PACE - Passau Centre for eHumanities
The Passau Centre for eHumanities (PACE) was established to address teaching and research needs in the humanities and in cultural studies: It explores new computer-based solutions for these fields.
The Centre
The Passau Centre for eHumanities plays an integral role in the eHumanities research field at the University of Passau. Its guiding theme is: The multimodal construction and reception of cultural patterns. The Centre investigates how texts, image and audio interact in order to attribute meanings to objects within the context of digital and digitalised media. It also creates the structural conditions needed for such research. With the assistance of computers, the researchers analyse patterns in various digital(ised) media and explore the methods used to represent and annotate such patterns and to identify multimedia knowledge caches in large digital material corpora using (partially) automated techniques. For example: computers are able to independently recognise specific stylistic features in photographs of furniture or architectural objects – the technical texts are automatically analysed and combined with the image information.
Research
PACE was established to address teaching and research needs in the humanities and in cultural studies: it takes its point of departure from targeted surveys highlighting the demand for structures to support the eHumanities. Five pilot projects dedicated to specific problem issues in the humanities and social sciences aim to identify methodological and technology needs and develop new computer-based solutions. The concept, which is deliberately multidisciplinary in its approach, takes on board not only several departments from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities (Linguistics and Cultural Studies, Empirical Social Research, Art History and Visual Culture Studies) and various disciplines of Computer Science (Digital Libraries/Web Information Systems) but also the Faculty of Law.
Over the medium term, the purpose of PACE is also to devise strategies of interdisciplinary collaboration and provide examples of successful models. In this way, future projects will be able to benefit from the experience gained in the research work.
Funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research has earmarked funds for the establishment of PACE over a three-year period. A total of nine professors from the University of Passau are involved. Principal investigators are Professor Siegfried Handschuh (Digital Libraries and Web Information Systems) and Professor Malte Rehbein (Digital Humanities).
Research supervisor
Professor Siegfried Handschuh
How can methods used in the humanities be translated into algorithms?
How can methods used in the humanities be translated into algorithms?
Professor Siegfried Handschuh coordinates numerous international research and development projects funded, among others, by the EU, Science Foundation Ireland and Enterprise Ireland.
Professor Malte Rehbein
How can historical sources be digitalised and assessed with the assistance of computers?
How can historical sources be digitalised and assessed with the assistance of computers?
Professor Malte Rehbein has held the Chair of Digital Humanities at the University of Passau since 2013. He is a member of both the board of Digital Humanities in German Speaking Countries and the Scientific Advisory Board of Deutsches Museum.
