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DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION
FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY / SEPTEMBER 8, 2003: VOL. 2 NO. 36
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Special Features:
GRIDS FOR THE HUMANITIES: WHAT'S
ON THE HORIZON?
By Alan Beck, Editor-in-Chief, and John Hurley,
Editor-at-Large
HASTAC (pronounced "haystack"), the Humanities, Arts, Science, and
Technology
Advanced Collaboratory, launched its consortium, a strategic alliance of
scientists, humanists, artists, social theorists, legal specialists and
information technology specialists late last month (see GRIDtoday article
101732, GRID FUTURE - A MULTIDISCIPLINARY MOVEMENT, in the July edition and
ac
cess.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Releases/07.28.03_HASTAC_--_.html).
HASTAC was
founded on the belief that the future of cyberinfrastructure must be driven by
creative discovery across disciplinary divides. Currently, the group is
developing a white paper for the National Science Foundation's
cyberinfrastructure initiative. To learn more, GRIDtoday conducted an
interview with HASTAC charter member Cathy Davidson, vice provost for
interdisciplinary studies, and Ruth F. DeVarney, professor of English at Duke
University.
GRIDtoday: The idea for this consortium appears challenging, particularly
because of the variety of disciplines and experts involved. What sort of
organizational or governing structure is HASTAC implementing to keep things in
order?
DAVIDSON: We don't have a concrete governing structure in place yet. But
because we are working on an NSF grant, we anticipate that we should be coming
up with viable governing structures and specific projects very soon. We
actually won't know if HASTAC II will be funded until Nov. 4. If we do win
this grant, there will be a strategic conference at Duke Nov. 3-4 for all the
players. However, if there is no grant we will meet during the winter to work
out additional details. We are optimistic since the NSF itself has shepherded
our proposal. In addition, Ann Redelfs will be reviewing it closely.
GRIDtoday: What sorts of projects are being considered?
DAVIDSON: There are quite a number, but most are characterized by a close
integration of Duke, UCHRI and other technical resources. There will be a
year-long faculty-student seminar on human nature in the information age. We
are considering investigating biology-based topics such as how information is
taken from cells and utilized. Visualization scientists will be tapped for
interactive videoconferencing among five separate sites. I want to stress that
we will be implementing entirely new technologies here: virtual reality will
be employed in totally novel ways, and there will be a throughgoing evaluation
of its potential in those contexts. Thus, we will have user groups right at
the R&D stage -- something truly groundbreaking.
Perhaps a hint of what may come about can be gleaned from our recent
conference on the relationship between music and information spaces. By the
conclusion of the lab you didn't know who was a musician and who was who was a
computer scientist. The project engendered much exchanging not only of
problems but also of software; not only applications but tools too.
GRIDtoday: Some commentators have opined that U.S. efforts in such
interdisciplinary areas may be lagging behind those of Europe and Asia. Does
this ring true? How do our efforts compare with theirs?
DAVIDSON: Because I have not yet attended HASTAC meetings when
representatives
of other countries were present, it's impossible for me to make a definitive
judgment. I have, however, heard the rumors. And, for example, I know that Roy
Ascott, a UK media artist, has been doing some very challenging work with
architects.
GRIDtoday: What are the broader agendas you intend to pursue?
DAVIDSON: We are focusing upon many critical digital divide issues -- human
and social scientists working productively with computer scientists. Also, at
the Franklin Humanities Institute (www.duke.edu/web/institute/)
, 3rd
world scholars are afforded the opportunity to work with immense digital
resources. This is an area that can be explored more profoundly. In addition,
we want to widen the use of virtual faculties to advance educational
goals.
GRIDtoday: What is the biggest impediment to all of this?
DAVIDSON: Its utter newness. Often, although we are obsessed with
digitizing
archives, access issues have been relegated to secondary status. This is an
imbalance which must be rectified.
The model we inherited from the past was unilateral: it moved one way.
Computer science significantly advanced the archiving process but ignored the
communities that such archives were designed to serve. Ideally, the community
must be kept in mind even as archives are conceptualized, that is, at the
beginning, at the R&D stage. These were serious mis-steps. The result: the
product was beautiful as code but not accessible for people. Here is where
change will have a really powerful impact.
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