New Grant for Digital Humanities Project on European Intellectual History

The project explores how the concept of “method” — central to European education and intellectual life — was shaped not only by Western Renaissance thinkers, but also by earlier traditions from the Greek-speaking Byzantine world. It will be led by PI Aglae Pizzone and co-PI Reka Forrai, both from the Department of Culture and Language.

- This award makes me particularly happy as it results from a long-term effort. After studying for several years Byzantine rhetorical theory, I became convinced that when Greek intellectuals started traveling to the West before and after the Ottoman conquest, they brought with them not only Greek language and forgotten ancient texts but also distinctive conceptual worlds, contributing to Europe's intellectual history in ways that have been hitherto underexplored. I am grateful to have the opportunity to undertake this exploration with my colleague Reka Forrai for the next five years, Aglae Pizzone says.

Humanities Meets Computer Science

METHOD combines historical research and digital innovation in collaboration with the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at SDU. The project will analyze large corpora of Greek and Latin texts, develop new natural language processing tools, and trace the movement of ideas, manuscripts, and people across cultures and religious boundaries — and how these exchanges influenced educational practices and civil discourse in early modern Europe.

International Collaboration and Public Engagement

The project will produce new insights into Europe’s intellectual heritage and highlight the role of cultural mediation — including the contributions of female patronage — in shaping foundational concepts that continue to influence how we teach and learn today. Researchers from SDU will collaborate with colleagues from Universities of Aarhus and Copenhagen as well as the Catholic University of America, and the University of Illinois. Three postdocs will be employed, and the project will engage the public through workshops, publications, and digital platforms.

METHOD is supported by the VELUX FOUNDATION through a grant under the Core Group Programme. Read more at the VELUX FOUNDATION website.