Sally Fisher – Monash University

ANZAMEMS: Postgraduate Advanced Training Seminar ‘Medieval and Early Modern Digital Humanities’ Report

​An illuminating article by Jock Phillips tracing digital history in New Zealand, a preliminary survey of some relevant medieval and early modern digital projects, and tentative plans afoot for my own digital project all contributed to my enthusiasm to attend the Medieval and Early Modern Digital Humanities Postgraduate Advanced Training Seminar at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch. As a training seminar, my reasons for attending were grounded in a desire to build upon my understanding of the digital humanities. One of the highlights of the day, however, was the confirmation that those skills which humanities postgraduates work so hard to hone (writing research proposals, advanced critical thinking skills, careful attention to detail) are readily transferable to digital humanities projects.

​The day consisted of two keynote presentations, an interactive session, examples of postgraduate proposals for digital projects and a panel discussion to close. ​

​Professor Evelyn Tribble (University of Otago) opened the seminar with a presentation on ‘Materiality, Affordances, and the Digital’. Using the example of early modern and modern Shakespeare scripts to explore the differences in how actors learn their lines, Tribble considered the affordances of writing technologies before moving on to a discussion of the Early English Books Online (EEBO) database within the contexts of transparency, remediation and materiality. As my own area of interest is late-medieval England, Tribble’s discussion of the EEBO was extremely useful. Highlighting the need to consider the process of digitisation and to always ask ‘what lies behind the screen’, Tribble led us between text, microfilm, and the digital database as she traced the materiality of these sources and offered suggestions for how best to use them.

​From affordances to assemblages the second keynote, ‘The Digital Recovery of Moving Media: EBBA and the Early English Broadside Ballad’, was presented by Professor Patricia Fumerton (University of California, Santa Barbara). The downfall of one of the women of my thesis became the subject of a mid-seventeenth ballad so it was with keen interest that I followed Fumerton’s discussion of the database and her reading of a seventeenth-century ballad. Moving from the geographical location used in the ballad to a discussion of the images and the accompanying music, Fumerton’s keynote confirmed the richness of the ballad as an historical source. Fumerton’s use of the term ‘assemblages’ encouraged consideration of both the ballads and the database to which they belong, reminding us how these ballads were received in their time, and how we receive them through the EBBA.

​In the interactive session Fumerton took us behind the scenes at the EBBA, from an outline of the cataloguing system to an experiment in making a broadside ballad. Yet again, I was struck by the possibilities of reading the materiality in these digital sources and the implications of this for my own work. Following on, Dr James Smithies (University of Canterbury) led us through the process of setting up our own digital project. This session moved nicely from the immensity of the EEBO and EBBA projects to demonstrate how a small-scale, or even prototype, digital project could be developed.

​After several postgraduate projects were put forward, in various stages of development, the day closed with a panel discussion featuring Dr James Smithies, Dr Chris Jones (University of Canterbury) and Joanna Condon (Macmillan Brown Library). The term ‘digital humanities’ was, rightly, the main focus of the discussion and, for me, it was a measure of the success of the seminar that my understanding had moved beyond the article by Jock Phillips, with which I began, to begin to consider not where we are now in the digital humanities, but where we might move next.

​Of course, the occasion of a PATS also affords opportunities to catch up with other postgraduates; finding moments in the breaks to discuss our work, discover shared interests and plan future projects together. These benefits cannot be underestimated, even for those who of us who are fortunate to be part of a strong postgraduate cohort at our home universities.

The day was compered by Dr Tracy Adams (University of Auckland) and organised by Dr Francis Yapp (University of Canterbury). I am grateful to ANZAMEMS and the University of Canterbury College of Arts for a travel bursary to attend the PATS.

Katherine Jacka, Doctoral Candidate, University of New South Wales

The 2015 ANZAMEMS conference at the University of Queensland was a stimulating and fruitful event and I am very grateful to ANZAMEMS for receiving a bursary which assisted me in attending. The bursaries that ANZAMEMS offers to postgraduate students and ECRs not only allow this cash-strapped cohort to attend important events but signifies the support ANZAMEMS provides to those who are at the very beginning of their academic careers. At many Australian and New Zealand universities, medieval and early modern researchers are in the minority and events like the ANZAMEMS conference are crucial in reminding us that we are part of a vibrant and robust intellectual community.

In terms of my own research interests, I was particularly excited by the round table event ‘The Global Medieval in the Antipodies’, organised by Dr Clare Monagle. As a researcher working on the Islamicate world, I have often felt a little on the outside of medieval studies which has tended to focus on the history of Europe, and in particular western and northern Europe. Thankfully in recent years there has been a growing recognition amongst historians that a deeper understanding of cross-cultural exchange and influence is necessary; culture does not develop in a vacuum and globalisation, albeit on a smaller scale, has been in play for more than two millennia. This session was an important call to action and provided many at the conference with food for thought, indeed immediately following the session a lively discussion ensued (aided by free drinks!) at the Postgraduate drinks event at the Red Room. Amongst those I talked with, there was a feeling of enthusiasm about the possibility of applying a wider historical view to their own research and for opportunities for scholarly collaboration with those working in different areas of specialisation.

As a result of this session, at the University of Sydney the Global Middle Ages Research Faculty Group has been established and a conference planned for 16-18 June 2016 on the topic of ‘Modernities in the Medieval and Early Modern Period’. Those interested in presenting and/or attending can consult the website for updates: http://sydney.edu.au/arts/research/global_middle_ages

In terms of guidance for postgraduates and ECRs, the ‘Career Options for Graduates’ round table served to remind us all to be realistic about our opportunities for future employment but to remain optimistic. The panellists advised us to keep an open mind and to recognise work opportunities besides academic positions such as editing, publishing and learning support. This was a useful session but I would have also liked to talk more about ways we can ‘sell’ ourselves in the job market as holders of a PhD. The skills required to successfully complete a PhD include high level writing and research skills, time and project management skills, as well as old-fashioned staying power. Surely there are work opportunities within government, NGOs or other organisations that would value this skill set.

I left the ANZAMEMS conference feeling buoyant, having met some great people and feeling optimistic about the future of medieval and early modern studies in Australia and New Zealand. See you at the 2017 conference in Wellington!

Ellie Crookes, Doctoral Candidate, The University of Wollongong

Thoughts on the ANZAMEMS Conference 2015

Through the generosity of the ANZAMEMS bursary, I was able to attend my first ANZAMEMS conference this year in (not so sunny) Brisbane.

This was only my fourth time presenting at a conference, and giving a paper is still quite daunting for me. The collegial encouragement and warm reception that I received however soon put me at ease, and it was soon made clear to me that ANZAMEMS was a welcoming place for a new scholar. Further, the feedback that I received after my paper was engaged and insightful, and comments, particularly from the scholars Andrew Lynch and Sahar Amer, have since proved invaluable, shaping my interpretation of texts for one of my thesis chapters, and my project as a whole.

The Round Table discussion on ‘Career Options for Grads’ was also hugely valuable, highlighting the varying career options for higher-degree medievalist scholars. However, the session also proved quite dispiriting, as it was repeatedly made clear through the session to the PhD and Masters students in attendance that very few of us would get a job in academia. This is undoubtedly an important message to drive home for new scholars, but it nevertheless left me a little crestfallen. Luckily, my spirits were raised the next day with the Round Table on the ‘Maddern-Crawford Network’ which, under the names of two great female Australian medievalists, spoke of the formation of a community of female medievalist scholars. An auditorium of feminists was always going to put me in high spirits, but the ideas put forward by key female scholars in the field for a network of female medievalists made me feel more hopeful about my future as a medievalist in Australia.

Ultimately, I left the conference not only feeling positive about the state of my research project, but also about my future as a medievalist scholar.