Digitalization of the Humanities: Transformation or Illusion?

Digitalization of the Humanities: Transformation or Illusion?

On June 10, 2025, Heidelberg University is facing an important conference: This Hengstberger Symposium will take place on June 12th and 13th and will deal with the influence of digitalization on the humanities and the change in digital humanities. Researchers from different disciplines such as theology, philosophy, literary studies, history and computer science will take part in this English-language conference.

The conference is organized by Dr. Natalie Rauscher and Dr. Christopher Nunn, two winners of the Hengstberger Prize 2024. The prize is awarded annually to three young scientists or teams of scientists from Heidelberg University and is endowed with 12,500 euros each. The two organizers will bring their expertise to the discussion about the digital transformation of the humanities, with particular emphasis on the diversity of disciplines in the digital humanities. The topics also include the integration of art history and film studies into the digital humanities.

Discussion about challenges and opportunities

A central point of the conference will be the critical examination of the possible negative aspects of digital humanities. Participants will discuss how non-transparent work structures and the ecological footprint of digital tools could affect disciplines. The title of the symposium is: "Disciplinary Transformations? Humanities Impact on Reshaping the Digital Humanities" and is intended to stimulate exchange about current developments.

Digital Humanities, a field that combines the humanities and computer science, has become increasingly important in recent years. According to that Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) Interdisciplinary research projects in this area have been funded since July 2019. The aim is to address research questions in the humanities using digital methods, including non-text-focused and multimodal sources.

Current research projects in the digital humanities

Since January 2021, a total of thirteen collaborative projects have received financial support in various humanities disciplines. Some of these projects are:

• HistKI: Unterstützung und Modellierung von Bildquellenrecherche durch KI.
• ClaReNet: Klassifikation von keltischen Münzprägungen.
• ChronBMM: Entwicklung einer Methode zur Datierung vedischer Texte.
• Diskos: Analyse multimodaler Quellenkorpora der Musik.
• eTaRDiS: Virtual Reality zur Erkundung historischer Ereignisse.
• D-WISE: Digitale Verfahren für die diskursanalytische Forschung.
• textklang: Untersuchung von Lyrik unter Nutzung eines Mixed-Methods-Ansatzes.
• Φως 4D: Tageslichtanalyse in antiken Häusern.
• DAVIF: Rolle von Frauen in der Filmgeschichte durch digitale Technologien.
• Exzerpt-Portal: Digitale Edition von Exzerpten.
• InsightsNet: Meta-Methodik zur Analyse multimodaler digitaler Objekte.
• ModelSEN: Modellierung historischer Erkenntnisprozesse.
• MPJ: Verbesserung der empirischen Grundlagen über prähistorisches Jagdverhalten.

The transformation through digital methods not only has an impact on the processes and objects of the humanities, but also on the self-image of the disciplines. This is evident in the growing discussion about the “end of theory” and the replacement of interpretation with data analysis. These developments require a comprehensive consideration of the scope and limitations of the digital humanities, particularly with regard to specific research practices.

The Hengstberger Symposium will certainly be an important contribution to reflecting on these topics and promote a valuable exchange between researchers in the digital humanities. The ZfdG highlights that professional structures and specialist associations have been able to bring about a consolidation of the sector in recent years.