The workshop “Digital Methods for the Study of Mobilities,” held June 25-26, 2024, at the higher education and research institution INALCO (Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientale) in Paris, France, provided a platform for historians and digital humanities scholars to explore the intersection of technology and historical research. Organized by INALCO and the University of California, Berkeley, the event brought together experts from various disciplines to share knowledge, present innovations, and highlight how digital methods are enhancing the study of historical mobilities.
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| The INALCO headquarters in Paris. Taken from https://www.euniwell.eu/about/universities/inalco |
Thanks to the collaboration between the Storymodelers Lab, led by Dr. Erika Frydenlund and Dr. Jose Padilla, and the IstanΠόλις Collaborative project, led by Dr. Christine Philliou, I had the opportunity to attend the event. There, I not only delved deeper into the field of digital history but also presented a historical data analysis in support of a team of historians from UC Berkeley.
Over the course of the two-day workshop, there was a diverse program of presentations focused on specific contexts but united by how digital tools offer historians unprecedented opportunities to analyze and visualize complex patterns of mobilities, as well as a means to store and share data.
Day 1: June 25, 2024
The workshop “Digital Methods for the Study of Mobilities” was a second version of an initial workshop held in January 2024 at UC Berkeley, about which I wrote a detailed blog sharing my experience. Since not all participants had attended the first version of the workshop, the first day began with an icebreaker session. Attendees took this opportunity to have coffee, chat, and get to know the new participants. Later, they moved to the auditorium, where Dr. Andreas Guidi opened the event, highlighting that many of the projects presented were still in development. He emphasized that the main goal was to reconcile new methods and learn from each other’s work.
Mapping German Immigration to Paris in the 19th Century [Dr. Mareike König]
Dr. König presented her work on mapping the migration of Germans to Paris in the 19th century using digital tools. Her research began approximately 20 years ago when the data, consisting of census records of Germans in Paris, was stored in FileMaker. However, the tools available at that time did not support the visualization of individuals or their movements. Over time, the project partnered with the University of Cologne for digital humanities support, enabling the integration of modern and historical maps. The technological advancement provided new insights into the integration of Germans into Parisian society. Dr. König’s research question is relatively concrete and focused: Did Germans create a “little Germany” or did they integrate into Parisian society? Maps can show Germans’ integration.
Dr. König’s project also highlighted the importance of open science and databases in historical research. She emphasized that open science facilitates collaboration among researchers and that digital methods ensure the long-term accessibility and utility of data.
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Map
of the integration of Germans into Parisian society in the 19th century. |
Political Networks Across the Eastern Mediterranean [Dr. Agustin Cosovschi]
Dr. Agustín Cosovschi presented his research on political networks in the eastern Mediterranean, with a special focus on Yugoslavia and Cyprus. Dr. Cosovschi collected transcripts of meeting minutes that contained detailed information, including dates and attendees of political parties. Using this information, he employed Gephi to conduct a social network analysis (SNA), representing not only connections between people but also connections between events and people. His data model illustrates how, through conference attendance, an individual can act as a connector among multiple political organizations and individuals.
The use of SNA by Dr. Cosovhchi demonstrates the importance of computer science-related techniques in historical research. While his analysis is a first step, everything has been done manually. One way to take this research one step forward could be through the implementation of deep learning techniques. For instance, using named entity recognition (NER) could help Dr. Cosovhchi to extract large volumes of historical information quickly and automatically. Additionally, embedding models that capture semantic context could be implemented, facilitating access to relevant information and enabling analysis through a Q&A approach.
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Network analysis showing connections between individuals and conferences |
Sources for the Study of the Transition in Land Tenure in Greek Macedonia Following the 1923 Population Exchange (Part II) [Dr. Andrea Umberto Gritti]
Dr. Andrea Gritti presented an update on his research, which was initially introduced during the first version of the workshop at UC Berkeley. His progress focused on continuing the work of sourcing and manually extracting historical information, emphasizing the complexity and vastness of data available for cartographic analysis. With the data, Dr. Gritti aims to trace the evolution of trade relations between Thessaloniki and its surrounding regions during the era of the first globalization, referring to the late 19th and early 20th centuries when global economic integration was intensifying. Additionally, he wants to analyze how these changes affected various aspects of public life across the Ottoman Balkans.
An audience member suggested that Dr. Gritti explore the work of Johanna Drucker, specifically on how to visualize historical data, as the next step in his research. Two key resources were mentioned: Johanna Drucker's website and her book “Graphic Design History: A Critical Guide”. Additionally, the Nodegoat platform was recommended. This platform was designed for the management, analysis, and visualization of historical and cultural data.
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Example
of material used by Dr. Gritti for information extraction |
Mapping Mobility through Marriage Records in a Colonial Setting (Rhodes, 1912-1940) [Dr. Andres Guidi]
Dr. Andreas Guidi presented an update on his project analyzing geographic and social mobility through marriage records. The study focuses on the period when Rhodes, Greece transitioned from the Ottoman Empire to Italian rule. Dr. Guidi uses marriage certificates and family records as data sources. These certificates provide valuable information about the spouses’ origins, residences, and other details. The data allows for mapping mobility routes and social connections. Currently, Dr. Guidi has a dataset of 750 entries covering 153 historical records. The information extraction process has been manual due to language and readability challenges.
As Dr. Guidi transitions to the visualization stage, the challenges he has faced so far highlight a crucial need that computer science students and experts could address. It is vital to improve tools, such as optical character recognition (OCR), to handle this type of historical data. Interdisciplinary collaboration could facilitate the automation of information extraction and the analysis of historical records, saving a significant amount of time for the historian community.
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Example
of Wedding Certificate Data |
The “Istanpolis” Project and the Greek/Rum Community of Istanbul Setting [Dr. Christine Philliou, Dr. Firuzan Melike, and Jhon G. Botello]
At the end of the first day, I presented my work at the workshop in support of a group of historians from UC Berkeley. Dr. Christine Philliou and Dr. Firuzan Melike introduced the “Istanpolis Colaborative” Project, which aims to reconstruct and analyze social and demographic trends among Greek Orthodox communities in Istanbul. The project uses a wide range of sources, including Ottoman population records and Greek church records, to visualize the spatial and social dynamics of these communities.
Traditionally, historians relied on qualitative and manual methods, such as analyzing historical place names and mapping with tools like Google Maps. My presentation highlighted how statistical methods and computational approaches can enhance our understanding of historical migration patterns. I provided insights into the geographical dispersion of Greeks during the late Ottoman Empire, detailing the origins, destinations, and profiles of travelers in two historical neighborhoods in Istanbul.
The process included several steps, from data cleaning to visualization. We addressed data gaps through a semi-automated cleaning process. It included removing special characters, standardizing date formats, and verifying data consistency. The migration-related information contained words beyond location names. Given the challenge of language, we used large language models (LLMs) to extract historical location names from Ottoman Turkish data and used a geocoder to get latitudes and longitudes. We then visualized migration movements in relation to other variables like profession and tax status. Findings suggested that many travelers returned to their origins, with Greeks in Tatavla not returning as often as those in Fener, likely due to commitments at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Fener.
Day 2: June 26, 2024
LaCAS [INALCO]
The second and final day of the workshop began with a presentation by Dr. Peter Stockinger and Mr. Bastien Sepulveda from INALCO. They introduced the audience to the LaCAS platform. LaCAS serves as a comprehensive repository for aggregating, structuring, and disseminating data produced by researchers at INALCO and associated institutions. Currently available only in French, this open-access repository supports research in cultural and linguistic area studies by providing access to a diverse range of resources, including textual, visual, and film data.
One particularly interesting aspect of LaCAS is its integrated knowledge graph feature. This feature was implemented through a project called Okapi, which is an initiative focused on the creation and use of knowledge graphs to organize, visualize, and explore data related to cultural and linguistic studies. The project utilizes advanced techniques, such as Natural Language Processing (NLP), to extract entities and relationships from documents, beyond simple metadata. This facilitates the automatic generation of graphs that reflect the connections and links between different concepts, authors, topics, and documents.
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| Knowledge graph feature of LaCAS |
Space, Memory and the Legacy of the 1923 Population Exchange Between Greece and Turkey [Dr. Kalliopi Amygdalou]
Dr. Kalliopi Amygdalou presented her research on the urban and architectural history of Türkiye and Greece, focusing on how population exchanges have shaped city landscapes. She used ArcGIS to map urban transformations, combining settlement data with archival images to visualize “ghost buildings” left by displaced communities. Her work emphasizes understanding the genealogy of cities through an architectural lens, integrating ethnographic insights and statistical techniques. Dr. Amygdalou also addresses the socio-religious implications of these changes, aiming to create an inclusive database that reflects the shared history of displacement in both countries.
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Dr.
Amygdalou’s data visualization |
Greek Historical Archives of the Eastern Mediterranean (ELIAM): A digital repository in search of raison d’être [Dr. Angelos Dalachanis]
Dr. Angelos Dalachanis presented his project called ELIAM. It focuses on documenting and studying the presence and history of Greeks in Egypt, particularly through the collection and preservation of historical archives. The primary goal of the project is to create a detailed and accessible archive that records the lives, activities, and contributions of Greeks in Egypt. This includes gathering documents, letters, photographs, and other historical materials that reflect the daily life, social relationships, cultural practices, and economic contributions of the Greek community in various parts of Egypt, such as Alexandria and Cairo. While the archive is not yet publicly available, Dr. Dalachanis mentioned that he has closely collaborated with computer scientists who are responsible for the design and deployment of the database and platform.
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ELIAM
Project presented by Dr. Angelos Dalachanis |
Conclusion
Attending the Digital Methods for the Study of Mobility workshop was an incredibly enriching experience. Over the two days, I observed a shared enthusiasm for the transformative potential of digital methods in historical research, emphasizing the use of computational tools and collaborative digital platforms. The workshop also provided a valuable opportunity to interact with and expand my network of contacts across various disciplines, further promoting interdisciplinary collaboration.
Lastly, I must mention how much I enjoyed being in Paris, which was already buzzing with preparations for the 2024 Olympic Games!
Written by: Jhon G. Botello