Insights into the Digital Humanities Summer School 2025 at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg

From 22 to 26 September 2025, we had the opportunity to take part in the „Digital Humanities Summer School 2025: Data, Gender and Society” at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg. For one week, we were able to exchange ideas with participants from various countries. In workshops and lectures, we learned about the working methods and approaches of the lecturers and invited guests. At the same time, all participants had the opportunity to present their own research and receive feedback.

Fotos: Copyright Ismail Barakat

Among other things, we worked with the network analysis tool Visone, created our first visual abstract under expert guidance, performed concordance analyses using FlexiConc in CLiC, and modeled artifacts seen at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Wikidata. The course program was designed to introduce fundamental concepts in an accessible way while offering advanced discussions and practical exercises that were stimulating even for experienced participants.

Fotos: Copyright Ismail Barakat

In addition to the intensive course program, the accompanying social program included a guided city tour, a visit to the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg, and shared coffee breaks. Particularly enriching were the informal evening gatherings at restaurants and bars. The exchange with participants from different disciplines and countries was inspiring and broadened our perspective on our own research fields.

Fotos: Copyright Ismail Barakat

Overall, the summer school was an immensely rewarding experience—both professionally and personally. We highly recommend participating to anyone eager to deepen their knowledge and discover new perspectives.

Personal Impressions

Rebecca Robinson:

“What inspired me most was the exchange between participants and faculty—so many different perspectives, from the analysis of feminism on Twitter, to the development of the manosphere online, to fictional water scarcity and how such scenarios can help address real-world problems. This diversity reminded me how important it is to look beyond one’s own field. A line from the opening speech summed it up perfectly: ‘Go outside in the world with your projects, make it matter.’ It really highlighted for me the relevance of the Digital Humanities. I hope to see many of the participants again at future conferences.”

Manon Rupp:

“What I’ll remember most is the atmosphere—professional yet relaxed, serious but with humor. I believe that the Digital Humanities truly thrive on interdisciplinary exchange, which makes a summer school like this especially valuable. The participants’ presentations once again showed me how much we can learn from each other across disciplines and draw inspiration from one another’s work. I was particularly impressed by Selenia Anastasi’s dissertation: Selenia Anastasi: Misogyny beyond borders: A Cross-Linguistic Corpus Assisted Analysis of Transnational Incel Communities.”