Digital Humanities Working Group: Yu Wang
*Note: The venue for the DH Working Group has changed for Spring 2026. We will now be meeting in the DUC, Room 233, for all sessions until further notice.
The first April session of the Digital Humanities Working Group of Spring 2026 will feature a talk by Prof. Yu Wang, Assistant Professor of Science and Technology Studies at Cornell University.
Title: Doing Sound Studies with AI: A Non-Coder’s Approach to 750 Hours of Radio Tapes in WashU
Abstract: How to study the past through sound? Why does it matter? Can I still do it if I have no programming background? What are the tips? What new possibilities does AI open up for interdisciplinary research projects? During this talk, I will approach these questions by drawing on the materials from the Robert S. Elegant Collection at the East Asian Library of Washington University in St Louis. Donated to Washington University in 1976 by Mr. Elegant, the collection features 677 reels with more than 750 hours of audio tape recordings of radio broadcasts, interviews, and public events from the height of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1971). I will share how I have explored the vast amount of radio tapes on China, through methods such as text mining, visualization, sentiment and geospatial analysis, to better understand the production of data on China during this period, and more broadly, the value of sound data in the age of information today.
The session will take place on Friday April 10th from 11-12.30, in the DUC, Room 233. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A. Lunch will be provided.
If you plan to attend this session, please RSVP and provide your lunch order here.
The Digital Humanities Working Group working is a space for faculty and advanced graduate students to present works-in-progress for feedback before submitting their work to an external conference, journal or grant body. We also aim to create a regular community gathering space for researchers in the digital humanities across disciplines in Arts and Sciences. Scholars interested in any of the subfields of the digital humanities, including but not limited to humanities data analytics, cultural analytics, media studies, critical digital studies, critical data studies, and history of science and technology, are welcome to attend. The group consists of monthly meetings in which one or two faculty or grad students will present a current project. The working group is a cross-disciplinary intitative sponsored by the Transdisciplinary Institute in Applied Data Sciences and the Humanities Digital Workshop, with the support of Olin Library Data Services.
If you wish to be added to the general mailing list for the DH working group, please fill out this form.
If you have any questions, or if you are interested in presenting to the group, please email Claudia Carroll (claudiac@wustl.edu).