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Digital Methods for Architecture History
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 15:42:24
Abstract
This course is an introduction to the use of computational methods in the Humanities, and more specifically to its applications to Architecture History. Using a corpus from the ETH library, its purpose is to expose students to a range of approaches and methods which could appear in a digital project.
Objective
The objectives are for students to learn: - How to frame a question in a "Digital way" (Data, Operationalization, ...) - To understand when/how computational methods can be useful. - To be aware of the current possibilities of algorithms in terms of document, text and/or image analysis. - To be able to use and apply elementary programs and analyses from pre-formatted data.
Content
Course time will be a balanced mix of lectures and hands-on sessions. Concepts and techniques will be introduced and explained in lectures and put in practice with exercises. These exercises will often leverage relevant digitized documents from the holdings of the ETH library, such as historcial treatises on architecture. This course is an introcduction to a range of different topics and techniques that someone might encounter or need in a digital project. The goal is not to delve into specific areas but give the necessary information for students to understand and interact with digital humanities projects, allowing them to know where to start if they want to apply these techniques to their own research. W1: Introduction, examples of digital humanities projects, course overview. W2: Collections as data I W3: Collections as data II W4: Introduction to data analysis W5: Collections as data, standards and lined-open-data W6-7: Textual analysis: Topic modeling, textual search, Word2Vec, ... W8-9: Image analysis: Photogrammetry, CNN, image similarity, Document processing, ...
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- BSC
Examination
- Type
- ungraded semester performance
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture with exercise |
Digital Methods for Architecture History
No course on 16.3. (seminar week), during the Easter holidays and on public holidays as well as in the two last weeks of the semester.
|
|
4 h weekly |