Digital Humanities Day 2025: Off to new ethical shores!

Digital Humanities Day 2025: Off to new ethical shores!

On September 5, 2025, the Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) will be in the starting blocks for an important exchange about the development and challenges of the digital humanities. The “Digital Humanities Day #7”, which will take place on September 15th and 16th, 2025, promises an exciting platform for those interested and experts in the field of Digital Humanities (DH). The aim of the event is to present digital research projects and discuss current issues in the discipline. According to the RUB, a particular focus will be on digital ethics, which has become increasingly important in recent years.

The event location is the DH Space of the Bochum University Library, where a keynote by Johann-Christian Põder, Professor of Ethics in Theology and Medicine at the University of Rostock, will be streamed from the library. In addition, a panel entitled “DH @ MENA(-Lib)” is planned, which is open to all interested parties and is intended to offer new perspectives on the digital humanities in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa). Registration is required for some program items.

Diverse program items and exchange

The diverse program of “Digital Humanities Day #7” includes, among other things, the introduction and welcome by the management of the university library, the RUB Rectorate and the Digital Humanities Center (DHC). Further highlights include a futures thinking workshop that deals with the future of the DHC and the DH community within the Ruhr University Alliance, as well as a poster session that offers a platform for the exchange of ideas.

A bar camp is also planned to further promote the exchange of experiences and creative concepts. The anniversary dinner, which takes place on the occasion of the five-year anniversary of the DHC, is particularly celebratory.

Integration of digital skills into your studies

In addition to the upcoming conference, there are also longer-term projects at the RUB to anchor digital skills in teaching. The “Future Skills curricular” project was started in April 2024 and will run until March 2026. The aim of the project is the interdisciplinary integration of a course offering for digital methods in the humanities and social sciences.

A particular focus is on developing a certificate and course offering for the optional area at the RUB, which promotes basic DH skills such as data mining, text annotation and corpus analysis. The cooperation with the Technical University of Dortmund and the University of Duisburg-Essen creates a comprehensive DH basic offering for students of the Ruhr University Alliance.

These modules are embedded in the curriculum and can be credited in the UA-Ruhr-wide certificate program “Digital Humanities”. The close collaboration is intended not only to network the teachers, but also to ensure the sustainable integration of digital methods into the education of students. Sebastian Jeworutzki and Dr. Stephanie Heimgartner is available for further information and questions regarding the offers.

For anyone interested, “Digital Humanities Day #7” offers an excellent opportunity to immerse themselves in an essential dialogue about the future of digital humanities and to find out about the current state of research. Details about the event and registration can be found on the website Digital Humanities Centers accessible. Further information about the event is also available on the Websites of the Ruhr University Bochum to find.