Computer games, apps and AI are everywhere in the lives of CUHK students. These technologies are useful in our everyday interactions, but they can also help us be better historians and humanists. In this introductory course, you will learn about the exciting field of Digital Humanities, which applies all manner of technologies to humanities questions. The course will introduce the resources available at CUHK for digital humanities (DS Lab, VR Studio, 3-Printing space, etc.). It will also involve the study of some exciting applications of tools, like VR, text analysis, 3-D modelling and printing, historical mapping, etc. At the end of the course, students will have a solid foundation for further studies in digital humanities.

9/1 Introduction: Humanities and Technology?

Material: Epoch History Games Initiative

Methods: The Two Cultures

16/1 History for Today, History for Tomorrow? The Origins of the Digital Humanities

Material: Index Thomisticus [arguably the first DH project] & Selfiecity

Methods: Google N-gram viewer

23/1 Resources at CUHK: DS Lab, etc.

MEET IN DS LAB, UL

Material: China Biographical Database Project

Methods: DS Lab

6/2 Key questions in the Digital Humanities

Material: Battle of HK

Methods: Three Challenges (and Solutions) & The Trouble with Text Mining

13/2 Reading with Technology I: English texts (CText).

Material: Representing Race and Ethnicity

Methods: Text Analysis

20/2 Reading with Technology II: Literary Sinitic (Classical Chinese) (CText).

Material: Chinese Text Project

Methods: CText Introduction; Text re-use

27/2 What is a Map? What is a Network?

Material: Mapping the Republic of Letters; A World made by travel

Methods: QGIS Lessons 2.1-2.2

13/3 Rebuilding the Pyramids?

Material: Virtual Field Trips to Ancient Rome

Methods: 3-D Modelling

20/3 3-D Printing

MEET IN DS LAB, UL

Material: Harvard 3D printing

Methods: LibGuide

27/3 VR and Humanities

MEET IN DS LAB, UL

Material: VR Ancient Egypt

Methods: LibGuide to VR

3/4 Foundations of AI I

Material: IBM AI Explained

Methods: Orange Data Mining

10/4 Foundations of AI II

Material: There is a digital art history

Methods: Getting Started with Orange

17/4 Digital Humanities Project Work

Material: Peking Opera Masks

Methods: None

30% Participation in Tutorial

Active and enthusiastic participation in the tutorial (7.5% per tutorial). 

20% Attendance and participation in lecture and departmental seminars

Each student is required to attend the weekly lecture and the tutorials, as well as participate in class exercises, etc. (10%). 

Additionally, students must attend at least 3 seminars from among term 2’s various meetings of the RIH Digital Humanities Talk Series OR History Department World History Seminar via Zoom (send screen shot to TA as proof). You should also ask at least one question during one of the Q&A sessions (also send screen shot of chat box to TA as proof). The schedules will be announced in due course. If you attend the Day of DH (7 March) event organized by the RIH, this will count for 2 seminars (10%). 

20% DH Project Video Review

Produce a 2- to 3-minute video which provides a review of an interesting DH project (either one we have studied in class, or one that you have found yourself). This video should include sound, images (like a PPT) and may include video extracts. Images and other material may be AI generated. You may need to do more research about the project and its reception and use. NB These will be uploaded to a class YouTube page.  In making the videos, you should follow relevant copyright guidelines.

Due by email to the TA who will put them on the YouTube site: DEADLINE 23/4 @5PM  

20% “Teach a Friend Digital History” Video

Produce a 3- to 10-minute video which captures your screen, camera and voice as you guide a friend how to make a mini-digital history project (e.g. create a map, analyze a text, visualization, 3D printed object, 3D scan, etc.) using one of the methods introduced during the course. You can use Panopto, Zoom or some other tool to create these videos.  For a guide to recording in Zoom, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9qhoAIzW3E    In making the videos, you should follow relevant copyright guidelines.

Due by email to the TA who will put them on the YouTube site: DEADLINE 23/4 @5PM  

10% AI-diary

The use of AI is permitted (and encouraged!) in this class. However, it must be documented and reflected upon.  An important part of the assessment is therefore an AI diary. This can be a Word document or other format, in which you record the prompt, the response, 30-to-50-word personal reflection on the value of the response and how you might want to further prompt the AI or edit the output. You must document every single use of AI related to the course. You should begin keeping the AI diary from the very beginning of the course.

Due by email to the TA who will put them on the YouTube site: DEADLINE 23/4 @5PM  

AI Policy

By requiring an AI diary, this course follows Approach 3 in the CUHK Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools in Teaching, Learning and Assessments A Guide for Students:

Use only with explicit acknowledgement

In courses where students are allowed or expected to collaborate with or use AI tools, students may use these tools for in-class learning activities, exercises or assignments as long as they explicitly cite or acknowledge the use of these tools. Details will be spelt out clearly in the course outline and/or the instructions of the assignments. Students shall follow the instruction strictly and are expected to understand the limits and appropriate uses of these tools.

Email Policy

The TA and I are here to help you.  We aim to respond to emails within 48 hours of receiving them (excluding weekends and public holidays). If you do not receive a response within 48 hours, please send a follow-up email. 

Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be found at https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/.

With each assignment, students will be required to submit a signed declaration that they are aware of these policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures.

• In the case of group projects, all members of the group should be asked to sign the declaration, each of whom is responsible and liable to disciplinary actions, irrespective of whether he/she has signed the declaration and whether he/she has contributed, directly or indirectly, to the problematic contents.
• For assignments in the form of a computer-generated document that is principally text-based and submitted via VeriGuide, the statement, in the form of a receipt, will be issued by the system upon students’ uploading of the soft copy of the assignment.

Assignments without the properly signed declaration will not be graded by teachers.

Only the final version of the assignment should be submitted via VeriGuide.

The submission of a piece of work, or a part of a piece of work, for more than one purpose (e.g. to satisfy the requirements in two different courses) without declaration to this effect shall be regarded as having committed undeclared multiple submissions. It is common and acceptable to reuse a turn of phrase or a sentence or two from one’s own work; but wholesale reuse is problematic. In any case, agreement from the course teacher(s) concerned should be obtained prior to the submission of the piece of work.