Center for Digital Humanities - USM

“Voyant as a tool is super helpful to analyze and understand essays, or any text document in general, especially saving on study time. I would highly recommend it,” states computer science freshman Krish Raj Bhattarai. Bhattarai credits his new knowledge of this digital tool to attending the Global Digital Humanities Symposium watch party and Transcribe-athon, which was offered by the Hub and the Center for Digital Humanities on the USM Hattiesburg campus April 13-15. In addition to accessing a 3D imaging lightbox, a zine station, and examples of free open-source DH tools, attendees were also able to hear from Digital Humanities specialists from across the world, as well as participate in a Transcribe-athon. The symposium experience afforded students, faculty, staff, and the community opportunities to learn about mapping relationships and places, reconstructing spaces, exploring connections between people or languages, and transforming two-dimensional archives into visually compelling collections—all of which is just the tip of the iceberg of the ever-evolving creativity and usability of digital humanities tools and methods.

With this inaugural local Global Digital Humanities Symposium event, Southern Miss joined hundreds of schools and scholars who participate in the conference, now in its 11th year. Conference participants attend in-person, live-streamed, and virtually with bilingual support. Dr. Jennifer Andrella, Assistant Professor of History and Digital Humanities at USM, and also one of the panelists at this year’s conference, states, “As we work to build a Digital Humanities community here at Southern Miss, I was inspired to host a watch party that invited members of our community to explore the possibility of Digital Humanities together.” Andrella has served on the Advisory Board of the symposium for 3 years and has attended the conference annually since grad school. “I’ve always appreciated how they make everyone feel welcome, no matter their background or skill level.” She explains it is a great opportunity for those interested in DH, but who are unsure how to begin using digital methods, to see how others incorporate DH into their research and teaching. It can provide a spark of motivation.

The Transcribe-athon, held on the final day of the event, allowed participants to transform historical documents from partnering institutions that might be difficult to read and impossible to search online into internet-searchable documents that tell marvelous stories. Utilizing the Hub’s website, participants transcribed and reviewed 251 items. The Hub transcription page includes OCR (Optical Character Recognition), which can help speed up the transcription process for not only typed documents but also those that are handwritten, though human review is still a must. A leaderboard was created for this special Transcribe-athon event, adding a little stimulating competition. First place transcription winner, Marnie Hageman, a Ph.D. Candidate in English and Assistant Director of Composition states, “While I have some previous experience with transcription, the Transcribe-athon was the most fun and comfortable experience I’ve had in an environment that welcomed newcomers and seasoned documentarians alike. Whether I was helping to transcribe a community cookbook or children’s poetry, I could see my contributions uploaded to the Hub in real time as I collaborated with my peers and professors to preserve these meaningful cultural documents.”

The GDHS is just one of the many opportunities for those wanting to learn and increase their projects and skills. Andrella concludes, “In addition to this watch party, we hope to host other gatherings that help foster a supportive environment where everyone feels encouraged to pursue their DH goals.” For more information on the Hub transcription initiative, please visit https://www.ms-digital-hub.com/transcription.

You're invited to transcribe the Archives! Join us on Wednesday, April 15th, for our Transcribe-athon & Lunch competition. Help transcribe historical documents with the Mississippi Digital Humanities Hub transcription tool! Your contributions will make these documents more accessible to researchers and the community. No transcription experience required! Drop in and stay as long as you’d like. Lunch will arrive at 11am.

April 15 | 10am-2pm, lunch at 11am | Cook Library Room 207

You’re invited! Join us for a watch party of the Global Digital Humanities Symposium and a Transcribe-athon of historical documents with the Mississippi Digital Humanities Hub. This event is free and open to all, and light refreshments will be included! RSVP today!

Watch Party: April 13-14 | 8am-5pm | Library Room 209A
The Global Digital Humanities Symposium is a free, annual conference that convenes an international community of DH practitioners to engage with the relationships between technology, culture, and global issues. Since its founding at Michigan State in 2016, the symposium highlights innovative digital scholarship while centering conversations on equity, representation, and justice. The watch party provides a fun, communal space where Global Digital Humanities Symposium sessions will be streamed live for our own DH community!

Transcribe-athon: April 15 | 10am-2pm, lunch at 11am | Library Room 207
Transcribe historical documents with the Mississippi Digital Humanities Hub transcription tool! Your transcriptions will help make these documents more accessible to researchers and the community. No transcription experience required! Drop in and stay as long as you’d like. Lunch will arrive at 11am.

Send your RSVP for this event here:
https://www.paperlesspost.com/go/pNPYYWbsBqZ7PxATkEby8j

Check out the Global DH Symposium Schedule here:
https://msuglobaldh.org

Digital Humanities and the Archive: Communicating Digital Skills, Career Pathways, and Cultural Heritage This talk reflects on Dr. Andrella's path into Digital Humanities and my interests in cultural heritage and history. Drawing on my training and experience with Digital Humanities, this talk will also focus on career opportunities and how to leverage digital skills for the job market. She also explor...

An exciting opportunity still awaits Mississippi college students!
We have extended the deadline by 48 hours to ensure that all who want to apply have a chance to submit their applications for our six-week paid summer residency in Digital Humanities research at The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS.

This program is open to Mississippi students majoring in the humanities or social sciences (English, History, Sociology, Political Science, Philosophy, and related fields) who will be returning to a two- or four-year college or university.

Participants will gain hands-on experience with:
*GIS and digital mapping
*Data and textual visualization
*Digital exhibits and metadata
*Podcasts, visual media, and digital storytelling

Program benefits include on-campus housing, most meals, travel reimbursement, and stipends for participants. This residency is the second in a three-part series supported by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

NEW APPLICATION DEADLINE: Thursday, April 2nd, at 11:59 P.M. (CT)

APPLY HERE:
https://usmforms.formstack.com/forms/2026_hub_residency

LEARN MORE:
https://www.ms-digital-hub.com/summer.../application

“No overthinking, no theory. Just follow and start transcribing.” This is how Avantika Mittapally, Digital Developer for the Hub, describes the Hub’s new Transcription Training Guide video, which was tailor-made for the Mississippi Digital Humanities Hub transcription site. The Hub is seeking volunteers willing to give a few hours a week to transcribe digital documents on topics as diverse as the Vietnam War, Jimmie Rodgers’ life and letters, and cookbooks. With the new tutorial, volunteers who may be new or a little rusty at transcribing can simply sign into the transcription page and click the yellow “instructions” button to learn everything they need to know to get started. No other instruction manual is needed. As Mittapally states, “I’ve never been someone who enjoys going through long instructions. Whenever I try something new, I just look for a quick video. I wanted something you could watch and start using immediately.”

For further ease, transcription can be done from the comfort of your own home. Be sure to check out the transcription video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIeGezuncbo . If there are any additional questions you encounter while transcribing, simply post a question in the Chat Thread. Please visit https://www.ms-digital-hub.com/transcription to get started today!

Transcription Training Guide | Mississippi Digital Humanities Hub Welcome to the Transcription Training Guide for the Mississippi digital Humanities Hub.This video provides guidance for volunteers contributing to transcript...

Learn what inspired Ezra Jack Keats’ The Snowy Day while making his handwritten notes more accessible to others! This week’s community transcription spotlight at the MS Digital Humanities Hub is from the DeGrummond Collection at Southern Miss. It is the original Ezra Jack Keats’ 1963 Caldecott Speech. It includes both his cursive handwritten version and his typed edition of the oration. It can be viewed under “Children’s Literature – Document 1”.

Other categories of the community transcription initiative invite you to explore Mississippi community cookbooks, Jimmie Rodgers’ documents, the Civil Rights Movement, World War II, the Civil War, and the Vietnam War. Items are from the McCain and DeGrummond collections of the McCain Library and Archives at The University of Southern Mississippi.

Sign up and transcribe at https://www.ms-digital-hub.com/transcription. Transcriptions can be done from the comfort of your own home and usually take less than an hour. Thank you for making a difference, one keystroke at a time.

Join us for Douglass Day!

Stop by Cook Library Room 207 today from 11 AM – 2 PM to take part in Douglass Day, a nationwide transcribe-a-thon honoring the chosen birthday of Frederick Douglass.

This year, we’ll be transcribing records from the historic Colored Conventions movement to help preserve and make accessible important primary sources of Black history. No experience with transcription is needed. Come for a few minutes or stay the whole time, and be a part of preserving history!

PAID SUMMER OPPORTUNITY FOR MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE STUDENTS!
June 16 – July 24, 2026

The Mississippi Digital Humanities Hub invites students to apply for a six-week paid summer residency in Digital Humanities research at The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS. This program is open to Mississippi students majoring in the humanities or social sciences (English, History, Sociology, Political Science, Philosophy, and related fields) who will be returning to a two- or four-year college or university.
Participants will gain hands-on experience with:
*GIS and digital mapping
*Data and textual visualization
*Digital exhibits and metadata
*Podcasts, visual media, and digital storytelling
Students will also develop research and scholarship skills, learn ethical approaches to interpreting cultural materials, work with expert mentors in the field, and engage in local history preservation while exploring Hattiesburg and the Gulf Coast area.
Program benefits include on-campus housing, most meals, travel reimbursement, and stipends for participants. This residency is the second in a three-part series supported by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: March 31, 2026, at 11:59 P.M. (CT)

APPLY HERE:
https://usmforms.formstack.com/forms/2026_hub_residency
LEARN MORE:
https://www.ms-digital-hub.com/summer-workshop-2026/application