Computational Literacy for the Humanities

“Through its stunning clarity and intellectual richness, this book makes a major contribution to digital humanities. The author combines historical and practical material to introduce the principles of computational thinking. Vivid examples and step-by-step instruction provide excellent demonstrations of these principles. The discussion of mathematics, logic, and statistics is succinct and informative and the demonstration of applications is easy to follow. The organization and language of the book support independent learning for those interested in acquiring the fundamentals of computational literacy for humanities research. But even for those who may not pursue future applications of its principles, this book should be read for the insights it provides into the computational functions that underpin many aspects of contemporary life. I wish I had had this book while I was still teaching, but I would recommend it without reservation to anyone interested in or involved with computation in the humanities.”

Johanna Drucker, Distinguished Professor and Breslauer Professor Emerita, Department of Information Studies, University of California, Los Angeles, USA

Zef M. Segal is senior lecturer at the School of Media Studies at the College of Management Academic Studies. His research centers on 19th-century mobility, space, and communication, with a particular focus on the historical analysis of journals and maps. A strong advocate for the digital humanities and social sciences in Israel, he spearheaded the development of the Digital Humanities track at the Open University and was among the founding faculty members of the first Israeli bachelor’s degree in Digital Humanities at the University of Haifa. His most recent publications include Motion in Maps, Maps in Motion (2020), and The Political Fragmentation of Germany (2019). His forthcoming book, Culture in the Age of the Enlightenment: Reshaping the Private Sphere, will be published in Hebrew by the Open University of Israel.

Nurit Melnik is a senior lecturer in linguistics at the Open University of Israel. Her studies focus on diverse topics: constructions and the relationship between form and meaning, agreement variations in Modern Hebrew, lexical and syntactic flexibility and “frozen” expressions, grammar engineering and the cognitive aspects behind language change. Her work is situated at the intersection of theoretical linguistics, computational linguistics and corpus linguistics.