From April 1-5, ETCL Director Ray Siemens and Assistant Director Graham Jensen visited the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS) in Porto Alegre, Brazil, to participate in meetings and a conference hosted by the PUCRS Digital Humanities Laboratory (LabHD), an exciting interdisciplinary space for digital humanities research that opened in 2024.
While in Brazil, they were able to connect with LabHD’s director, Bernardo Bueno, who was previously a visiting scholar in the ETCL; indeed, Bernardo spent his time in Canada studying the ETCL and its design principles as a model for LabHD. A major impetus for Ray and Graham’s more recent trip was the opportunity to celebrate the opening of LabHD, as well as a shared desire to continue this collaborative work.
From left to right: Bernardo Bueno, Ray Siemens, and Graham Jensen
LabHD’s Digital Humanities Conference
At LabHD’s inaugural “Digital Humanities Conference”, Ray and Graham were invited to give plenary talks and launch the Portuguese version of the HSS Commons alongside Bernardo and other members of the LabHD team.
Ray’s talk, “The Digital Humanities: Some Approaches and Examples”, discussed the field of DH, its history and broader intellectual contexts, and some examples of DH research and projects (with a focus on open social scholarship as well as ETCL and INKE Partnership initiatives). Graham’s talk, “A Multilingual Space for Open, Collaborative Scholarship: The Humanities and Social Sciences Commons”, then introduced conference participants to the HSS Commons, its affordances, and the INKE Partnership’s related research into multilingualism, platform governance, and other topics.
As part of the event, they were also able to celebrate the official launch of the Portuguese version of the HSS Commons. This collaborative project would not have been possible without the work of LabHD team members Bernardo Bueno, Elena Savi Frainer, Carina Corá, Franco Guglielmoni, Lorenzo Bueno, and Leonardo Colato, but also Lee Napthine and Tim Sobie at the University of Victoria. The ETCL is very grateful to its PUCRS-based research collaborators and the larger HSS Commons team for its ongoing support of this kind of international, interdisciplinary research development.
In addition, the Digital Humanities Conference also featured great talks from PUCRS-based students and faculty from various disciplines. For example, Bernardo and his students Franco Guglielmoni and Leonardo Colato shared their work in progress on an interactive timeline of Japanese literature in Brazil, while other presenters discussed subjects such as EdTech tools related to the study and diagnosis of dyslexia, digital policy and politics, branching narratives in e-literature, and more.
While Ray and Graham delivered their talks in English, most of the event unfolded in Portuguese. In the spirit of connection, though, a live transcription and translation option was also provided to ensure that all audience members could participate fully in the event, regardless of their facility with either of the languages used.
Other Activities at PUCRS
As the consummate host, Bernardo very kindly arranged for other activities, including guided tours of Tecnopuc (PUCRS’s Science and Technology Park) as well as the Irmão José Otão library and the larger PUCRS campus. These tours provided Ray and Graham with a great overview of the campus and the innovative work that is taking place at PUCRS.
Finally, Ray and Graham also met with the Office for International Cooperation to explore future partnership opportunities and Brazilian as well as Canadian-side funding mechanisms that could support continued collaboration.
Ray and Graham look forward to continuing these conversations with Bernardo and other research collaborators, and they are tremendously grateful not only to Bernardo, but also to the LabHD team, PUCRS, and all of the warm, welcoming, and brilliant people they met during their time in Brazil.