The German Historical Institute in Paris (DHI) and L.I.S.A. – the Gerda Henkel Foundation’s Web-based knowledge portal – are organizing a conference at DHI Paris from June 10-11, 2013 – in collaboration with Centre pour l’édition électronique ouvert. The subject: “Research conditions and digital humanities: what are the perspectives for the upcoming generation?”

The focus of the conference is on the question of the impact of digital changes on research conditions and the resultant consequences for the upcoming generation of researchers. What new competencies do they need to acquire? What role should these competencies play in tertiary education? How can academic achievements come to be recognized in respect of the creation of research infrastructures, databases, online publications and the social media? What are the evaluation criteria and how can quality be guaranteed?

What is on the agenda for participants at DHI’s premises in Paris at 8 rue du Parc-Royal, 75003 Paris is not merely an inventory of the status quo but also a reflection on the task of elaborating perspectives and targeted measures for handling digital challenges.

In order to do sufficient justice to the viewpoint of the upcoming generation of academics a call for papers was published on the DHIP’s Digital Humanities blog (http://dhdhi.hypotheses.org/1598) on April 18, 2013. This is where all the incoming articles are to be found; they are accessible to everybody.

For the conference the material submitted will be processed by a group of young Franco-German academics – Aurélien Berra, André Donk, Marten Düring, Sascha Foerster, Sebastian Gießmann, Franziska Heimburger, Lilian Landes, Anika Meier, Michael Schmalenstroer and Bertram Triebel – and will be summarized at the beginning of each of the four scheduled panels. Subsequently, international experts will be offering their opinions on the various articles.

Panel I: What changes is our research and academic culture currently undergoing?

Dominique Bouiller, Centre d’études européennes de Sciences Po
Arianna Ciula, Independent scholar

Panel II:  University education: what new competencies are required?

Malte Rehbein, University of Passau
Jean-Michel Salaün, Collegium de Lyon

Panel III: Evaluation and quality assurance in the digital humanities

Milena Žic-Fuchs, European Science Foundation
Denise Pumain, P.A.R.I.S

Panel IV: Careers, financing and academic recognition of achievements in the digital humanities
Claudine Moulin, University of Trier
Pascal Arnaud, Agence nationale de la recherche

The conference will open at 6 p.m. on June 10, 2013 with a lecture by Christian Jacob. Christian Jacob is a professor at the école des hautes études en sciences sociales, where, amongst other things, he is in charge of the Master’s course “Histoire des sciences, des savoirs et des techniques”. He is the author of a blog: “Lieux de savoir” (http://lieuxdesavoir.hypotheses.org/1145).

The conference languages are English and French; the entire conference will be simultaneously translated into English and French.

DHI Paris would be glad to accept requests for participation and/or interviews from you. Contact:
Dunja Houelleu
E-mail: dhouelleu@dhi-paris.fr
Tel: +33 1 44 54 24 16

The DHI Paris (DHIP) is part of the Max Weber Foundation – German Humanities Institute outside Germany and represents a point of interface between the German and French humanities. Its functions include conducting and publishing research on French, Franco-German and West European history.

The institute boasts a special library comprised of around 110,000 media units and organizes lectures, seminars and conferences. The DHIP publishers a specialist magazine, Francia, and several series of books. One of the focuses of its work is on electronic publishing in the form of e-journals on publication platforms and within the framework of other online projects. Also of major importance for networking German and French knowledge is the institute’s sponsorship of the upcoming generation and its funding of research by means of various fellowships and financing programs.

On its interactive web-based knowledge portal L.I.S.A. (http://www.lisa.gerda-henkel-stiftung.de), the Gerda Henkel Foundation has much to offer to humanities scholars as well as providing a communications network for its scholarship students and sponsorship partners. The acronym L.I.S.A. is made up of the German-language version of this web-based portal’s central concerns: Lesen, Informieren, Schreiben und Austauschen (reading, informing, writing and exchanging). Another not insignificant aspect is that the word L.I.S.A. calls to mind the name of the founder of the Gerda Henkel Foundation, Ms. Lisa Maskell. The initiative aims to make available contributions from all areas of the historical sciences, archaeology, and art history, so addressing the demand for interdisciplinary information on the historical humanities (contact: Gerda Henkel Foundation, Press Office, Dr. Sybille Wüstemann, E-mail: wuestemann@gerda-henkel-stiftung.de, tel: +49 211 93 65 24 19).