Scholars Program Workshop on Digital Humanities as Method and Critique
On November 11, 2025, the Department of English and Humanities at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh organized a workshop titled "Digital Humanities as Method and Critique" for students of the Scholars Program. The session was facilitated by Mr. Oliur Rahman Sun, Lecturer, DEH.
The workshop began with an interesting discussion about the meaning of the Humanities. The students answered one by one, speaking about their own understanding of the term. The discussion then moved on to the presence and use of AI in the discipline of Humanities. Mr. Sun posed an interesting question: What is the difference between a human and a machine? After another insightful discussion, the difference boiled down to the unpredictability of humans.
Mr. Sun used Spivak’s idea of “imagining the impossible” to clarify the concept for the students. With this idea in mind, the discussion moved forward, where he showed the students the multitude of ways in which the discipline of Humanities can be explored anew through digital technologies.
The workshop showcased the vast, uncharted territory of the application of digital media in English and the humanities. Instead of being intimidated by or afraid of technology and digital media, Mr. Sun encouraged the students to think more creatively and to embark on projects that combine both the digital and the humanities.
Lastly, Mr. Sun showed the students various tools and projects as sources of inspiration and research. For example, he presented different archives of writing, emphasizing the importance of creating archives, especially for South Asian communities, to preserve authentic narratives and prevent the distortion of history. He also showed an article from Reuters that presented the news in a very creative and dynamic way, using drawings and short chunks of text rather than a typical, one-dimensional news report.
The Head of the Department and Associate Professor, Ms. Arifa Ghani Rahman; Scholars Program Committee Members, Dr. Md. Mahadhi Hasan, Assistant Professor; Dr. Mushira Habib, Assistant Professor; and Mr. Al Mahmud Rumman, Senior Lecturer, DEH, were present at the workshop.
Report by Raisa Anan (232013009)
