensible software that can easily be maintained and later stored in a dedicated repository.
Mapping Artistic Activism Project (MAAP)
Contributors: Stephen Duncombe, Gallatin, Dipti Desai, Art and Art Professions, NYU Steinhardt School
Abstract
The Mapping Artistic Activism Project (MAAP) is a living digital archive of individuals, collectives, and organizations engaged in the emerging field of artistic activism in different regions around the world. This archive will identify connections between actors across territories and detail the challenges faced by practitioners as described by themselves. MAAP will allow us to understand the ecosystem of artistic activism and the main tendencies defining its growth.
Using Mapbox Studio software and WordPress integration, MAAP’s end product will be a public-facing, easy-to-use website that graphically “maps” the field of artistic activism across the globe, yet allows the user to drill down to explore in detail different practitioners and organizations. Using original data gathered by a network of international researchers and self-generated by practitioners around the world, this platform will be a resource for researchers, practitioners, educators, supporters, and funders looking to understand and strengthen the practice of and knowledge about artistic activism worldwide.
Preserving Pandemic Activism on Disability Social Media
Contributors: Mara Mills, Media Culture and Communication, Steinhardt; Harris Kornstein, University of Arizona
Abstract
An enormous amount of disability theoretical and activist work takes place on social media (Wong 2022). For many disabled and chronically ill people, physical spaces and normative timetables are inaccessible, making online community vitally important (Rogers 2023). Yet digital platforms are not universally accessible, and they are often highly ephemeral. The NYU Center for Disability Studies has been preserving disability social media conversations, actions, informational resources, and art related to the pandemic, as well as records of digital public meetings and other online activities. Our goal has been to chronicle not only vulnerabilities, but creative initiatives for survival, in these new conditions structured by old inequalities. A seed grant will enable us to a) broaden the scope of the disability media we have collected; b) formulate best practices for archiving websites, posts and threads in an accessible manner; and c) draft and receive feedback on a larger digital preservation grant.