Digital Humanities Center

The CNR DSU centre that brings together Digital Humanities research: methods, tools and infrastructures for the social sciences and humanities.

Published on: 5 March 2026
Last updated: 20 September 2026

The Digital Humanities Center of the Department of Human and Social Sciences, Cultural Heritage (DSU) aims to reflect the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research activities carried out in the field of Digital Humanities (DH) at the CNR, to aggregate, promote, and enhance them, and to create a visible and dynamic network among DSU researchers and expertise engaged in this research area.

Humanities and computer science transform one another, positioning themselves within research activities that, by definition, foster cross-sector fertilization processes between SSH and STEM. DH is identified as a specific methodology that is characteristic of research in the context of the immaterial digital, while also encompassing textuality and artifacts in their material form.

Digital Humanities at the CNR have progressively consolidated since the late 1960s, developing expertise and skills and giving rise to a lively and transversal community (read more about the history of digital humanities at the CNR).

Methodologies, tools, models, and computational applications are developed, tested, and refined; protocols, languages, and formats are defined both to produce content and to activate processes of sharing and collaboration, and to support policies aimed at ensuring the accessibility and transparency of research data and products. In this sense, digital is no longer conceived in opposition to analogue, but rather as a fundamental aspect of research in the humanities.

CNR research in the field of DH exerts a profound and structural impact both on scientific research methodologies and on teaching practices, while also influencing social, legal, and economic transformations in an integrated manner.

Updates

Expression of Interest – Digital Humanities Center Policy Brief No. 2

Expressions of interest are now open for the second issue of the Digital Humanities Center Policy Brief, dedicated to disseminating best practices and promoting multi- and interdisciplinary research in the field of Digital Humanities at the CNR.

The theme of this issue is “Digital Humanities between Law, Ethics, and Governance.”

The deadline for proposals is October 30, 2026.

Learn more and submit your proposal.

Objectives of the Centre

to promote innovative and cutting-edge research at the CNR in the multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary field of DH;
to increase the visibility of CNR DH activities and strengthen relations with other national and international scientific centres and associations in the sector;
to stimulate DH research within the framework of Open Science;
to monitor the interconnections between DH and AI in DSU research activities;
to encourage technology transfer;
to promote activities in collaboration with AIUCD (Association for Digital Humanities and Digital Culture);
to strengthen the interconnections between interdisciplinary DH research and the business sector.
explore the social and economic impact of digital technologies;
collaboratively define models for good research practices, formulate guidelines and policy addresses in DH.