Description

In this talk, Javier Cha will share his thoughts on how to transform Hong Kong into a leading digital humanities research hub in Asia. He will discuss strategies for building upon existing key digital humanities projects, initiatives, and programs, while also exploring the opportunities and challenges ahead. The suite of established digital humanities practices, including data curation, text analysis, mapping, and network visualization and analysis, will remain relevant. However, the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence prompt humanities scholars to pursue new research directions, particularly those concerning the nature of authenticity and creativity. Finally, Cha will discuss the need to establish a Hong Kong Association for Digital Humanities to encourage local and international collaborations across disciplinary boundaries.

Javier Cha is a medievalist, digital historian, and technologist. His areas of expertise include Korean Neo-Confucianism, medieval literary criticism, patronage culture, and data-assisted historical methods. Cha is currently an Assistant Professor of Digital Humanities in the Department of History at the University of Hong Kong, where he teaches in the new Bachelor of Arts in Humanities and Digital Technologies program. He earned his BA and MA in Asian Studies from the University of British Columbia and his PhD in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University. Previously, Cha worked as an Associate Professor in the College of Liberal Studies at Seoul National University, where he was a recipient of the prestigious Innovative and Pioneering Young Researchers Scheme. In 2019, Cha established the Big Data Studies Lab, a research group that investigates data centers and global telecommunications infrastructure through methodologies inspired by book historians exploring manuscripts and libraries. Cha is an editorial board member of the International Journal of Humanities and Arts Computing and Cursor Mundi, and serves on the international nominations committee for Digital Humanities Awards.

• 1.5 credit hours will be counted toward the course requirement of PDEV 6770 A/C/D/E