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HIS32730

Academic Year 2026/2027

The Digital Humanities (HIS32730)

Subject:
History
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
History
Level:
3 (Degree)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Professor Sandy Wilkinson
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

The fusion of technology and historical inquiry is revolutionising our understanding of the past. By taking this course, you can embark on an intellectual adventure through this dynamic and rapidly evolving landscape. You will dive deep into the digital transformation of historical studies, and be offerred a way to engage hands-on with some of the cutting-edge techniques that are reshaping research. Supported by your peer group as much as by the coordinator, you will engage directly with the tools and methodologies at the forefront of the field, tackling complex projects such as data harvesting from the catalogues of institutions like the Imperial War Museum, managing relational databases with cases like the slave trade, and mastering visualization techniques that bring data to life.

The module invites you to delve into advanced text analysis and mining, leverage the power of deep learning, and harness Python's simple but robust capabilities to uncover historical insights. Through these immersive sessions, you'll gain not just theoretical knowledge but also practical skills that will serve as both a foundation and a springboard for your own research. Your capstone will be a bespoke research project, overseen by the coordinator. This will be an opportunity to apply what you have learned to a topic that fires your own personal curiosity. This course doesn't just aim to equip you with skills; it's designed to expand your vision of what's possible, both in academic research and real-world applications, while also candidly addressing the limitations of digital methodologies.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

Understand the Role of Technology in Humanities Research: You'll emerge with a clear understanding of the diverse and innovative ways technology is applied in humanities research, opening new avenues for exploration and analysis.

Acquire Practical Skills in Digital Techniques: Not only will you be introduced to pivotal digital humanities techniques, but you'll also gain hands-on experience and confidence in applying these tools to your own projects.

Apply Concepts to Personal Research: You'll develop the ability to adapt and apply general concepts and technical methods to your specific research interests, enhancing the depth and scope of your scholarly work.

Enhance Problem-Solving Abilities: Your problem-solving skills will be sharpened as you navigate the challenges of using and integrating technology in research, enabling you to find innovative solutions to complex issues.

Understand Digital Project Dynamics: You'll gain insights into the construction of major digital humanities projects, recognising the potential opportunities and limitations of various methodologies and how they can impact your work.

Indicative Module Content:

Introductions
Data Harvesting
Relational Database Principles
Relational Database Queries
Data Visualisation including GIS
Deep Learning, Neural Networks & Image Recognition
Text Analysis and Mining
PYTHON
Data Management Principles
Individual Project Presentations & Feedback

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 
Learning Competency Additional Information Level

Collaboration

 The ability to learn from others; to understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others (empathy); to understand, relate to and be sensitive to others (empathic leadership); to deal with conflicts in a group; and to facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving. Competent

Critical Thinking

 The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. Competent

Systems Thinking

 The ability to recognize and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty. Competent

Strategic

 The ability to collectively develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainability at the local level and further afield. Competent

Integrated Problem Solving

 The overarching ability to apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and develop viable, inclusive and equitable solution options that promote sustainable development, integrating the competencies in this list. Competent

Self-awareness

 The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires. Competent

Normative

 The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interest and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. Competent

Anticipatory

 The ability to understand and evaluate multiple scenarios for the future – possible, probable and desirable; to create one’s own visions for the future; to apply the precautionary principle; to assess the consequences of actions; and to deal with risks and changes. Competent

Digital Literacy and Judgement

 The ability to access, evaluate, create and communicate information in digital environments; to engage critically, ethically and responsibly with digital technologies and digital information; to understand their opportunities, limitations, risks and impact on individual’s digital identities; and to exercise informed judgement in digital participation and decision-making. Competent

AI Literacy & Agency

 The ability to understand, critically evaluate and responsibly engage with artificial intelligence; to recognise how AI systems are shaped by human values; to assess their ethical, social and environmental implications; and to exercise human judgement, agency and accountability in AI-related contexts. Competent

Wellbeing

 Wellbeing is having the resources and skills to meet life's challenges, including attributes such as personal development skills, resilience, stress management, strengths, lifestyle skills, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, alcohol/substance use, academic skills, time management, goal setting, interpersonal skills, group work, communication. Competent

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


Goal Name Description Coverage

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 2
 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

11
Seminar (or Webinar)

20
Project Supervision

1
Specified Learning Activities

95
Autonomous Student Learning

95
Online Learning

20
Total

242

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
You will learn primarily through weekly practicals (Active task-based learning; case-based learning), but also
by working on a digital research project of your own supported by one to one meetings with the module coordinator.

The practicals typically involve a short video introduction and detailed step by step instructions. These will be undertaken at your convenience each week. A coffee ZOOM session will be held every Thursday morning to address issues you might be facing, and to give us the opportuntiy to reflect on some of the uses to which digital research techniques can (and cannot) be put.

A proportion of written assignments in each module in the School of History are subject to moderation, meaning they undergo a second layer of review by another grader. This can include oral moderation meetings where the student is invited in for a short meeting with the module coordinator to discuss the assignment. Moderation contributes to better informed marking.

GREEN - Generative AI is permitted within this module. However, all responsibility for submitted or presented work, its accuracy, and for it meeting exacting academic standards, lies solely with you as the student submitting the work.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): Essay plan (1,000 words) based outlining the DH techniques to be employed in the final essay Week 8 Graded No
20
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): 3,500-4,000 word essay. The subject and scope of the essay must be agreed in advance with the module coordinator. Week 12 Graded No
50
 No
Participation in Learning Activities: Based on your contributions to seminars and on the grades for the best 6 of 8 x 500-word reflective learning journals outlining your experience of each core practical Week 11 Graded No
30
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Name Role
Dr Jack Kavanagh Lecturer / Co-Lecturer

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Seminar Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Thurs 09:00 - 10:50
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Wed 12:00 - 12:50
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