Conversations Across the Creek is an initiative by the Humanities Research Centre (HRC) and the Research School of Chemistry (RSC) to provide a space for continuing dialogue among scientists, social scientists, and humanities scholars. Meetings are held monthly, with the aim of stimulating and unearthing research and teaching collaborations across the university.

Join us for the fifth Conversation for 2019, where three diverse scholars present on their latest research. The topic of this event is An Investigation in Digital Humanities: Analysis and Visualization of the 山海经 (Shanhaijing).

The Shanhaijing is an ancient Chinese encyclopaedia. Its origins can be traced back to the pre-Qin period of China (4th century BC), its development continuing through to the early Han Dynasty (1st century AD). It covers broad areas such as ancient mythology, geography, witchcraft, religion, medicine, and other aspects.The Shanhaijing occupies a significant position in the literary and mythological corpora of the East, and is representative of a wider spectrum of Eastern mythologies. Over thousands of years, numerous Chinese novels, literary fictions and dramas have been derived from the book, such as Zhuangzi (庄子) and Strange Tales of Liaozhai (聊斋志异). Mythologies from other Asian countries were influenced by it, e.g. Kaiki choju zukan and Hyakki Yagyō, both examples of Japanese folklore. 

For this panel, we convene an interdisciplinary research group including Qian Wang (Interdisciplinary and Cross-Cultural Research Programme, CASS), Dr Terhi Nurmikko-Fuller (Centre for Digital Humanities Research, CASS), and Dr Ben Swift (Research School of Computer Science, CECS) for a discussion and description of a project, in which digital media and computational methodologies have been applied to the Shanhaijing.

Speakers:

Qian Wang (Interdisciplinary and Cross-Cultural Research Programme, CASS)

Dr Terhi Nurmikko-Fuller (Centre for Digital Humanities Research, CASS)

Dr Ben Swift (Research School of Computer Science, CECS)

Please register - light lunch provided. Click here for more information about the CatC Series, or to access recordings of past events.