This blog post is by Dr Adi Keinan-Schoonbaert, Digital Curator for Asian and African Collections, British Library. She's on Mastodon as @[email protected]. 

 

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of attending the “Charting the European D-SEA: Digital Scholarship in East Asian Studies” conference held at the Berlin State Library (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin), also known as the Stabi. The conference, held on 11-12 July 2024, aimed to fill a gap in the European digital scholarship landscape by creating a research community and a space for knowledge exchange on digital scholarship issues across humanities disciplines concerned with East Asian regions and languages.

The event was a dynamic fusion of workshops, presentations and panel discussions. Over three days of workshops (8-10 July), participants were introduced to key digital methods, resources, and databases. These sessions aimed to transmit practical knowledge in digital scholarship, focusing on East Asian collections and data. The subsequent two days were dedicated to the conference proper, featuring a broad range of presentations on various themes.

The reading room in the Berlin State Library, Haus Potsdamer Straße

 

DH and East Asian Studies in Europe and Beyond

Conference organisers Jing Hu and Brent Ho from the Stabi, and Shih-Pei Chen and Dagmar Schäfer from the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (MPIWG), set the stage for an enriching exchange of ideas and knowledge. The diversity of topics covered was impressive – from the more established digital resources and research tools to AI applications in historical research – the sessions provided a comprehensive overview of the current state and future directions of the field.

There were so many excellent presentations – and I often wished I could clone myself to attend parallel sessions! As expected, there was much focus on working with AI – machine learning and generative AI – and their potential in historical and humanities research. AI technologies offer powerful tools for data analysis and pattern recognition, and can significantly enhance research capabilities.

Damian Mandzunowski (Heidelberg University) talked about using AI to extract and analyse information from Chinese Comics

 

Shaojian Li (Renmin University of China) looked into automating the classification of pattern images using deep learning

One notable session was "Reflections on Deep Learning & Generative AI," chaired by Brent Ho and discussed by Clemens Neudecker. The roundtable highlighted the evolving role of AI in humanities research. Calvin Yeh from MPIWG discussed AI's potential to augment, rather than just automate, research processes. He shared intriguing examples of using AI tools like ChatGPT to simulate group discussions and suggest research actions. Hongsu Wang from Harvard University presented on the use of Large Language Models and traditional Transformers in the China Biographical Database (CBDB) project, demonstrating the effectiveness of these models in data extraction and standardisation.

Calvin Yeh (MPIWG) discussed AI for “Augmentation, not only Automation” and experimented with ChatGPT discussing a research approach, designing a research process and simulating a group discussion

 

Hongsu Wang (Harvard University) talked about extracting and standardising data using LLMs and traditional Transformers in the CBDB project – here showcasing Jeffrey Tharsen’s research to create a network graph using a prompt in ChatGPT

 

Exploring the Stabi

Our group tour in the Stabi was a personal highlight for me. This historic library, part of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, is renowned for its extensive collections and commitment to making digitised materials publicly accessible. The library operates from two major public sites – Haus Unter Den Linden and Haus Potsdamer Straße. Tours of both locations were available, but I chose to explore the more recent building, designed by Hans Scharoun and located in the Kulturforum on Potsdamer Straße in West Berlin – the history and architecture of which is fascinating.

A group of the conference delegates enjoying the tour of SBB’s Haus Potsdamer Straße

I really enjoyed catching up with old colleagues and making new connections with fellow scholars passionate about East Asian digital humanities!

To conclude

In conclusion, the Charting European D-SEA Conference at the Stabi was an enriching experience, providing deep insights into the integration of digital methods in East Asian studies. It provided valuable insights into the advancements in digital scholarship and allowed me to connect with a global community of scholars. The combination of traditional and more recent digital practices, coupled with the forward-looking discussions on AI and deep learning, made this conference a significant milestone in the field. I look forward to seeing how these conversations evolve and contribute to the broader landscape of digital humanities.