Research
DDH is currently involved in over forty research projects , spanning subject disciplines which include (and frequently cross boundaries between) ancient, medieval and early modern history; classics; literary studies; linguistics; drama and performance; religious studies; art history; architecture; music and musicology. The department has collaborative relationships across King’s College and with a large number of institutions and bodies in the UK and internationally. Funding comes from a range or sources, including the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), the Leverhulme Trust and the Andrew W Mellon Foundation: DDH has generated over £17 million in research grants over the past 7 years.
The digital humanities form a bridge between the traditional practices of research and the opportunities afforded by technology, providing scholars with new ways of looking at old problems, and the methods, tools and frameworks to support them in novel avenues of enquiry. Almost everyone uses technology in their research nowadays one way or another; the digital humanities does not simply evangelise for the use of technology but provides a critical perspective on when it is appropriate (or not) to use a particular technology and how. The rapid evolution of the web - long established as a primary mode of dissemination for digital humanities - continues to privilege the idea of the user as both a supplier and a consumer of content, and this in turn is investing digitally-enhanced humanities scholarship with an increasing awareness of vast new audiences - largely unknown but often critically engaged, discerning and intelligent. Hand in hand with this have come new kinds of scholarly rigour and transparency, together with a sense of the importance of demonstrating the significance and impact of research.
In practice most digital humanities projects require a combination of skills and techniques, for which a research centre with a broad range of technical and methodological experience like DDH is well prepared. Along with other groups at King's like the Centre for e-Research (CeRch), DDH is at the forefront in fostering networks and frameworks to bind the research outputs on projects together, and to facilitate links with creative industries and the cultural heritage sector. We hope that the collaborative values, methods and techniques that we use can help the humanities to continue to prosper at King's and help the field to both strengthen existing values and redefine itself in the context of a rapidly changing world.