University opens digital humanities center

Shanghai Normal University established a digital humanities research center on Monday.

Chen Heng, vice president of the university, said the center will carry forward several existing programs to establish databases for literature and history subjects and build up a digital humanities platform. It will also develop digital humanity research tools, support publication of related research findings, promote domestic and international academic exchanges and cooperation, and develop new system for cultivating related talent.

A forum after the ceremony had experts sharing their latest research and ideas on the integration of technology and humanities.

Peter K. Bol, an American historian and sinologist, said digital humanities researchers should share data and build up a set of common basic data.

Other experts, including Deng Xiaonan, dean of the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences at Peking University, and Feng Huilin, former vice president of Renmin University of China and its digital humanities research center, said digital humanities, featuring multi-disciplinary convergence, created conditions for changes in research methods and were believed to be one of the most dynamic research fields of modern times.

With the new center and an artificial intelligence education institute established recently, the university hopes to strengthen all disciplines and optimize allocation of resources to promote the integration of technology and humanities and the development of social sciences.