New MA in Digital and Computational Archaeology, Cologne

There’s not a lot of degree programmes dedicated to computational archaeology specifically. And I can certainly recommend this new programme in Cologne: delivered by the amazing and inspiring Prof. Dr. Eleftheria Paliou, a very diverse range of modules, and completely in English.

Do share this with your colleagues and students. Application deadline 30 June.

From the website:

Digital and Computational Archaeology is concerned with the development and application of digital technologies and computational methods in archaeology. The MA Digital and Computational Archaeology is designed to equip archaeology graduates with practical, theoretical and critical skills in a variety of established and emerging digital technologies, and support a career in academia, cultural resource management, museums as well as public and private cultural heritage organisations. Students of this programme are offered the opportunity to use the facilities of the Cologne Digital Archaeology Laboratory (CoDArchLab), which is equipped with teaching, research and study spaces, numerous workstations, a variety of commercial and open source software programs, as well as specialised computational imaging equipment.

Students of the MA Digital and Computational Archaeology will have the opportunity to:

• Develop core computing skills in Data Science (database theory and design, data visualisation and representation, network science) and Web technologies and become acquainted with current issues in archaeological data management and policy.
• Familiarise themselves with the use of state-of-the-art 3D technologies and media and learn which techniques are best suited for data capture, documentation and analysis in different situations and contexts (e.g. fieldwork, museum, research projects).
• Think critically on the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), spatial analysis, and computational modelling in archaeology, and learn how to best apply computational methods to gain insights into human behaviour and socio-political organisation in past natural and built environments.
• Learn to identify current issues, problems and developments in the field of Digital Humanities and gain practical experience in the application and development of methods and tools that can benefit Humanities research more broadly.
• Take work placements (Praktika) in excavations, museums, or cultural heritage management organisations and test their practical skills in real life situations.

Admission requirements

Applicants for the MA Digital and Computational Archaeolgy should hold a bachelor’s degree (with at least 180 CP) in archeology or an archaeological sub-discipline, such as Prehistoric Archaeology, Classical Archaeology, Ancient West Asian Studies, Archaeology of Roman Provinces, Egyptology or similar. Bachelor graduates of neighboring subjects may also be admitted after case-by-case-review, if at least 60 CP have been obtained in an archaeological sub-discipline during the BA studies. A decision upon the admission of students will be made by the Admissions Committee.

The MA Digital and Computational Archaeology is fully taught in English. Knowledge of English needs to be certified at the C1 level in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Knowledge of German is not required for admission or the completion of the Master programme, but students will have the opportunity to choose from a number of German electoral courses, should they wish to.

Bursaries for PhD students to attend The Connected Past, deadline 21 June

We invite PhD candidates who plan to attend The Connected Past conference in Aarhus in September 2021 to apply for one of six bursaries towards the expenses of their attendance. https://connectedpast.net/aarhus-2020/bursaries-for-phd-students/

Maximum amount: 5000 DKK (ca. 673 EUR or 810 USD)

Deadline: June 21^st 2021 at 23:00 CET

Notification of successful applicants: June 28^th 2021

How to apply? Send a 1-page motivation letter, proof of PhD status (card, enrolment certificate, URL to profile) and a 2-page CV to connectedpast2020@gmail.com and register for the conference before the application deadline.

What expenses can be covered? Accommodation, economy travel tickets, and conference registration, all documented by receipts (please note that we are only allowed to reimburse tickets booked directly through an airline and not via Momondo or other search engines).

When will bursary amounts be paid? Successful candidates will be reimbursed after conference attendance.

What should the motivation letter include? Why you would benefit from the event, breakdown of estimated expenses, list other sources of funding accessible to you.

More information: https://connectedpast.net

These bursaries are made possible thanks to support by the Carlsberg Foundation.

Six bursaries for PhD candidates

The restrictions imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic have significantly affected the career development opportunities of current PhD students, by effectively removing more than a year of academic networking time. It is crucial for academic activities to continue to be organised to offer science communication and networking opportunities in physical, blended or online formats, and to support the active participation of PhD students. Thanks to the support from the Carlsberg Foundation, we can offer six bursaries to facilitate six outstanding PhD students to attend The Connected Past 2021 in person (restrictions permitting).

PhD course

This year, PhD candidates attending the conference will also have the opportunity to attend a free PhD course at Aarhus University awarding 1.5 ECTS. The PhD course will take place in a blended format on the two days preceding the conference: 27-28 September 2021. The course will give you practical skills with network research in archaeology and history, and will share the experiences of a number of practitioners. Applicants need to apply separately for the conference and PhD course. For more information and registration: https://phdcourses.dk/Course/80630

About the Carlsberg Foundation

The Carlsberg Foundation is a commercial foundation that supports basic scientific research within the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities conducted by Danish researchers and international researchers connected to Danish research environments.

The funds for awards mainly come from the profits of Carlsberg A/S, in which the Carlsberg Foundation has a controlling interest. The Carlsberg Foundation was founded by Brewer J.C. Jacobsen in 1876.

Programme online historical networks conference out now

A must-attend for historians and archaeologists interested in networks. This conference brings together English-, French-, and German-language communities, to offer a rich and inspiring programme. CANNOT WAIT!!!!

Via the HNR conference team:

The conference „Historical Networks – Réseaux Historiques – Historische Netzwerke“ co-organised by the Historical Network Research group and Réseaux et Histoire will take place from Wednesday, June 30th until Friday, July 2nd, 2021. The complete programme is now online and registration is open. For more information about the programme, registration and more details about the conference, please visit our conference website (http://hnr2021.historicalnetworkresearch.org/).

Questions, suggestions, notes regarding the conference? Write us at conference@historicalnetworkresearch.org. 

WORKSHOPS – WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30TH, 9:30 A.M. CET – 4:15 P.M. CET

On Wednesday, June 30th, HNR+ResHist 2021 will offer four workshops for beginners as well as advanced network researchers:

Analysis of Two-Mode Networks with Python
Demival Vasques Filho

Exponential Random Graph Models: Theory and Applications on Historical Networks
Antonio Fiscarelli

From historical source to network data
Claire Lemercier

Introduction to Social Network Analysis: Basics and Historical Specificities
Martin Grandjean

Registration for the workshops takes place through EventBrite. Please note that the number of participants per workshop is limited and that the deadline for registering is 23 June (23:30 pm CEST).

KEYNOTES

HNR+ResHist2021 is proud to present two keynotes which will be delivered by Marion Maisonobe (CNRS, Paris) and Matteo Valleriani (MPIWG, Berlin). You can find their abstracts here below. To attend the keynotes, please register for the conference (deadline: 23 June, 23:30 pm CEST).

OPENING KEYNOTE – WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30TH, 4:30 P.M. CET

THE SPHAERA CORPUS IN ITS SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CONTEXT

MATTEO VALLERIANI, MARYAM ZAMANI, MALTE VOGL, HASSAN EL-HAJJ, HOLGER KANTZ

The lecture will first provide an overview of the corpus and of its historical meaning from the perspective of the main research question of the project, namely the question concerned with the mechanisms of knowledge homogenization in the early modern time and, therefore, with those processes that allowed for the emergence of a scientific identity of Europe.

Secondly, the major results concerned with the semantic analysis of the corpus and based on a formalization of the data in terms of a multiplex network will be shown. In particular it will be shown a) how a family of historical sources was detected that then executed a hegemonic role all over Europe therefore greatly contributing to the process of homogenization, b) how treatises, denominated “great transmitters”, allowed for the perpetuation of traditional knowledge for about 200 years however in the context of continuous innovation, and c) how different treatises were identified that are the main responsible for the impactful and enduring innovations.

Third, the lecture will present a new network model able to display the process of knowledge transformation in its social and economic context. The lecture therefore concludes by showing analyses conducted in order to understand correlations between families of treatises (semantic knowledge) on one side and societal groups on the other.

CLOSING KEYNOTE – FRIDAY, JULY 2ND, 3:30 P.M. CET

«LES LIEUX QUI FONT LIENS»: SEVERAL WAYS TO INTEGRATE PLACES IN NETWORK ANALYSIS

MARION MAISONOBE

We identify three traditional ways of integrating places in network analysis. Firstly, it is common to start from relationships between individuals, families and businesses and to aggregate these relationships to consider the interactions between places that they create (A). Secondly, places can be the instrument of network construction. In other words, the co-presence in certain places makes it possible to deduce relationships between entities (B). Thirdly, the network can be immediately „spatial“ in the sense that the entities in relation as well as their links are materially anchored in space (for example, a hydrographic network, a metro map or a road network) (C). We will see that the sources, analytical issues and methods, and types of visualisation associated with these different networks vary. Our presentation will focus more specifically on type A and B networks by taking up, detailing and updating the methodological proposals of a collaborative research work on the visualization of scholarly worlds from Antiquity to the present day (Andurand et al., 2015).

«LES LIEUX QUI FONT LIENS»: DIFFÉRENTES MANIÈRES D’INTÉGRER LES LIEUX EN ANALYSE DE RÉSEAU

Nous distinguons trois manières classiques d’intégrer les lieux en analyse de réseaux. Premièrement, il est fréquent de partir de relations entre individus, familles, entreprises et d’agréger ces relations pour considérer les interactions entre lieux qu’elles dessinent (A). Deuxièmement, les lieux peuvent être l’instrument de la construction du réseau. Autrement dit, c’est la co-présence en certains lieux qui permet de déduire des relations entre entités (B). Troisièmement, le réseau peut être immédiatement « spatial » au sens où les entités en relation ainsi que leurs liens sont matériellement ancrés dans l’espace (par exemple, un réseau hydrographique, un plan de métro ou une trame viaire) (C). Nous verrons que les sources, les enjeux et méthodes d’analyse ainsi que les types de visualisation associées à ces différents réseaux varient. Notre exposé se concentrera plus particulièrement sur les réseaux du type A et B en reprenant, détaillant et actualisant les propositions méthodologiques d’un travail de recherche collaboratif sur la visualisation des mondes savants de l’Antiquité à nos jours à partir de différentes sources (Andurand et al., 2015).

We look forward to welcoming you online!

The Historical Networks – Réseaux Historiques – Historische Netzwerke 2021 Organisers:
Laurent Beauguitte (CNRS | Paris)
Aline Deicke (Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz)
Marten Düring (University of Luxembourg)
Antonio Fiscarelli (University of Luxembourg)
Claire Lemercier (CNRS | Paris)
Ingeborg van Vugt (University of Utrecht)