CULTURE, COMMERCE AND THE ENVIRONMENT: NEW DIGITAL HUMANITIES PROJECTS AND INNOVATIONS

This paper will outline and discuss a series of projects that demonstrate how the field of digital humanities emerges at the intersection of the humanities, science and technology. More specifically it will highlight a project called "The Moving Tides" which makes use of information technology to extend beyond conventional research and creative practices and bring together cultural, economic and environmental interests and concerns.

In this case the humanities is broadly understood to include the arts and the social sciences, and digital connotes the sciences and technological fields such as computer science, geographic information science and climatology.

More specifically the term digital humanities in the context of this paper refers to two things:
1) Innovative application of digital tools in the humanities and rigorous application of humanities methods to study the digital (which can include analyzing the cultural and social impact of the digital)
2) Creating a public presence and giving broad access to the humanities through digital delivery systems and strategies. This can mean websites and blogs or it can mean discoverability platforms such as the Digital Commons.

The importance of the humanities to economic development and environmental sustainability will be addressed, as will the need for cultural organizations, institutions of higher learning, industry and government to embrace this premise and make informed decisions about the way forward.

Research clusters, made of faculty, students and staff from the University of Southern Maine, USA have embarked upon collaborative, interdisciplinary ventures with support from the Maine Economic Improvement Fund. While the content of their work focuses on Maine and the North Atlantic region, the overarching digital humanities concept is transferable and unbounded by geographic location. The projects model the vast potential of embracing information technology as a cogent means for global exchange of ideas and confronting the defining issues of our times.