Join us in person Monday, May 5th to Thursday, May 8th 2025, at St Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia for DHSI-East, hosted by St. Francis Xavier University's Digital Humanities Centre. Faculty, staff, students, and all interested are welcome.
For the first time, we will be offering concurrent workshops and an Aligned Event! Choose one of two concurrent workshop options.
Workshop Option 1: "Digital Sustainability and Preservation in Digital Archives Projects"
Instructors: Dr. Constance Crompton, Canada Research Chair in Digital Humanities, University of Ottawa; Meghan Landry, ACENET
This four-day in-person workshop will discuss in-depth the role of metadata standards, controlled vocabularies, and linked open data in digital archives projects. It will be inspired by the theory and practice of LINCS, Linked Infrastructure for Networked Cultural Scholarship, and the Endings Project (https://endings.uvic.ca), which has “created tools, principles, policies and recommendations for digital scholarship practitioners to create accessible, stable, long-lasting resources in the humanities.” Hands-on use of OpenRefine, an open-source data cleaning and transformation tool, will frame the discussions of metadata best practices, followed by a brief introduction to HTML and building projects to last online in keeping with Endings Project principles. The workshop concludes with an outline of how to embed a project within a broader network of support through libraries, archives, associations, and community groups.
Max Participants: 25
Workshop Option 2: "Introduction to Databases for Humanist Data"
Instructor: Dr. Jon Bath, Associate Professor of Art and Art History, University of Saskatchewan
This course will introduce the use of relational databases for the analysis of humanities data. We will begin by examining why a database might be an appropriate tool for your project and then move on to how to model, or structure, your data in a database. Finally we will learn how to query, or ask questions, of your data set. Throughout this process we will be using MySQL, a free, open-source relational database tool, and learning the basics of Structured Query Language (SQL). No previous experience with databases or programming is required, and you should feel free to bring your own data in whatever form it is currently in.
Max Participants: 12
Keynote Lecture: Reflections on Ethics and Justice in Metadata in the Age of AI
Speaker: Dr. Stacy Allison-Cassin, Assistant Professor, Dalhousie University
We seem to be in a new period of technological change. AI technologies are not new; the seemingly rapid expansion of generative AI and the increasing everyday use of AI-driven tools feel different and chaotic. While archives, libraries, and cultural heritage organizations continue to follow descriptive standards that have been in place for numerous decades, if not longer, increased attention on ethical practices relating to appropriate and respectful vocabulary in the representation of peoples, places, and cultures, including the appropriate naming of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, has put pressure on organizations to make significant change to practice. The proliferation of projects focused on terminology within the library space points to a new “opening” in standard practices related to an emphasis on ethics and justice and to opportunities afforded by technologies. However, there is a tension between the increasing emphasis on ethics in metadata practice and the potential changes to metadata creation practices made possible by AI-driven tools. In this talk, I will discuss the current and future challenges and possibilities in metadata in relation to representation, justice and ethics.
Aligned Event: "Explore the World of Gaelic Song and Digital Archives!"
Are you curious about Gaelic songs or digital cultural resources? Join us for an engaging two-day workshop dedicated to exploring Tobar an Dualchais/Kist o’ Riches and the Nova Scotia Gaelic Song Index!
This hands-on workshop will guide you through the ins and outs of these incredible resources. Learn how to search for hidden treasures, uncover fascinating songs, and get an introduction to cutting-edge digital archive technologies. Topics include:
- Linked Data: Discover how to connect information across digital resources seamlessly.
- Data Cleaning: Help ensure that metadata is accurate, consistent, and free of errors.
- Music Encoding: Learn how to make musical sounds – not just text – searchable and more accessible.
We also want to hear from you! Share your thoughts on how these resources can be improved and let us know what digital tools or features you’d love to see in the future.
Whether you’re a Gaelic language learner, teacher, singer, historian, archivist, librarian, or simply passionate about preserving culture, this workshop has something for you. Come and be part of the conversation that’s shaping the future of Gaelic cultural preservation!
