With Silke Schwandt
GlobeLecture #8: "Figuring out the Past": Do numbers tell stories?
Numbers often carry the weight of authority, but what happens when they are applied to the humanities? Can numbers tell compelling stories, especially in fields like digital history? Prof. Dr. Silke Schwandt (Bielefeld University) explores this question with a special focus on medieval history, examining how quantification intersects with narrative. Join us for our next GlobeLecture jointly organized with ReCentGlobe's Digital Lab and h Leipzig University's Institute of Computer Science.
Numbers and statistical evidence in general are often associated with a particularly high truth value. Once you can put a number to an argument, it is easier to convince someone or find a willing audience. But what if numbers and quantitative methods are applied in the humanities? Can you tell stories with numbers? The power of persuasion for stories lies in their plausibility rather than in mere numbers. Still, in the field of digital humanities or digital history, quantification is used more often today and brings us back to exactly that question: do numbers tell stories? Can we quantify narratives?
The talk will address these questions using examples from Digital History as a field of study with a particular focus on medieval history.
With Prof. Dr. Silke Schwandt (Bielefeld)
In her research and teaching activities Silke Schwandt addresses challenges of research and digitality on three levels: in the theorisation of digital history, in its methods and practices, as well as in its dissemination in academic teaching and to society. She is Professor for Digital History at the Faculty for History, Philosophy and Theology at Bielefeld University and Founding Director of the Center for Uncertainty Studies.
The GlobeLecture will be moderated by Prof. Dr. Manuel Burghardt and is organized in Cooperation with the Institute of Computer Science at Leipzig University.
About GlobeLecture
"GlobeLecture" is a series of lectures held several times a semester in which outstanding researchers discuss global change, transnational interdependencies and regional transformations. It is organised by the Leipzig Research Centre Global Dynamics in cooperation with partners inside and outside Leipzig University.