NEH Project: Computer Simulations in the Humanities

Simulation techniques have long sustained research in various domains of physical, biological, and social sciences. Currently, humanists are exploring the usefulness of simulations for addressing various research questions. The nature and challenges of this enterprise are presented here in respect to collaborative work, the relation of humanities to the sciences, the transformative nature of digital methods of research within the humanities. This article describes a coordinated attempt to pursue these issues via a Summer Institute funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and briefly notes the projects of three of the Institute’s participants. Their work is described in detail elsewhere within this volume.