Masterclass in Digital Humanities: An answer to the importance of exploring the area of digital humanities

July 05, 2022


The Masterclass in Digital Humanities event has received many positive responses from the participants who attended the event. For instance, one of the participants said that this event has been beneficial for her and she is willing to attend similar events in the future.

"Thanks to the committee for your amazing program, indeed it is so valuable. Next time if you have a similar program, please invite us again, we will be happy to join it." Another participant stated that the program has equipped him with useful research methods in digital humanities. "It's a great experience and enlightening for scholars," he said.

The Masterclass in Digital Humanities event is a collaboration between the Faculty of Islamic Studies of the Indonesian International Islamic University (UIII) and the Indonesian Academy of Sciences (AIPI). The event was convened by Prof. Noorhaidi Hasan who acts as the Dean of the Faculty of Islamic Studies and a member of AIPI. The program was held at the UIII campus, Depok, on June 27-28, 2022. The event coordinator, Dr. Bhirawa Anoraga, revealed that this event had been prepared for the last few months involving all members of the Faculty of Islamic Studies and AIPI members.

In his view, the responses to the event were beyond his expectation. The faculty members needed to screen the applicants as they were about double the targeted number of the program's participants. The participants were selected based on their CVs and essays. They come from within and outside Indonesia such as Canada, England, etc. The positive interest in this Masterclass event was also reflected in the number of attendees on the first and second days of the program. They almost fully occupied all the seats in the venue on both days.

Given the high interest of the public, especially academics, in the future, the Faculty of Islamic Studies plans to hold similar events, both on the UIII campus and in the form of roadshows at several campuses in Indonesia. "This activity is an answer to the importance of exploring the area of Digital Humanities, which is relatively new and has developed very rapidly," said Dr. Anoraga.

He also added that the Masterclass program shows the commitment of the Faculty of Islamic Studies of the UIII to combine classical Islamic studies and contemporary studies of Muslim societies. Besides initiating the Masterclass in Digital Humanities, the faculty has also offered Digital Islam course to the students. (ANJ)