COSH/COCH : Newsletter / Bulletin 2003-A
Contenu / Contents
- Stéfan Sinclair, Susan Hesemeier: Editors' Note / Notes des
rédacteurs - : Highlights from the CFHSS General Assembly (Ottawa, November 23-24, 2002)
- : Profil de projet: Recherche littéraire et informatique
- : Project Profile: Providing a Technology Edge for Liberal Arts Graduates
- Annonces / Announcements
Editors' Note
Stéfan Sinclair <ss@huco.ualberta.ca>, Susan Hesemeier <sah4@UAlberta.ca>
I'm very pleased to have Susan Hesemeier assisting me with the editing
of the COSH/COCH Newsletter. Susan is an M.A. in Humanities Computing
candidate at the University of Alberta.
This issue of the COCH/COSH Newsletter features two very interesting
project descriptions from Michel Lemaire and Terry Butler, as well as
Diane Dubrule's report on the General Assembly at the Federation for
Humanities and Social Sciences (formerly the HSSFC). There are also
several announcments. Please send us any contributions that you would
like for subsequent issues, as we encourage all members of COCH/COSH to
become regular contributors to this Newsletter.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Note des rédacteurs
Stéfan Sinclair <ss@huco.ualberta.ca>, Susan Hesemeier <sah4@UAlberta.ca>
J'ai le plaisir d'accueillir Susan Hesemeier comme co-rédactrice du Bulletin COCH/COSH. Susan est étudiante dans le programme d'Informatique dans les sciences humaines à l'Université d'Alberta.
Ce numéro comprend deux descriptions de projet très intéressantes de
Michel Lemaire et Terry Butler, ainsi que le rapport de Diane Dubrule
sur l'Assemblée générale de la Fédaration des sciences humaines. Vous
trouverez également la section des annonces. N'hésitez pas à nous
envoyer une contribution, car nous encourageons toujours la
participation des membres de notre assocation!
Au plaisir de vous lire...
Highlights from the CFHSS General Assembly (Ottawa, November 23-24, 2002)
Diane Dubrule <ddubrule@css.carleton.ca>
The focus of the General Assembly's Plenary Session on Saturday morning
was "Humanities, Societies, Cultures: Research and Education: A 3-Year
Plan for the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences"
(March 2002) and Martha C. Piper's 2002 Killam Lecture, "Building a
Civil Society: A New Role for the Human Sciences", online at
<http://www.hssfc.ca/ english/policyandadvocacy/briefsandstatements/pdf/
2002killamlecture.pdf> Before many hours had passed these became known as
"the Strategic Plan" and "the Piper paper" Both were endorsed by the
General Assembly.
Simultaneous workshops in the afternoon dealt with (A) Meeting the Needs
of the New Generation of Scholars and (B) Renewing Scholarly
Infrastructure for the Next Generation. Two points of interest to
COCH/COSH members from the workshops were that the best practices panel
in (A) indicated that new hires are given computers and their choice of
software in addition to extra research funding, and in (B) that there
was much diversity of opinion on how and whether to undertake
e-publishing. At one extreme, some members argued that research should
be available to everyone, and, at the other extreme, others held that
the intellectual property rights of authors should be protected with
passwords.
SSHRC President Marc Renaud's inspiring afternoon presentation on
innovation in the human sciences covered the same ground as his October
2002 presentation to the Humanities and Social Sciences Research
Council, online at <http://www.hssfc.ca/english/policyandadvocacy/
briefsandstatements/pdf/renaud_humansciences.pdf>. He emphasized the
need for "knowledge mobilization" (getting knowledge to the users),
student training (particularly reducing graduate student dropouts),
collaborative research and research networks that span distance,
language and disciplines), and the relevance of research to issues of
importance to Canadians Members of the General Assembly were gratified
that Mr. Renaud had been so supportive of research in the social
sciences and humanities, and aggressive in getting government support.
The Electoral Colleges met on Sunday morning. I attended the Small
Associations' meeting on behalf of COCH/COSH. The group endorsed
bringing the following requests to the Federation: (1) That the
Federation investigate and implement, if feasible, a common online
registration system with online fee payment by credit card. Although
half of the small associations represented at the meeting had websites
with online registration, only one had undertaken to provide online fee
payment. (2) Associated with online registration was a request for the
Federation to provide a model for the websites of small associations.
(3) A request was also made for the Federation to provide translation
into French or English of society information for small associations.
(4) Because of the difficulty of getting new officers of associations up
to speed with their duties, the group asked that the Federation compose
a handbook for new officers. (This request, I later learned, was also
made at the Medium Associations' meeting, so the handbook is likely to
be produced.) (5) Executive burnout was recognized as a common problem
in small associations, and it was agreed that recognition and course
remission should be considered for the members of executive committees
of associations. It was suggested that this could be encouraged by the
Federation's sending a letter to the appropriate dean at the executive
officer's institution. (6) Members heartily endorsed a request for the
Federation to introduce a Congress "passport" which would allow a
passport holder to attend the meetings of any member association at
Congress. Some representatives pointed out that there was no incentive
for their associations to hold meetings at Congress, unless their
members could also attend presentations of other associations. (7) The
lack of travel funds for associations that joined the Federation after
funding was frozen was deplored. It was noted that this particularly
affected small associations because many of them were newly founded and
hence ineligible to apply for travel funds.
At the business meeting later on Sunday morning, Patricia Clements
handed the Federation presidency over to Doug Owram, who stressed in his
inaugural speech that this is an important time for the Federation.
Circumstances have changed in the past few months with the result that
people can no longer ignore the significance of the humanities and
social sciences. He said that we should mobilize on two fronts: (1) On
the government front, we must be clear and uncompromising. Here we have
in the Piper paper the perfect launching pad. (2) Internally, we need to
look at our structures and make sure that they will work for us in both
the short and the long term. We must get the support of university
presidents and induce them to deliver our message to government ministers.
Profil de projet: Recherche littéraire et informatique
Michel Lemaire <mlemaire@uottawa.ca>
Le projet «Recherche littéraire et informatique» a été fondé en 1998 à
l'Université d'Ottawa. Le groupe de recherche est actuellement constitué
des personnes suivantes:
* Etienne Brunet, de l'Institut national de la langue française
(Nice, France)
* Pierre Kunstmann, professeur au Département des lettres françaises
de l'Université d'Ottawa
* Michel Lemaire, professeur au Département des lettres françaises,
directeur du projet
* Angela Mattiacci, coordonnatrice des nouvelles technologies à
l'Institut d'études canadiennes
* Stéfan Sinclair, professeur au Département de Modern Languages and
Cultural Studies de l'Université de l'Alberta
* Christian Vandendorpe, professeur au Département des lettres
françaises
Les travaux de ce groupe de recherche et de ses collaborateurs sont
publiés dans le site Internet appelé l'Astrolabe que l'on peut consulter
à l'adresse suivante: <http://www.uottawa.ca/academic/arts/astrolabe/
index.html>.
L'objectif du projet «Recherche littéraire et informatique» est
d'étudier les possibilités offertes par l'informatique dans la recherche
littéraire. En particulier, d'analyser les concepts, les procédés, les
instruments développés dans le domaine de l'analyse littéraire assistée
par ordinateur. Son approche est donc essentiellement
épistémologique.Cet objectif peut se subdiviser ainsi:
* étudier les diverses entreprises de recherche littéraire dans
lesquelles se rejoignent l'étude de la littérature et l'instrument
informatique;
* analyser les nouveaux outils offerts par l'informatique au domaine
de la recherche littéraire;
* développer de nouvelles méthodes et de nouveaux outils de
recherche littéraire à l'aide de l'informatique;
* faire connaître ces nouvelles entreprises, ces nouveaux outils,
ces nouvelles méthodes, en particulier aux étudiants, aux
professeurs et aux chercheurs intéressés.
«Recherche littéraire et informatique» est donc d'abord un groupe de
recherche: lieu de réflexion, d'analyse et de discussion sur les
théories et les méthodes de la recherche littéraire assistée par
ordinateur. C'est de plus une entreprise d'animation, d'information et
de diffusion des connaissances. L'Astrolabe est l'équivalent
électronique d'une revue savante. Les travaux de «Recherche littéraire
et informatique» sont le fait des membres du groupe mais aussi et
surtout de collaborateurs externes invités à participer à l'Encyclopédie
de la recherche littéraire assistée par ordinateur.
Ce projet s'adresse à toutes les personnes intéressées. Ni les
professeurs ni les étudiants n'ont à être des spécialistes de
l'informatique. «C'est en forgeant qu'on devient forgeron». Si le
Répertoire des sites littéraires est réservé aux étudiants du
Département des lettres françaises de l'Université d'Ottawa,
l'Encyclopédie de la recherche littéraire assistée par ordinateur, comme
toute revue spécialisée, est ouverte à tous les chercheurs, professeurs,
étudiants, qui travaillent sur la question. Les propositions d'articles
sont les bienvenues.
Project Profile: Providing a Technology Edge for Liberal Arts Graduates
Terry Butler <terry.butler@ualberta.ca>
The Faculty of Arts Technologies for Learning Centre at the University
of Alberta has been awarded a federal research contract to enhance the
employability of liberal arts graduates. This project will create
on-line learning materials to help these students acquire the
information technology skills they need to succeed in the challenging
workplace of the 21st century.
The project began in January 2002 by comparing the information
technology skills and knowledge of senior Arts undergraduate students
with those of students in other programs (e.g., Science, Business,
Education). We have also completed focus group interviews with a range
of employers. We are now in a position to identify the specific new
technology skills that employers are looking for in liberal arts
graduates, and those that arts students presently lack.
This research is laying the groundwork for the development of on-line
learning modules, designed to teach these key information technology
skills. The learning materials will be developed so they can be merged
with the course content of existing arts courses and, once appropriately
validated, will be made available to universities Canada-wide. The
project will be completed in December 2003.
Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) has awarded this contract to a
team of university and private sector partners, led by researchers at
the University of Alberta. The project builds upon the recognized
leadership of Alberta's Faculty of Arts in promoting teaching and
research designed to enhance the employability of liberal arts graduates.
The Project Director is Terry Butler and the Instructional Designer is
Tracy Chao, both of the Arts Technologies for Learning Centre. Our
commercial partner is Chinook Multimedia, an Edmonton-based multimedia
company specializing in electronic educational resources for the
Canadian post-secondary market. The other academic partners are at the
University of British Columbia, the University of Victoria, and the
University of New Brunswick.
Contact Information:
* Project Director: Terry.Butler@UAlberta.ca (780) 492-7570
* Arts TLC: www.humanities.ualberta.ca/tlc
* Technology Edge: www.arts.ualberta.ca/techedge
Annonces
- * Appel à communications: COCH/COSH 2003. Le colloque annuel du
Consortium pour ordinateur en sciences humaines au Congrès de la
Fédération aura lieu du 27 au 27 mai 2003 à l'Université Dalhousie
à Halifax (Canada). Le thème de cette année sera: L'informatique
en sciences humaines et la pédagogie. Pour plus de renseignements,
consultez: <http://lists.village.virginia.edu/lists_archive/
Humanist/v16/0333.html>.
* Nouvelle parution: /From Gutenberg's Galaxy to Cyberspace: The Transforming Power of Electronic Hypertext/ de Jean Mason: <http://citdpress.scar.utoronto.ca/JeanMason/>.
* Nouvelle parution: Studies in Canadian Literature/études en littérature canadienne annonce la parution d'un numéro spécial intitulé «Past Matters / Choses du passé» (compilé et rédigé par Jennifer Andrews, Herb Wyile et Robert Viau). Ce numéro spécial comprend une introduction et plusieurs articles sur des auteur- e-s canadien-ne-s.
* Nouvelle parution: Patrick Finn de l'Université de Victoria invite des articles pour un receuil intitulé «Shakespeare and Information Technology» qui sera publié comme numéro spécial dans /College Literature/. (Félicitations à Patrick pour son poste menant à la permanence à St. Mary's College à Calgary, où il sera également conseiller pour la technologie de l'information.)
* Nouveau programme de premier cycle: "Joint Program in New Media", une initiative collaborative entre l'Université de Toronto à Scarborough et Centennial College: <http://citd.scar.utoronto.ca/newmedia/>.
* Vous cherchez un emploi en informatique et sciences humaines? vous en avez un à annoncer? visitez la "Jobs Page" de l'ACH (Association for Computing in the Humanities): <http://www.ach.org/jobs/>.
* La Maîtrise en Informatique dans les sciences humaines à l'Université d'Alberta invite des demandes d'admission; veuillez transmettre cette page d'informations aux étudiant-e-s de premier cycle: <http://huco.ualberta.ca/Info/admissions.php>.
* Veuillez faire parvenir vos annonces pour le prochain bulletin du COSH/COCH à <ss@huco.ualberta.ca>.
Announcements
- Call for Papers and Proposals for Panels: COCH/COSH 2003. The
annual conference of the Consortium for Computers in the
Humanities/Consortium pour ordinateurs en sciences humaines at the
Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities will be held 27-28
May 2003 at Dalhousie University, Halifax (CANADA). This year's
theme: Humanities Computing and Pedagogy. Please see the
conference announcement on Humanist for details:
<http://lists.village.virginia.edu/lists_archive/Humanist/v16/
0333.html>.
* New publication: /From Gutenberg's Galaxy to Cyberspace: The Transforming Power of Electronic Hypertext/, by Jean Mason: <http://citdpress.scar.utoronto.ca/JeanMason/>.
* New publication: Studies in Canadian Literature/études en littérature canadienne is pleased to announce a special issue on the subject of History and Canadian Fiction, co-edited by Jennifer Andrews, Herb Wyile and Robert Viau. "Past Matters/Choses du passé" includes a scholarly introduction and an array of interesting essays on a number of Canadian authors.
* New edition: Patrick Finn of the University of Victoria is now receiving essays for a collection entitled "Shakespeare and Information Technology," which is being published as a special issue of /College Literature/. He has also just received authorization to edit Q1 Hamlet for the Internet Shakespeare Editions-- a project that stems from a joint ACCUTE and COCH/COSH session by the same name from last year's conference in Toronto. We would like to congratulate Patrick on his newly acquired tenure track position at St. Mary's College in Calgary, where he will also be IT advisor to the college.
* New undergraduate program: Joint Program in New Media, a collaborative venture between the University of Toronto at Scarborough and Centennial College: <http://citd.scar.utoronto.ca/newmedia/>.
* Looking for a Humanities Computing job? Advertising a Humanities Computing job? Visit the Association for Computing in the Humanities (ACH) Jobs Page: <http://www.ach.org/jobs/>.
* The M.A. in Humanities Computing at the University of Alberta is accepting applications for Fall 2003-- please pass on the admission information to any interested fourth year undergraduate students: <http://huco.ualberta.ca/Info/admissions.php>.
* Please send your annoucements for the COSH/COCH Newsletter to <ss@huco.ualberta.ca>.