Dr Rafael Cabredo is the Dean of the College of Computer Studies at De La Salle University in the Philippines. Digital humanities is a burgeoning domain for researchers at De La Salle University, with new collaborations established between the College of Computer Studies and the College of Liberal Arts supporting the development of a number of local digital heritage projects - from documenting native dance and local languages, to using natural language processing to analyse historical texts and literature. Dr Cabredo's research draws on classical music training to blend music theory with computer science techniques, such as discovering how different chord progressions evoke emotional responses in listeners.

Project outline

As an Honorary Fellow in the Digital Studio, Dr Cabredo explored how the digital humanities are delivered at the University of Melbourne, examining models for interdisciplinary practice and collaboration that can help inform research at his home university. He engaged with academics across faculties at Melbourne to share perspectives and approaches that support the continuing development of digital humanities tools and methods in the Philippines.

Elizabeth Stainforth completed her doctoral studies in 2016 and has since worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (University of Edinburgh) and as a Lecturer at the University of Leeds. Her research explores digital heritage and memory cultures, and she is currently working on a collaborative book-length project about digital archiving practices (provisional title: All and Each: Dialogues in the Digital Archive). She has been an Associate Editor for parallax journal and published articles in journals including Museum and Society and Digital Humanities Quarterly.

Project outline

Elizabeth's Endeavour Research Fellowship explored digital heritage culture in Australia, and the ways in which digital cultures inform wider social transformations. The study focuses on Trove, a digital heritage aggregator hosted by the National Library of Australia, which provides online access to a range of Australian cultural heritage resources. Trove is one among a number of aggregators, including Europeana, Digital NZ and the Digital Public Library of America, that point towards the reimagining of library and museum spaces online. This development raises important questions about the negotiation of public space, collections preservation and cultural engagement in the digital environment.

The project has two distinct but related aims: first, to investigate the development of Trove, alongside comparable initiatives, in order to promote new understandings of their infrastructures; second, to look at the social context for digital heritage, with an emphasis on the collections of Australian public heritage institutions.