Taylor Arnold and Lauren Tilton - Distant Viewing: Theory and Method

When: 2023-02-06 15:00-17:00 (Tallinn time)
Where: online

The event is public via zoom: https://zoom.us/j/99209544202 Websites: https://www.distantviewing.org/

Abstract – How might viewing images through computational methods support the study of visual culture? This talk will address this question in two parts. The first half will begin by discussing our work on the theory of distant viewing, which sits at the intersection of digital humanities and computer vision. The second part will turn to a concrete example showing how distant viewing furthers the study of visual culture. We will conclude by discussing our ongoing collaborations with cultural heritage institutions.

Additional information:

Taylor Arnold, Associate Professor of Data Science & Linguistics, University of Richmond (USA), develops corpus-based techniques to study how messages are communicated through texts and visual media. Their research engages with several disciplines, including corpus linguistics, semiotics, pragmatics, data science and media studies. Lauren Tilton is an Associate Professor of Digital Humanities in the Department of Rhetoric and Communications and direct the Distant Viewing Lab at the University of Richmond. Their research focuses on analyzing, developing, and applying digital and computational methods to the study of 20th and 21st century documentary expression and visual culture. Their primary scholarship incorporates theoretical and methodological approaches from American Studies, Media Studies, Public Humanities, and Data Science. They are committed to interdisciplinary, collaborative, open access scholarship. They earned their PhD in American Studies from Yale University.