In recent years, the rapid development of AI technology has transformed people's daily lives and had profound effects on various professional fields. Against this background, the academic discourse on digital humanities has shifted from an earlier focus on creating convenient tools for research to exploring the potential paradigm shifts that it might effect.

This talk will delve into the existing resources and methodologies of digital humanities in Chinese history. It will reflect critically on the achievements and shortcomings of current digital humanities, explore their intersection with the discipline of history, and address the challenges that they currently face. The talk will draw in particular on the speaker's personal experiences of the use of digital humanities at the Yuelu Academy at Hunan University. The modern Yuelu Academy integrates teaching, research, cultural heritage preservation, and cultural dissemination. In collaboration with Hunan University’s School of Information Science and Engineering, School of Architecture and Planning, and other units, the Yuelu Academy has undertaken interdisciplinary teaching and research endeavours in areas such as visualisation, knowledge graphs, and the virtual reconstruction of architecture.

About the Speaker

Beibei Zhan is currently an Associate Professor of the History Department of Yuelu Academy of Hunan University, Director of the Overseas Academic Exchange Center and Director of the Digital Humanities Center. She graduated from Xi’an Jiaotong University with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Technology. She obtained a Master’s degree in Vision, Image Processing and Virtual Environment from University College London. She obtained a Ph.D. in Computer Vision from Kingston University (jointly funded by British Telecom). She later turned to Sinological research and obtained a Master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Sinology from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

The ANU China Seminar Series is supported by the Australian Centre on China in the World at ANU College of Asia and the Pacific.