Mathematical Humanists

FAIN: HT-293866-23

George Mason University (Fairfax, VA 22030-4444)
Jessica Otis (Project Director: February 2023 to present)
Ashley Sanders (Co Project Director: February 2023 to present)

A series of in-person, online, and asynchronous professional development workshops to be hosted by George Mason University and the University of California, Los Angeles, on statistics, graphs and networks, linear algebra, and discrete mathematics methods that inform computational humanities methodologies such as statistics, network analysis, and text mining and analysis.

Many humanists have not had the opportunity, or have faced barriers, to receiving instruction in higher mathematics, particularly topics that provide a conceptual foundation for understanding the assumptions made in common DH methods. Mathematical Humanists will iteratively conduct a series of four workshops to guide a total of 48 synchronous participants (and an unlimited number of asynchronous participants) through fundamental mathematical concepts underpinning common DH methods, including statistics, network analysis, and text mining and analysis. The proposed workshops introduce participants to mathematical notation, theories, and application using a learner-centered, case-study approach, contextualizing each lesson with real humanities data and questions. We will seek a diverse cohort of participants doing DH research, instruction, and/or related scholarship who wish to learn about the mathematics behind common DH methods and who have not had access to this training before.