Call for Project Proposals: 2018 Digital Collection and Digital Humanities at Academia Sinica

Academia Sinica Center for Digital Cultures

July 16 2018

The development of information technology is rapidly changing the methodology of research in the humanities. Aspects ranging from the collection, analysis and presentation of data to the cyberstructure of preserving and disseminating online resources are indispensable to how research is done now. Making use of digital technologies upgrades the efficiency of gathering and organizing materials, and these technologies catalyze the formation of a new methodology to look at existing topics, discover phenomena and issues hitherto unknown, and blaze new paths for innovation. Digital technology also brings peers in the same filed closer together, facilitates cross-disciplinary dialogues, and makes the fruition of research visible and useable to more people. This is why "Digital Humanities" is gaining currency with its core concern with bettering humanities research by making use of information technology. In this discipline, we care about how digital technology can be systematically and efficiently utilized to drive research in the humanities and how to productively understand and assess its impact and influence. Our exploration and response require the involvement of more scholars in the humanities.

Founded on February 1, 2013, the Academia Sinica Center for Digital Cultures (ASCDC) continues and extends the work of Taiwan e-Learning and Digital Archives Program (TELDAP) to digitize more collections, innovate digital technologies, maintain the cyberstructure and make the resources friendly to more people for research, work and learning.

Our missions are:

1. Upgrade accessibility and user-friendliness for research, teaching, learning and work.
2. Drive research in processing digital contents, play an active and leading role in digital humanities, and support the sustainable development of digital humanities in Taiwan.
3. Maintain the resources created throughout national programs and advocate free access and international partnerships.

To achieve these aims, we are looking for three types of proposals:

1. Building new databases to increase the resource that facilitates research in the humanities
• Eligibility: institute of research center
• The application should include its topic, staff list and how the research can potentially connect or correlate to a third party as end-user.
• The priority of digitizing different types of objects should be set up with regard to the focus of the research topic.
• We underline the project's appeal and integrity; there is no requirement of attempting at innovation or promotion.
2. Digital humanities
• Eligibility: individual
• Prerequisite: a well-defined research issue
• This field does not develop databases. Its main interest is to use digital technology and resources to tackle with research topics.
• The digital methodology, tools, and resources should differ from the conventional sets of assistance.
• We encourage you to draw on the digital technologies and research platform created by ASCDC.
3. Digitization and digital technology
• Please read our application handbook (p. 8) and follow the regulations to launch your application. Before you apply, please contact our director or executive secretary in advance to confirm that your proposal satisfies our digitization requirement. The application must enclose a report of the pre-communication with us.
• ASCDC is responsible for the eligibility check at the first round of selection, and its remarks will be provided to the admission committee.

2018 application timeline

To apply, please read the handbook and format guideline carefully and submit 12 hard copies of proposal to us and one copy to carine@gate.sinica.edu.tw.

Should you have any queries, please contact Ms Carine Wu.

Tel. 886-2-26521885#203