Conference Details

Conference Theme

The theme of the conference is “carrefours/intersections,” a place where paths cross. The theme recalls the geographical and cultural heritage of Ottawa, a bilingual city in unceded Algonquin territory. Three specific sub-disciplinary interests will guide our use of the theme: First Nations, Native American, and Indigenous Studies; public digital humanities; and the open data movement.

First Nations, Native American, and Indigenous Studies is an interdisciplinary field exploring the history, culture, politics, issues, and contemporary experiences of indigenous peoples. As a constellation of humanities and social science disciplines, the conference should be guided by the following principles:

be grounded in land, region, and community
recognize the sovereign status of First Nations, Native American, and Indigenous Communities
be polyvocal, recognizing that important community voices must be incorporated in the conference
problematize language and hierarchical structures including being reciprocal with the community involved in the conference
be tied to contemporary peoples and events including serving the needs of the community
recognize indigenous data sovereignty as key to the continuing vitality of Native communities
analyzes the historical and continued impacts of colonialism, postcolonialism, and hegemony

Public Digital Humanities reflects many of these same values:

start with humans, not technologies or tools
be continuously co-constructed
encourage inclusion rather than exclusion; intellectualism rather than anti-intellectualism
support a lack of hierarchies
encourage kindness within critical engagement
note the importance of working collectively, positively, and with generosity
supports positive and fruitful partnerships with the public beyond the academy

The open data movement encourages us to:

enable the dissemination of scholarship both in-process and in its final form
share with one another
assign attribution and credit fairly
consider Open Access, Open Source, Open Scholarship, and Open Standards practices as it relates to digital projects and their research outputs
encourage universal participation of all potential conference attendees
consider economic accessibility of the conference

Information related to Digital First Nations, Native American, and Indigenous Studies is drawn from the Digital Native American and Indigenous Studies project as well as the University of Ottawa and Carleton University First Nations programs. Information associated with Public Digital Humanities theme is credited to Jesse Stommel, The Public Digital Humanities, Disrupting the Digital Humanities..

Types of Proposals

Proposals may be of seven types: (1) poster presentations; (2) lightning talks; (3) short presentations; (4) long paper presentations; (5) multiple-paper panels; (6) forums; (7) pre-conference workshops and tutorials. Based on peer review and its mandate to create a balanced and varied program, the Program Committee may offer acceptance in a different category from the one initially proposed.

Conference participants may not present in more than two paper or panel sessions. If more than two submissions considered for acceptance include the name of an individual presenter or co-presenter, then during the final review phase the chair of the program committee will contact that participant and ask them which submission(s) they will withdraw to avoid exceeding that limit. This limit does not pertain to poster or lightning talk submissions. All formats are subject to peer review and should not be considered lesser than any other presentation format. Instead, the format selected should match the state of the proposed submission.

Poster Presentations

Poster proposals (abstract maximum: 250-500 words) may describe work on any specific topics or methods or present projects and software tools in any stage of development. Posters will be 24×36 inches (610×915 mm). We are unable to provide access to monitors, electrical outlets, or furniture to support laptops and other technologies. Poster presentations are intended to elicit conversations and offer opportunity to exchange ideas one-on-one with attendees. Presenters are expected to remain with their poster for the duration of their scheduled poster session. Submissions in this category are strongly encouraged.

Lightning Talks

Lightning talk proposals (abstract maximum: 200-250 words) are dedicated to a 5 minute presentation of a single project, idea, technology, or problem. It is intended to either solicit feedback from peers or to advertise the release of a new project, dataset, or tool. Submissions in this category are strongly encouraged.

Short Presentations

Short presentation proposals (abstract maximum: 250-500 words) are intended to be dynamic 10-minute presentations appropriate for reporting on works in progress, limited scholarly interventions, or for describing a singular tool or project. Short-paper submissions seek to open dialogues among scholars working on related topics. Short presentations are eligible for the Fortier Prize, which explicitly recognizes early career scholars’ work.

Long Presentations

Proposals for long presentations (abstract maximum: 750-1000 words) should deal with substantial completed research, report the development of new methodologies; or present rigorous theoretical, speculative, or critical discussions. Individual presentations will be allocated 15 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for questions. Long submissions seek substantive feedback and discussion of the submission’s relationship to other scholarship in the field. Long presentations are eligible for the Fortier Prize, which explicitly recognizes early career scholars’ work.

Panels

Panels (abstract maximum: 250 words for overview, plus 300-500 words for each paper) should focus on a single theme and be inherently coherent in presenting a substantial body of research or a research question. A panel should be conceived as a 90-minute session of four to six speakers. Those submitting proposals for panels are advised to ensure that the constitution of the panel reflects the constitution of the field and/or research topic that is being addressed and ADHO’s expressed commitment to diversity or to explicitly address problems in those areas.

In case the proposer’s own network is too limited, the Program Committee can advise them prior to submission on whom to contact to broaden the panel. Please contact the PC chairs if you need advice.

Forum

Forums (abstract maximum: 500 words) should focus on a single thematic or methodological challenge and be designed to facilitate a conversation at large with the digital humanities community. The forum should be conceived as a 90-minute discussion with at least three facilitators. Those submitting proposals for forums are advised to ensure that the proposal explicitly addresses how attendees will contribute.

Pre-Conference Workshops and Tutorials

Tutorials and workshops are either 1) a two-hour session or 2) a four-hour session on specific techniques, software packages, or theoretical approaches with a small number of participants. All proposals should include:

title and brief description of the content or topic and its relevance to the digital humanities community (not more than 250 words);
full contact information for all tutorial instructors or workshop leaders, including links to relevant cvs or teaching materials;
description of target audience and expected number of participants (based, if possible, on past experience);
requirements for technical support, including software installation (the conference will handle traditional technological support, but workshop organizers are expected to manage specific needs such as access to software, servers, etc.).
a syllabus for the proposed workshop or tutorial (the syllabus may include relevant readings that may be assigned, tutorials or training guides, and/or an outline of learning outcomes and assignments).
preferred duration: two hours or four hours

Workshops are expected to be self-financing in terms of hardware and software needs as well as coffee and lunch for participants. Participants in pre- and post-conference workshops and tutorials are required to register for the full conference as well as pay an additional fee to the conference for the workshop. Convenors of the pre- and post-conference workshops and tutorials are required to register for the conference. Please ensure that the constitution of the workshop reflects the constitution of the field and/or research topic that is being addressed; ADHO’s expressed commitment to diversity; or explicitly addresses problems in those areas. In case the proposer’s own network is too limited, the Program Committee can advise them before submission on whom to contact to broaden the panel. Please contact the PC chairs if you need advice.

Additional information regarding the conference can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions page.