Start Planning for Digital Humanities 2020

By Hannah Jacobs

Every year, researchers, instructors, practitioners, and students from around the world gather to share their digital humanities work and learn from one another at the Digital Humanities conference organized by the Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO). (Learn more about the conference that just wrapped on the 2019 conference website and Twitter hashtag #DH2019.)

If you’re interested in learning more about the kinds of topics presented, you can read through abstracts from the most recent conferences: 2019, 2018, and 2017 (and further in the past). Here are a few examples of presentations given by scholars from North Carolina colleges and universities:

DH2020 will be co-hosted by Carleton University and the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Canada, July 22-24, 2020 (with workshops and SIG events taking place immediately before and after). Although it’s a year away, now is the time to plan ways to be involved. Even if you’re not sure if you’ll attend there are ways to contribute!

Keep reading to see all of the ways you can be involved, but first a break down of the deadlines:

August 15, 2019 – Reviewer nominations & Keynote Nominations
October 15, 2019 – ALL submissions
March 15, 2020 – Bursary applications

Keep Up to Date on DH2020

How can you receive updates about DH2020? Follow @DH2020_Ottawa on Twitter and/or sign up for the Humanist email list. (One of the longest running academic email discussion groups, Humanist is a great resource for all kinds of digital and non-digital humanities announcements and discussions.)

Submit a Proposal

The CFP is up! Submissions are being accepted August 1 – October 15, 2019. Check out the submission guidelines for all the details. Here’s an overview of the themes and formats for proposals:

Themes

The official conference theme is “carrefours/intersections,” a place where paths cross. Within that theme, the program committee invites proposals that in some way connect with one or more of these three sub-themes, though proposals that are broadly dh are also accepted:

Formats

(Text from dh2020.adho.org.)

posters – physical posters intended to elicit conversations and offer opportunity to exchange ideas one-on-one with attendees.
lightning talks – 5 minute presentations of a single project, idea, technology, or problem intended to either solicit feedback from peers or to advertise the release of a new project, dataset, or tool.
short presentations – dynamic 10-minute presentations appropriate for reporting on works in progress, limited scholarly interventions, or for describing a singular tool or project. Short-paper submissions seek to open dialogues among scholars working on related topics. Short presentations are eligible for the Fortier Prize, which explicitly recognizes early career scholars’ work.
long paper presentations – substantial completed research, report the development of new methodologies; or present rigorous theoretical, speculative, or critical discussions. Individual presentations will be allocated 15 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for questions. Long submissions seek substantive feedback and discussion of the submission’s relationship to other scholarship in the field. Long presentations are eligible for the Fortier Prize, which explicitly recognizes early career scholars’ work.
multiple-paper panels – focus on a single theme and be inherently coherent in presenting a substantial body of research or a research question. A panel should be conceived as a 90-minute session of four to six speakers. Those submitting proposals for panels are advised to ensure that the constitution of the panel reflects the constitution of the field and/or research topic that is being addressed and ADHO’s expressed commitment to diversity or to explicitly address problems in those areas.
forums (new format!) – should focus on a single thematic or methodological challenge and be designed to facilitate a conversation at large with the digital humanities community. The forum should be conceived as a 90-minute discussion with at least three facilitators. Those submitting proposals for forums are advised to ensure that the proposal explicitly addresses how attendees will contribute.
workshops and tutorials – either 1) a two-hour session or 2) a four-hour session on specific techniques, software packages, or theoretical approaches with a small number of participants.

Please ensure that the constitution of the workshop reflects the constitution of the field and/or research topic that is being addressed; ADHO’s expressed commitment to diversity; or explicitly addresses problems in those areas.

Be a Reviewer

Even if you don’t plan to attend DH2020, you can be a reviewer! Check out the criteria, and know that it’s possible to be a reviewer even if you don’t have a PhD and/or have not presented at an ADHO conference before. You don’t have to be attending the conference, either. The Program Committee is actively seeking new reviewers. Nominate yourself or someone else by August 15, 2019, and be sure to read the reviewer guidelines thoroughly. This year reviews will be open, so authors and reviewers will be able to see each other’s names and institutions.

Nominate Someone to be a Keynote Speaker

The DH2020 organizers are seeking nominations for Keynote Speakers and Plenary Panels. Anyone can do this. Now is your chance to let the organizers know whose voice(s) should be heard at DH2020. The deadline to submit is August 15, 2019.

Nominate Someone for a Prize

There are several prizes that ADHO awards regularly at the conference. This year, nominations are being accepted for the Lisa Lena Opas-Hänninen Young Scholar Prize and the Antonio Zampolli Prize.

The Paul Fortier Prize is awarded a young scholar for the best paper presented at the conference. Finalists are chosen by ADHO leadership prior to the conference, and the winner is announced at the end of the conference following all finalists’ presentations.

Get Funding to Attend

(Text paraphrased from dh2020.adho.org.)

ADHO offers bursaries for early career scholars who are members of at least one ADHO constituent organization, have not yet been awarded a PhD or received their PhD within the last five years and who has not presented at the conference more than once before. Adjuncts and other longer-term contingent faculty who otherwise meet the criteria are welcome to apply but must provide specific information about the economic circumstances under which they are applying.

These awards are to encourage new contributions to scholarship in the digital humanities from our diverse global constituency. Paper, poster and panel submissions qualify for consideration, authored or co-authored by an applicant.

Applications for ADHO bursaries will be open beginning 1 March 2020. The deadline for submitting the ADHO bursary application is 15 March 2020.

ADHO’s constituent organizations, such as ACH, and other related organizations (in the past CHCI, DLF, and DHSI) may offer additional bursaries. Follow @DH2020_Ottawa on Twitter and/or the Humanist email list to receive announcements about other funding opportunities.

Sponsor DH2020

Sponsorships help fund the conference and attendees. If you work for or operate a digital humanities (or dh-related) organization or program that would benefit from international exposure, consider sponsoring the conference. Sponsorships come in many shapes and sizes, so read all the way to the bottom of the page.