Abstract: The article presents the observations of an online participant of the “Digital Humanities-2024” conference held in Washington, DC in the summer of 2024. The Digital Humanities Congress is held annually by the Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO). Digital Humanities are usually at the intersection of computer or digital technologies and the actual agenda of the humanities. The role and importance of historical studies in the interdisciplinary field of digital humanities is growing every year. The annual ADHO DH-conference is the central event of the international DH-community and brings together scholars from all over the world, providing them with an opportunity to exchange ideas and research results, as well as promoting future collaboration. The article pays special attention to the historical issues presented at the congress. Brief statistical observations are presented. In 2024 (as in the past year), a trend towards an increase in historical papers can be seen. There is a growing interest in historical sources, historical databases and geographic information systems, issues of virtual reconstruction of the past using a wide range of digital humanities research tools. The conference theme of 2024 is “Reinvention and Responsibility,” it highlights two interconnected imperatives for the digital humanities community. Reinvention is a call to act with creativity, compassion, and intentionality to better meet the needs of our communities, while responsibility asks us to address those inequities and injustices that the global pandemic has recast in increasingly sharp relief. Explaining the essence of the congress theme, the organizers noted that recent years have forced the community to reinvent ourselves as colleagues, collaborators, and educators in ways that have had both positive and negative impacts. The theme of reinvention and responsibility encourages to reflect on these experiences, acknowledge our responsibilities towards our DH-communities, and—with those reflections—take steps.

Keywords: Tropy, Omeka, Zotero, digital history, digital research infrastructures, historical data science, ADHO, digital humanities, reinvention, responsibility

Abstract: The article contains information about the international summer school of young scientists "Historical Informatics – 2024". The school was organized by the Faculty of History of Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Association "History and Computer". The purpose of the school is to introduce students to the latest trends in the development of the field of application of information (digital) technologies and methods of Historical Data Science in historical research, to form a modern understanding of data and methods of their processing in the field of historical science. This is the fourth Summer School in a row, which is held annually at the end of June and attracts a lot of attention from scientific youth. The school was attended by students, postgraduates and young scientists representing universities and scientific institutions from Russia and neighboring countries. The School lasts 4 working days. First, a lecture day was held, the next 2 days of classes were held in the format of master classes, during which participants had the opportunity to learn practical skills of working with methods and software. The final day included a plenary session, a conference of students and 2 round tables, then the results of the school's work were summed up. A memorable event of the school was a plenary report by a well-known expert in the field of artificial intelligence, K.V. Vorontsov, dedicated to artificial intelligence technologies in text analysis, information search and socio-humanitarian research, which caused a large number of questions and a lively discussion among the participants. Within the framework of the conference, scientific reports of students on various topics were presented, all of them made a positive impression on the audience, which included many teachers of the school. During the work of the final round table, an express survey was conducted regarding proposals on the topics of the master classes of the next school, in which the largest number of participants spoke in favor of artificial intelligence. The feedback from students received after graduation noted the relevance of the topic and the high scientific level of lectures and master classes.

Keywords: statistics, artificial intelligence, digital technologies, master class, lecture, Data Science, historical information science, summer school, historical source, method

Abstract: The article presents the observations of a live participant of the “Digital Humanities -2023”, held in Graz, Austria in the summer of 2023. The “Digital Humanities” Congress is held annually by the Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO). Digital Humanities (DH) are at the intersection of computing or digital technologies and the disciplines of the humanities. It involves the development and use of digital resources and methods in the humanities, as well as the analysis of their application. DH scholarship means collaborative, transdisciplinary, and computationally engaged research, teaching, and publishing. The annual ADHO Conference on Digital Humanities is the central and largest event of the international Digital Humanities community and brings together scholars from around the world, providing them with a unique opportunity to exchange ideas and research results, and to promote future collaboration. Particular attention is paid to historical issues presented at the congress, both in workshops and at section meetings and poster presentations. Statistical observations are presented, and a frequency analysis of the occurrence of keywords is carried out. The main conclusion of the study is the observed trend towards an increase in historical reports, posters and workshops. A noticeable increase in interest in historical sources, historical databases and geographic information systems, and virtual reconstruction of the past using a wide range of digital humanities research tools is noticeable (in comparison with the programs and publications of past Digital Humanities congresses). The 2023 conference theme, “Collaboration as an Opportunity,” is about the transdisciplinary and transnational collaboration, showing how increased cross-national collaboration—across continents and geopolitical locations—can transform regional knowledge hubs into international networks of excellence in research for the benefit of the global digital humanities community. Historians have firmly taken their place in contemporary digital humanities research.

Keywords: conftool, digital research infrastructures, programming historian, digital history, collaboration, historical data science, ADHO, digital humanities, opportunity, EADH

Abstract: The article discusses the content and results of the international conference of the Association "History and Computer" (AIC) "Historical Informatics as Historical Data Science", held on November 11-13, 2022 at the Faculty of History of Lomonosov Moscow State University. All stages and forms of the conference are described in detail: 2 plenary sessions, breakout sessions, a round table. The conference was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the AIC and the 10th anniversary of the journal "Historical Informatics". The conference program included over 100 reports, the authors of which represented scientific centers of Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Germany, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Norway and Uzbekistan. The main part of the conference consisted of 10 breakout sessions, where reports were presented on topical historical problems, the solution of which was proposed by the authors on the basis of methods and technologies of historical informatics. At the same time, in most reports, considerable attention was paid to the characteristics of the data used, methods of their processing and visualization. Much attention was paid to the creation of databases and information systems, statistical processing of historical data, methods of text analysis, historical geoinformatics, 3-D modeling. The results of archaeological research using digital technologies, methods of historical informatics in the research work of archives and museums, digital technologies in historical education were also considered.

Keywords: data, technology, method, source, data science, conference, historical information science, history, statistics, archive

Abstract: The article is devoted to the scientific and practical conference with foreign participation "The importance of digital technologies in the study of the history of Uzbekistan", held by the Department of History of Uzbekistan of the Mirzo Ulugbek National University of Uzbekistan on September 28, 2022. The introduction of digital technologies in science and education is a necessary condition for the development of society in the context of digital transformation. To train modern specialists in all areas of education, it is necessary to use digital technologies in educational programs at the university and postgraduate levels, as well as in research activities. Today, virtual museums, creative exhibitions, various online conferences are organized in Uzbekistan, which contribute to the rapprochement of peoples and actively attract young people. All this was discussed at the conference. About 100 reports on the main directions of digital transformation of science and education were presented at the conference. Special attention was paid to virtual reconstructions of cultural and historical heritage, digital technologies in archeology, informatization and digital technologies in historical education. The conference supported the efforts of Uzbek universities to form a unified scientific and educational space and called for extensive training of specialists using digital methods in historical science and education. The participants of the conference noted the high level of its holding and organization and proposed to make the conference traditional – to hold it every two years.

Keywords: direction, report, research, technology, digital transformation, education, science, conference, history, information

Abstract: The article analyzes the conference held online by the German company VERBI Software GmbH - a developer of the well-known MAXQDA software designed for computerized content analysis of texts. Over the past decade Russian undergraduate and graduate students have been actively using this program in their research work as evidenced by a number of publications including in the "Istoricheskaya Informatika" journal. The author focuses on the dynamics of topics of the annual 2019-2021 conferences and characterizes the latest online conference. The author draws attention to the fact that the online status of the conference resulted in a sharp increase in the number of participants in comparison with previous traditional conferences. The novelty of this study is the fact that the author compares the reports of three conferences focusing on the range of methodological and methodical issues of computerized text analysis, constant update of research tools, new trends in the provision of educational materials to program users including open access to Maxqda Press publications. The article provides useful links to conference materials posted both on the developer's website and on YouTube. The author pays attention to those tools (platforms for online conferences) which are used by software developers to attract the maximum number of participants: free conference registration, user-friendly interface and international aware work (9 languages).

Keywords: presentations, seminars, discussions, online format, software, content analysis, methods, tools, conferences, publications

Abstract: The word "data" has recently become one of the key words in the semantic field of modern science. This happened due to a sharp increase in information flows in the economy and social sphere and the ongoing breakthrough in the development of methods and technologies for processing and analyzing data in the context of large-scale digitalization and the need to work with big data. This has led to the rapid development of data science. Historical science has been affected by these processes as well. The article discusses the course and results of the 17th international conference of the interregional association "History and Computer" held under the title "Historical Research in the Context of Data Science: Information Resources, Analytical Methods and Digital Technologies". Researchers from 7 countries took part in the conference held on-line. The article characterized the structure of the conference in details and the most interesting speeches of its participants. There were two plenary meetings, two round tales and 9 sections. The conference results show that historical computer science has entered a new stage of its development and has ceased to be perceived as a kind of "niche" area of historical science. New researchers are being involved in its development, the geography of scientific centers of historical computer science is expanding, their studies touch upon the most important issues of Russian and foreign history.

Keywords: mathematical methods, round table, information, Big Data, Data Science, data, association, conference, computer, digital technology

Abstract: The article focused on problems and prospects caused by the rapid development of data science and discusses the opinions and remarks made by the participants of the round table called "Methods and Technologies of Data Science: Its Prospects in Historical Research" held by the editorial board of the "Historical Information Science” journal " and the Association "History and Computer" on July 3, 2020. The round table was attended by over 60 teachers, researchers, as well as students from 5 countries. Online discussions and talks were assisted by Zoom video conferencing service. The participants addressed issues related to the term "data science" itself, artificial intelligence and big data issues. All these were discussed in the light of problems that arise and are solved in the framework of historical research. The speakers addressed the problem of historical sources digitization and text recognition, the opportunities of programming languages (R and Python) use as well as many other issues. The very fact of the round table and its results have demonstrated the undeniable usefulness of the dialogue and the need to develop this form of scientific contacts. It is emphasized that that the development of such a field as "digital historical source studies" is becoming more and more urgent.

Keywords: artificial neural networks, machine learning, artificial intelligence, big data, historical information science, data science, mathematical statistics, programming, digitization, image recognition

Abstract: The article discusses the scientific symposium addressing the 15th anniversary of the Historical Information Science Department – a part of Lomonosov Moscow University History Faculty. The authors analyze the reports and notes that they are dominated by the spatial approach to historical phenomena and processes. The reports addressed virtual 3D reconstruction of historical and cultural heritage objects as well as the application of geographic information systems and technologies to historical studies. All the conclusions were actively debated by the symposium participants. The methodological basis of the article is the information approach, the use of description and analysis methods. The authors briefly characterize the results of the latest studies applying digital technologies and review the development of historical studies based on mathematics and computer science methods. Herewith, emphasis is laid on the Moscow school of historical information science, primarily the studies carried out at the Historical Information Science Department of Lomonosov Moscow University History Faculty.

Keywords: geographic information system, 3D reconstruction, information technology, spatial approach, scientific symposium, Moscow State University, Department of Historical Information Science, database, virtual reality, interdisciplinarity

Abstract: The article reviews the content and the main features of the conference of researchers working with MAXQDA program. The MQIC conference is an event organized annually by VERBI Software GmbH in Berlin. The topicality of the article is in growing popularity of MAXQDA among historians. This software is increasingly used to analyze narrative historical sources. The article briefly describes analytical tools of MAXQDA (emphasizing its application in the field of historical research), reviews sections, seminars, round tables and other events held at MQIC 2019 conference as well as examines the main features of their organization and topics addressed. The article concludes that this international scientific event is an excellent opportunity to learn how to use MAXQDA not only at the basic level, but also at the advanced level as well as exchange contacts with international colleagues. 

Keywords: international conference, software, content analysis, MAXQDA, quantitative data analysis, qualitative data analysis, narrative historical sources, MQIC, mixed methods, historical research

Abstract: 23rd annual conference “CHNT Congress Visual Heritage” was held in Vienna from 12th to 15th November 2018. The conference focused on application of digital technologies to study cultural heritage and work with museums. Over 400 participants from 41 countries (29 from Europe, 6 from the Middle East and Asia, 5 from North and South America, 1 from Africa) visited this meeting. 239 reports were presented at 17 sections, 4 workshops, 2 training courses, 5 round table discussions and 9 general sections. Participants addressed such research methods as preservation and visualization of cultural heritage objects, photogrammetry, laser scanning, 3D-modelling, museum software development and many others. The article gives a review of the conference by a delegate from Lomonosov Moscow State University. The article describes the main aspects of the conference, key reports, the main sections and methodological problems of digital cultural heritage discussed.

Keywords: building informational modeling, photogrammetry, virtual reconstructions, technologies of 3D-modeling, international conference, preservation of cultural heritage, laser scanning, digital museums, digital humanities, digital archaeology

Abstract: The article analyzes reports made at the 16th conference of the Association “History and Computer” (AHC). Comparative analysis of the association’s conferences over the past years allows one to see both traditional and new trends national historical information science follows in the digital age, identify the main theoretical and applied problems related to the use of information technologies and mathematical methods in historical research when information resources rapidly grow and require adequate analytical methods and approaches. The article continues the work to classify and dynamically analyze topics addressed at by AHC’s conference participants as well as study the main ways national historical information science has been on since the early 1990s. The informational basis of the study is a growing full-text historiographic collection and a bibliographic database of AHC’s publications. The study has demonstrated that the conference reports correspond both to the information trend to create and use digital resources, databases, historical GIS, 3D reconstructions of historical and cultural heritage objects and to the trend to process and analyze historical sources with the help of computer simulation methods, mathematical statistics, content analysis, network and spatial analysis i.e. analytical tools necessary to grasp large arrays of digital online sources.

Keywords: content analysis, databases, digital resources, analytical methods, information technologies, conference, historical informayion science, virtual reconstruction, simulation, digitizing

Abstract: The article describes the subject matter and significance of the international research to practice conference "From the Map of the Past to the Map of the Future" held on November 29 - December 1, 2017 in Perm. The course of the conference, the topics and the content of the main reports and participants are reviewed. The structure of the conference gets specific consideration. It includes the plenary session, foresight sessions and speaker sessions, problem discussions, open popular science lectures, a practical workshop, etc., thus unleashing the potential of the participants. The research methodology is based on the analysis of topics and issues discussed and on determining the place of the conference in modern scientific discourse. The conference materials are considered from the standpoint of historical geoinformatics which can boast a separate session on the conference schedule. The authors conclude that not only professional conferences are important and useful for historians and other representatives of humanities, but also scientific forums of specialists in the field of modern information technologies. 

Keywords: research, session, history, geoinformatics, cartography, map, conference, analysis, source, technology

Abstract: The article is dedicated to the 25th Anniversary of the Association “History and Computer” – a professional union of specialists employing mathematical methods and new information technologies in historical research and education. The research object is the understanding of the first steps of historical information science in Russia. The first year of the HCA (1993) is studied. Some important conferences, workshops and meetings were held. The author notes the “horizontal” character of academic ties in comparison with the “vertical” structure practiced before. The article historiographically describes the genetic relation of historical information science causes and the first period of its development. The author as the direct participant of all those events shares his impressions and thoughts thus forming a more comprehensive perception of the new research domain. It is emphasized that the atmosphere of creativity and amiability that was formed in the first HCA days encouraged successful development of historical information science.  

Keywords: new information technologies, computer, History and Computer, Association , conference , laboratory, workshop, creative work, historical information science, history

Abstract: The article is dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the History and Computer Association (HCA) that united Russian and foreign specialists working within the interdisciplinary filed of history and information technologies. The article concentrates on the development of this association in the first half of the 1990s. The idea to create the association came, on the one hand, from the Council of the International Association “History and Computing” (АНС), its president professor Manfred Thaller, and, on the other hand, from a group of Russian specialists who had used computers to analyze statistical sources and create digital archives of historical data and participants of “quantitative revolution” that had a great influence on a number of historical fields. The article data demonstrate the formation of the main research domain of historical information science that is creation and use of electronic versions of historical sources. The article is of a historiographic character and employs historical and genetic approach joining historical information science with quantitative history (following HCA periodicals of the 1990s). These materials provide for reconstructing the initial stage of this interdisciplinary community. One can see the atmosphere of positive professional cooperation within HCA and international АНС as a whole. It is the first time when the information value of the HCA bulletin is studied to analyze the HCA initial stage.

Keywords: information technologies, History and Computing , quantitative history, databases , artificial intellect , knowledge bases, statistical analysis, research projects, source-oriented, historical information science