Summer Institute to Combine Digital Mapping and Art History

The first Summer Institute on Digital Mapping and Art History, sponsored by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, will take place at Middlebury College August 3-15. The two-week program is now accepting applications for fellowships.

Co-directed by Paul B. Jaskot, professor of the history of art and architecture at DePaul University, and Anne Kelly Knowles, professor of geography at Middlebury, the Summer Institute will emphasize how digital mapping of art historical evidence can open up new veins of research in art history as a whole.

The program is intended for all art historians of any rank (including graduate students, curators, or independent scholars) with a scholarly problem related to spatial evidence or questions. Small teams may apply if a scholar would like to attend with a graduate or undergraduate collaborator.

Large bodies of data used in art history almost inevitably have a spatial component, from the spreading influence of Rembrandt’s workshop to the market for Impressionist painting. The Middlebury College Geography Department has a long history of innovative teaching and research with spatial methods, including the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) across the humanities and social science.

No prior knowledge or experience in digital humanities will be necessary or assumed for the application process.

Fellowship winners will be announced by March 31. Fellowships pay for tuition, room, and board, and provide a travel stipend for all participants.

For more about the institute, including application information, visit the Kress Foundation website.