PhD Positions on Digital Textualities (Université de Montréal)
Contrats doctoraux sur les écritures numériques (Université de Montréal)
Published on Thursday, April 25, 2024
Abstract
The Canada Research Chair on Digital Textualities (University of Montreal), the Groupe de Recherche sur les Éditions Critiques en Contexte Numérique and the Centre de Recherche Interuniversitaire sur les Humanités Numériques offer doctoral contracts worth $35,000 CAD per year for 4 years, in order to expand their teams. The research will begin on September 1, 2024 or January 1, 2025, and will be carried out as part of a doctorate with a digital humanities option at the University of Montreal.
Announcement
Argument
The Canada research chair on digital textualities (Université de Montréal), the Groupe de recherche sur les éditions critiques en contexte numérique and the Centre de recherche interuniversitaire sur les humanités numériques are opening doctoral contracts worth $35,000 CAD per year for 4 years. The research will be carried out as part of a doctorate offering a digital humanities option at the Université de Montréal (doctorate in French-language literatures, doctorate in literature or doctorate in applied humanities). Candidates will work within the teams of the Canada research chair on digital textualities and the Centre de recherche interuniversitaire sur les humanités numériques, at a rate of 4 days per week.
Selected candidates will propose a doctoral project in the disciplinary field of digital humanities, ideally related to one of the themes described in the rest of this document. They will have obtained a Master's degree and have the following skills and research interests:
- Skills / interest in digital humanities methodologies;
- Knowledge of the theoretical issues involved in digital publishing;
- Interest in the transmission and vulgarization of knowledge;
- Aptitudes for research and project management;
- Fluency in French and English;
- Willngness to enroll in a doctorate in literature - "Digital Humanities" option, or a doctorate in applied human sciences - "Digital Humanities" option.
Co-supervision with European partner institutions is possible.
Priority is given to the following four profiles, although candidates are free to propose a different project.
Profile n. 1Editorial Chains: Between Standardization and Specificities
This doctoral contract is addressed to dissertation projects that propose a reflection on writing practices and digital conversion chains. Every text and every written production, responds to precise epistemological requirements that are embodied in particular technical structures: protocols, formats, mark-up devices, visualization, etc. But how can we make this textual idiosyncrasy interoperable? Based on this general theoretical question, proposals that explore XML or Pandoc-based conversion processes will be particularly welcome: the adoption of open, interoperable conversion models and formats that are at the same time attentive to the specificities of each textual object is essential for any publishing chain in the humanities and social sciences.
In-depth knowledge of XML and XSLT formats, of the XQuery language or the Haskell programming language (on which the Pandoc conversion tool is based) is therefore an asset for this doctoral contract.
The Stylo project will be one of the initial case studies for this doctoral research. Stylo is a text editor developed by the Canada research chair on digital textualities, which aims to study and improve academic publishing chains in the humanities and social sciences, particularly for scholarly journals.
Profile n. 2 Exploring the Complexities and Hurdles in Modern Scholarly Publishing Revision Practices
This doctoral contract is preferably addressed to dissertation projects proposing a reflection on digital writing practices and on annotation and revision systems for academic texts in the humanities and social sciences. Particular interest will be granted to proposals that explore how revision protocols implemented today and in the past contribute to the meaning of the annotated text and, more broadly, to the production of knowledge. Further inquiry is encouraged into the evolving landscape of the editing profession within today's dynamic publishing milieu, including the transformative impact of AI advancements and editing technologies.
The candidate will be able to test revision protocols within Stylo, a research project and online text editor developed within the Canada research chair on digital textualities.
Stylo aims to study and improve academic publishing chains, in particular the workflow of journals in the humanities and social sciences. It will provide a space for experimentation and a real case study for the success of this doctoral research.
Profile n. 3The Future of Scholarly Journals
This doctoral contract is preferably aimed at thesis projects that address the following research questions: How do the material forms of writing, the transmitting and appropriating of scientific content influence epistemological models of research and thought? How are the scientific and editorial models of scholarly journals evolving? Approaches based on media studies, digital world philosophy, books history, scientific journals history or theories from new materialism and critical code studies (non-exhaustive list) will be particularly appreciated.
Even minimal knowledge of one or more programming languages is desirable, as candidates will be encouraged to produce case studies to support their theoretical analyses.
Profile n. 4The Meaning of Texts: Between the Semantic Web and AI
This doctoral contract is preferably aimed at thesis projects that examine the ways in which meaning emerges from textual content. Automatic text analysis, and the adoption of expert systems such as the insertion of keywords into structured thesauri and the linking of metadata to conceptual ontologies, can enable the semantic enrichment of text and contribute to determining meaning. However, these diverse strategies carry profound theoretical implications: on the one hand, we enrich a text so that its meaning can be extracted in the most accurate way; on the other, we use powerful algorithms to induce meaning retroactively. What does the future hold for the semantic web in the age of LLMs (Large Language Models) and retrieval augmented generation (RAG)? Where does a semantic language like IEML (Information Economy Meta Language) fit in?
Familiarity with the semantic web, the RDF data model, the IEML language and natural language processing technologies will therefore be an asset in obtaining this doctoral contract. Collaboration with the French research infrastructure Huma-Num will be encouraged, particularly with regard to the various activities of the HN Lab in terms of implementing RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation), GAN (Generative Adversarial Network), or Deep Learning and Machine Learning techniques.
The implementation of one or more of the above-mentioned technologies as part of the Stylo and in conjunction with the ISIDORE 2030 research program project may serve as a case study and testing ground to reinforce and refine the analyses at the heart of the candidate's research project. Stylo is a text editor developed by the Canada Research Chair on Digital Textualities, offering a theoretical and technical analysis of academic publishing chains in the humanities and social sciences. The semantic enrichment of texts through the automatic or ad hoc addition of metadata is at the heart of the philosophy embodied by Stylo, but is not yet the subject of systematic study. It therefore provides the opportunity for an original case study as part of a thesis project.
Profile n. 5Digital Classics: Greek Anthology in the Digital Age
Digital environments and technologies are restructuring our relationship with classical texts. This doctoral contract is aimed at candidates who are hellenists and/or digital classicists, whose research will be an extension of the collaborative digital edition of the Greek Anthology, led by the Canada Research Chair on Digital Textualities (anthologiagraeca.org).
Research may focus on publishing devices, formats, algorithms, data structures, collaboration protocols or experimental possibilities in the field of NLP (cf. in particular the IAL project).
Application guidelines
Applications must be sent no later than May 15, 2024
to the following e-mail address: crc.ecrituresnumeriques@gmail.com (specify in the subject line: "Candidature - Doctorat en Humanités Numériques"). The e-mail must contain the following documents:
- A cover letter
- A curriculum vitae
- A draft research project (500 words maximum)
- A copy of a scientific text (article published or to be published, extract from a master's thesis, etc.).
After reading the applications, a shortlist of candidates will be auditioned by videoconference in the first week of June 2024. The doctorate will start on September 1, 2024 or January 1, 2025.
Selection Committee
- Michael E. Sinatra (Université de Montréal)
- Marcello Vitali-Rosati (Université de Montréal)
- Giulia Ferretti (Université de Montréal
Subjects
- Epistemology and methodology (Main category)
- Mind and language > Epistemology and methodology > Research and researchers
- Mind and language > Language > Literature
- Mind and language > Information > Electronic publishing
- Mind and language > Information > History and sociology of the book
- Mind and language > Epistemology and methodology > Epistemology
- Mind and language > Information > History and sociology of the media
- Mind and language > Epistemology and methodology > Digital humanities
Places
- 3150 Jean Brillant St
Montreal, Canada (H3T 1N8)
Date(s)
- Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Keywords
- digital humanities, digital, textuality, digital writing, digital publishing, media philosophy, knowledge, humanités numériques, écriture numérique, édition numérique, philosophie, média, savoir
Contact(s)
- Marcello Vitali-Rosati
courriel : marcello [dot] vitali [dot] rosati [at] umontreal [dot] ca
Information source
- Giulia Ferretti
courriel : giulia [dot] ferretti [at] umontreal [dot] ca
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« PhD Positions on Digital Textualities (Université de Montréal) », Scholarship, prize and job offer, Calenda, Published on Thursday, April 25, 2024, https://doi.org/10.58079/w9uc
