Year: 2026

Aya Yasumoto – DHA Introduction

Aya Yasumoto on

Hello, Digital Humanities at Carleton!

Who am I?

My name is Aya Yasumoto, and I am a freshman at Carleton College planning to major in Political Science.

Growing up, I never viewed myself as a “techy” person, and to be completely honest, I’m still not! Because I was always drawn to humanistic inquiry, younger me frankly never expected digital tools to play a major role in my studies. However, as technology becomes central to every field, I have realized how powerful it can be when intersected with the humanities and social sciences.

This past summer, I interned at a company where I used HyperAgent to build databases of government contract sites, design content qualification workflows, and generate social media content. I also used tools like Descript for video editing and Hubspot for email marketing. That experience opened my eyes to how much efficiency and insight digital tools can unlock, even for someone coming from a traditional humanities background.

I find the process of discovering insights through research tools deeply engaging and am eager to continue building my technical confidence. As a new Digital Humanities Associate, I want to master specialized methods for organizing and visualizing data, learn to select the right digital methodology for different research questions, and build the problem-solving skills needed to support others in navigating digital tools.

I also find Miriam Posner’s approach to digital humanities inspiring, especially her focus on tracing how raw sources are processed and turned into final presentations. Coming from someone wanting to work in political science, what excites me most is looking beneath the hood of digital tools to examine how data gets categorized and structured, and whose power or bias shapes those choices. Unpacking the actual technical process behind data systems reveals how much political influence is embedded in everyday tech, which makes me even more eager to build my technical skills as a DHA this year!

I’m excited to grow as a researcher this year and look forward to collaborating with everyone!

Martin Barroso – DHA Introduction

Martin Barroso on

Who am I?

A picture of Martin Barroso from a top down perspective overlooking Florence Italy

My name is Martin Barroso (he/him) and I am a sophomore prospective Computer Science major at Carleton. I am very interested in archaeology and spent last summer teaching myself Ancient Greek while working by the shores of Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin, my hometown.

Digital humanities is especially exciting to me as someone interested in both archaeology and computer science. The idea that I can combine these two interests in a field that actually exists is incredibly cool. This is my first term working as a DHA so I don’t really know what to expect but I’m excited to see what happens! I hope to focus on the CARCAS lab as I got involved with the physical side of the lab last term and would love to help bridge the gap between the physical and digital sides of the work.

A picture of Martin Barroso and Elinor Fischer standing over a pit filled with charred bones

Digital humanities is especially exciting to me as someone interested in both archaeology and computer science. The idea that I can combine these two interests in a field that actually exists is incredibly cool. This is my first term working as a DHA so I don’t really know what to expect but I’m excited to see what happens! I hope to focus on the CARCAS (Carleton Archaeological Research Collection of Animal Specimens) lab as I got involved with the physical side of the lab last term and would love to help bridge the gap between the physical and digital sides of the work.

Elinor Fischer and I doing CARCAS tasks

A wire frame and texture split view in bender of a angora goats rear.
Early work on full model reconstruction based on CARCAS scans

This term is going to be amazing and I can’t wait to start working!

Aiden Johnson – DHA Introduction

Aiden Johnson on
Photo of Aiden Johnson in a blue and white shirt with a smiling expression at a restaurant. There are windows sprawling on the walls with sunny weather outside. On the table is an ice cream treat, and a lit candle.

As a Senior Digital Humanities Associate, I can utilize the tools that I learned last year but to a much greater extent. While last year I was simply learning the ropes, now I can confidently create. My experience at ILiADS (Institute of Liberal Arts and Digital Scholarship) this past summer has given me an idea of Digital Humanities not just at Carleton, but on a national level. I am excited to take what I learned at Vassar back to Carleton for my Senior year. Last year was about exploring Digital Humanities while this year is my chance to delve into the specific work I am interested in. I want to work on museum curation, user experience, and technical challenges Carleton faces in digital scholarship. In my past Digital Humanities class, we worked on the conversion of traditional humanities into engaging and accessible digital works. I think this stands as Digital Humanities’ most powerful capability, and this is what draws me most to it. In the past I have worked with ArcGIS, Omeka, WordPress. One obscure Digital Humanities tool that I stumbled upon in my research was Google Books Ngram Viewer, which identifies the trends in language from the vast data supply at Google Books – this was interesting to me and I wonder how to incorporate a similar framework using written work from the Carleton archives! For more look at my projects, head to theaidenjohnson.com

Digital Humanities Associate End of Year Reflection – Aiden Johnson

Aiden Johnson on

My time this year as a DHA has truly opened my eyes to the world of Digital Humanities. Before becoming a DHA, I had only a blurry understanding of what Digital Humanities was as a field of study and practice. Through this experience, however, I have gained a much deeper recognition towards the ways technology, data, and communication interplay to create engaging works that integrate new styles from traditional humanities. Working and collaborating with such an amazing group of staff has transformed my perspective of digital humanities and digital scholarship – and has strengthened my understanding

Throughout the year, I had the opportunity to work on a wide range of projects that helped me develop both technical and collaborative skills. I contributed to Omeka metadata work, and I spent a significant amount of time creating and editing WordPress websites – such as some of Carleton’s official blogs as well as blogs for different history classes. This has given me a greater understanding of web design, user experience, and how digital platforms shape the way information is presented and understood.

In addition, I was able to continue fine-tuning my skills in ArcGIS and digital mapping – such as the Migration and Mobility mapping project. I have become more confident in using spatial data and visualization tools to communicate information in engaging ways.

One of the most exciting outcomes of my time as a DHA is that I was selected to develop my own Digital Humanities project this summer at Vassar College’s Ctrl-Alt-Delete Retreat. This opportunity would not have been possible without the mentorship and encouragement, I gained throughout this year. Being a DHA has given me the confidence to pursue larger independent projects and has shown me how Digital Humanities can be used as a powerful tool for research, communication, and creativity.

Overall, this year has been incredibly rewarding both academically and personally. I am grateful for everything I have learned, the people I have worked with, and the opportunities this position has opened for me. My experience as a DHA has not only introduced me to new technical skills, but has also fundamentally changed the way I think about scholarship, collaboration, and the role of digital communication in the humanities.

I would like to express my gratitude for all of my Digital Humanities staff including Austin Mason, Sarah Calhoun, Em Palencia, Wiebke Kuhn, and Ariel Kay. As well as my awesome DHA coworkers Nina and Zhoukai.

I am excited for what the future has in place for me this next coming year!

Digital Humanities Associate End of Year Reflection

Nina Wakabayashi on

Working as a Digital Humanities Associate — collaborating with the DH team, faculty, and students — was a genuinely enlightening experience that deepened my understanding of how digital tools can transform humanistic inquiry. My introduction to the field came through “Hacking the Humanities,” taught by Professor Austin Mason during my freshman winter, which grounded me in both theoretical frameworks and interdisciplinary practice. The DHA role extended that foundation, connecting me to meaningful projects across campus and sharpening my interest in academic civic engagement.

Mapping Japan Project

The highlight of this academic year was my continued work on the Mapping Japan Project. Since my freshman year, I have served as a Research Assistant for Professor Asuka Sango, analyzing and indexing Japanese military maps from World War II held at the Gould Library. The index draws primarily from Tohoku University’s cataloging system, with an emphasis on accessibility and utility for Japanese researchers. As a DHA, I was able to approach the same project from a new angle — researching metadata frameworks used by institutions in both Japan and the United States, and evaluating how they might be integrated or prioritized. I applied these insights to Carleton’s Digital Collections platform, working closely with Katie Lewis, Hsianghui Liu-Spencer, and Wei-Hsin Fu. A particular highlight was implementing IIIF annotation functionality within the Omeka S site, a feature directly inspired by my final project in “Hacking the Humanities.”

Indigenous History Initiatives

I also contributed to digital projects supporting Professor Meredith McCoy’s work on Indigenous history, which incorporates StoryMaps and interactive timelines as part of the Indigenous Engagement in Place initiative. This work resonated with me deeply, as it centers underrepresented histories and demonstrates how digital tools can serve as a vehicle for recovery and visibility, making marginalized narratives more accessible and compelling to broader audiences.

Undergraduate Journal of Humanistic Studies

Additionally, I supported the Undergraduate Journal of Humanistic Studies by working on LaTeX formatting, contributing to conversations around publication design and the presentation of scholarly work.

　Across all three projects, a common thread emerged: my commitment to academic civic engagement and the democratization of humanistic knowledge. Scholarly research in the humanities has long been confined to traditional academic formats, but I am genuinely interested in how digital tools can make that research more intuitive, interactive, and accessible to general audiences. As I move forward with my Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship and my senior comprehensive project in Political Science and Anthropology, I hope to draw what I have learned as a DHA, using digital tools not just as a means of presentation, but as a mode of thinking and communicating ideas more fully and effectively!

Acknowledgments

I am deeply grateful to everyone who made this experience so meaningful. Special thanks to Sarah Calhoun, Wiebke Kuhn, Austin Mason, and Em Palencia for their mentorship, guidance, and unwavering support throughout the year. Special thanks to Aiden Johnson and Zhuokai Yuan for their collaboration, creativity, and camaraderie as fellow DHAs.