History and the digital - new methodologies for future & present historians

Hosted by the Centre for Modern and Contemporary History, this seminar intends to be a discussion on the new lines of historical investigation and new methodologies that are opening with the advent of mass digital technology. 

Marta Musso from Archives Portal Europe and King’s College London, Jane Stevenson from Archives Hub, and Courtney Campbell from the University of Birmingham will discuss the impact of digitisation and digital-born sources on historical research.

Marta Musso will present Archives Portal Europe, the largest online portal for archival research in European archives, as a tool that introduces new possibilities for historical research on modern and contemporary European history, as well as the challenges for historians to preserve digital-born sources.

Jane Stevenson will present The Archives Hub, an aggregator for descriptions of archives held in over 320 institutions throughout the UK. The talk will introduce attendees to the work of the Archives Hub, summarise some of the benefits that it offers, and discuss the changes brought about by digital content.

Courtney Campbell will present on “Creating a Digital Archive of Brazil's Most Endangered Historical Documents” on her experience on leading a major digitization projects in the state of Paraíba in Brazil, to ensure that historical study on Afro-Brazilian and indigenous subjects continue in this region by creating digital copies of damaged or neglected documents, and preserving them on multiple servers. In the talk she will present the many challenges we faced along the way and how we either overcame them or adapted to them.

The outcome of the seminar will be a draft of possible guidelines for historical research in the digital era.

The event is free to attend but registration is required

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