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Unveiling the Past: Advancing Knowledge of the Humanities and Special Collections through Multispectral Imaging

Event Language

English

June 2 June 6

Format

in person/face-à-face


Led by: Juilee Decker and David Messinger

In the past, scholars applied lemon juice and a heat source when uncovering hidden features of historical documents (think: “National Treasure”). We now know that this method damaged artifacts unnecessarily. Interest in this field has led to newer, safer practices involving cameras, sensors, and LED panels. A low-cost, low barrier-to-entry Multispectral Imaging System for Historical Artifacts (MISHA) funded by NEH and developed by the course instructors and their interdisciplinary lab puts image capture and processing tools, as well as the system itself, within the reach of non-scientists. By participating in this week-long course, participants will learn a brief history of cultural heritage imaging, with an emphasis on multispectral imaging; will try their hand at capturing images and processing them; will learn of use cases where MISHA and other imaging systems have been able to illuminate content and context of manuscripts, sheet, leaf, and folia created from the medieval to the modern; and will use the MISHA system and to develop new digital humanities skills that pertain to discoverability, access, preservation, and the production of new knowledge. The intended audience is humanities scholars interested in text recovery, codicology, and imaging practices as a new and accessible DH method.

At the end of the week, participants will leave with knowledge of cultural heritage imaging’s history and theories, particularly multispectral imaging; experience using a MISHA system for image capture; familiarity with image processing methods to yield new knowledge (focusing on six sample data sets featuring collections from the medieval to the modern); and strategies of how to incorporate digital tools within their research, scholarship, and/or pedagogy.

The course combines lecture, seminar, and hands-on activities working with sheet, leaf, and folia from an “educational use” collection to demonstrate capacity of multispectral imaging as a digital humanities tool for access, discovery, interpretation, and research. 

3150 Rue Jean Brillant
Montreal, Québec H3T 1N7 Canada
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