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Faculty of Arts

Digital Arts & Humanities Lab

For a list of past sessions with recordings, see the DAHL Certificate progress pageLink opens in a new window.

Join the DAHL, everyone is welcome

The DAHL is an Arts Faculty community initiative, supporting digitally-enhanced student work and teaching, and developing our community's digital and designerly capabilities. It is coordinated by Arts Faculty Director of Student Digital Experience, Dr Robert O'Toole. During term time we run a programme of short informative and inspirational sessions on Wednesday afternoons (DAHL Shorts, Immersive Showcase), longer hands-on workshops with hardware and software (DAHL Studios), and supported online learning with LinkedIn Learning (launching Summer 2024). Faculty members can attend these and get the DAHL Certificate. We also run an annual DAHL Showcase competition, and special networking events to help connect researchers, students, technologists, international and industry partners.

We explore and practice three inter-related forms of research:

  • Finding, analysing, and understanding patterns in big data (including using AI).
  • Discovering and telling stories in close-up of real people (including through video, audio, virtual reality, augmented reality, and interactive exhibits).
  • Experimenting with what is to be human, culture, society, and how digital tech is transforming our world.

Our spotlight technologies include:

  • Jupyter notebooks with Python programming and AI to work with data (we also cover R, but focussing on Python as a common language across platforms and projects).
  • Gale Digital Scholar (with the Library).
  • Omeka S (with Godwin Yeboah of the Research Technologies Platform).
  • Physical computing with Raspberry Pi (with our new pop-up physical computing lab in the FAB).
  • Django with Python for web development, html, css, and Javascript.
  • Virtual and augmented reality (we have equipment and industry partners).
  • ArcGIS geographical information systems (with Godwin).
  • 3D scanning, printing, and modelling (with Design Studies).
  • Video and podcast making.

In Autumn 2024 we will be adding Python in Excel, OCR handwriting recognition, corpus linguistics, and natural language processing (spaCY in Python).

We also support the development of transferable skills such as project management, collaboration, hybrid events, programming, and design.

For reports on events and reflections on the use and future of tech in the Arts and Humanities, read the DAHL JournalLink opens in a new window blog.

DAHL Events

Most of the short sessions are on campus, in Teams, and recorded. Room locations vary, for more details, and links to join online, please see the details for each session.

For a list of past sessions with recordings, see the DAHL Certificate progress pageLink opens in a new window.

Showcase

Celebrating and showcasing work by Arts Faculty students and staff.

Including the annual DAHL student competition.

The winners for 2023 are: Best Overall - Rebecca Capel (History); Best Production - Olivia Wildblood (English); Best Reflection - Emma Kühnelt (History).

The competition is now open for 2024 entries.Link opens in a new window The 2024 theme is "memory and memories" - interpret that as you wish! Deadline 14th June.

See the DAHL Hall of Fame page for a celebration of work and achievements by our staff and students.

Certification

Courses, modules, certificates, degrees.

Digital Arts and Humanities CertificateLink opens in a new window for all Arts Faculty students and staff.

Complete a selection of short online or in-FAB workshops (including from the DAHL Shorts programme), build a portfolio of reflections on the workshops you have attended, complete a more substantial reflection on your use of tech in study, research, teahching or outreach.

See the DAHL Hall of Fame page for a celebration of work and achievements by our staff and students.

Research and Development
Support

For guidance on choosing, configuring and using tools for teaching, see the Tech Enhanced Active Learning (TEAL) web siteLink opens in a new window.