The Spatial Poetics of Objects: A digital enquiry into domestic objects in museum collections

This project will research items held within museum collections, and identified as being made by or belonging to women, and explore ways digital tools - such as digital replication, immersive experience, linked open data, multisensory engagement, AI assisted metadata enhancement, folksonomies - can be used to reinscribe original authorship or ownership. The project explores what objects mean as representations of human experience, how we can accurately represent their lived experience and their weight as political and social signifiers in the contemporary world. The project will build on recent academic and sector work which looks to more fully and accurately represent the biographies of objects held within museum collections and ask how such owners, wearers, creators and makers can be evidenced internally in museum catalogue metadata and externally in how they are displayed both physically and digitally. 

The successful candidate will have academic experience in digital humanities, museum studies, cultural heritage, history, digital visual studies, or will be able to show how their expertise fits with the project. The candidate will be expected to identify a specific museum or collection to work with and it will be anticipated that they will engage object stakeholders in their research, adhering to the practice of “nothing about us without us”.

About the supervisor

Kate is a Lecturer in Digital Humanities in the Digital Humanities Institute (DHI), with a particular research focus on critical digital cultural heritage. To find out more about Kate’s research interests and publications, please visit her University staff profile. 

We would advise that you get in touch with Kate directly (via kathryn.simpson@sheffield.ac.uk) to outline your proposed research proposal. This will allow us to ensure that your application is relevant to the DHI, and also that we have suitable expertise to supervise your project. This is the first step in the application process. 

About the Digital Humanities Institute (DHI)

Established in 1994, the DHI’s mission is to support the innovative use of technology and computation within arts, humanities and heritage research as both a method of inquiry and a means of dissemination. Digital culture is everywhere, and it is driven by cultural data.

We collaborate with a wide range of academic and research colleagues, as well as professionals in the heritage, culture and information industries, across the UK and internationally on funded projects with a computational component or digital output. Since the DHI was established, we have delivered over 120 externally funded research projects, collaborated with more than 125 external partners, and received grants from 39 funders.

Our expertise include database development, computational ontologies, natural language processing, computational linguistics, data visualisation and 3D, user-centred design and mobile apps.

In addition to the digital expertise within our institute, you will have access to our diverse range of research expertise across the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, allowing you to explore your research interests in depth, collaborate with a wide range of researchers and gain insight from different perspectives. 

To find out more about the DHI’s research, please visit our DHI research website. 

As a student you will also be part of our supportive research community in the School of History, Philosophy and Digital Humanities. You can find out more about our School and research culture on our School website.