From May 14-16, 2024, the project IN_CONTEXT welcomed our colleagues Jasdeep Singh and Devika of “We Are Our History” (WAOH) at the Bodleian Libraries (University of Oxford) to the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (SBB). The project WAOH explores the Bodleian Libraries’ connections with the British history of imperialism and slavery. In addition to the collections of […]
On April 24, 2024, Dr. Lars Müller and Dr. John Woitkowitz presented the project IN_CONTEXT: Colonial Histories and Digital Humanities in the series “Forschung im Dialog” at the Dahlem Humanities Center at the Freie Universität Berlin. Along with researchers from a range of disciplines they discussed questions surrounding the digitization of historical sources from colonial […]
The report on the conference “Colonial Contexts in Libraries” held at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin from November 6-7, 2023 has been published in the journal Zeitschrift für Bibliothekswesen und Bibliographie. Christiane Elster writes: The … workshop succeeded in initiating a long-overdue debate within the German-speaking library community on how to deal with the colonial heritage. […]
IN_CONTEXT project lead Larissa Schmid gave an interview to the magazine of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation about the plans and activities related to the topic of colonial contexts in libraries. Schmid discussed the challenges inherent in digitizing collections from colonial contexts, the role of communities from the global south as well as the successfull […]
As part of the initiative “Exploring History and Digital Methods” by IN_CONTEXT and Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts (USA), John Woitkowitz held two virtual guest seminars on November 13 and 15, 2023. With students of the HIS 425 Digital History seminar and Professor David B. Dennis, Dr. John Woitkowitz discussed the role of digitized collections […]
John Woitkowitz presented use case scenarios for APIs at the July 19, 2023 API workshop hosted by the SPK Lab of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. The project IN_CONTEXT is developing a concept for a virtual research environment to advance research in the history of colonialism via a linked repository, a collaborative workplace and a […]
On June 12, 2023, the IN_CONTEXT team presented current developments and activities of the project at the annual meeting of the Network Colonial Contexts. The integration of collections and holdings from institutions external to SBB/SPK, the handling of sensitive metadata and the role of communities of interest were among the topics discussed. The project will […]
Larissa Schmid presented the project IN_CONTEXT at the University of Kiel on May 11-12, 2023 at a two-day workshop on retrodigitization. Timely questions related to access and the presentation of digital collections related to colonial histories were discussed. At the workshop, Larissa was able to further connect with important institutions and researchers from across the […]
The digitization of historical material at information and cultural heritage institutions is taking place as histories of colonialism increasingly take center stage in the ways libraries and museums reconsider their own past. The intersection of these fields raises important questions about the historical and ethical dimensions of digitizing historical material today. As international bodies develop […]
As part of the Annual Meeting of the Organization for Digital Humanities in German-speaking Countries, John Woitkowitz presented the project IN_CONTEXT at the University of Trier on March 17, 2023. Along with colleagues on the panel “Digitizing Cultural Heritage and Postcolonial Perspectives”, he discussed the ethical dimensions of digitization projects and the challenges of implementing […]