Luis García-Vela was awarded a bursary to attend the Introduction to Digital Humanities strand of the Digital Humanities Oxford Summer School in 2025. To join the mailing list and learn about the next summer school sign up here. Read about Luis's experience at the summer school here:
Before anything else, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Oxford University for awarding me a scholarship to participate in the Digital Humanities course at the Oxford Summer School (DHOxSS), held from August 4 to 8.
I attended the strand “An introduction to Digital Humanities”, an intensive program that offered a comprehensive overview of the field through a blend of theory-based and hands-on sessions. Over the course of five days, we explored a wide range of topics, including the history and key debates of Digital Humanities, digital editions, Large Language Models (LLM), archive coding, Linked Open Data, knowledge graphs, the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI), and Relational Databases. It was an incredibly enriching experience. Not only did I strengthen my knowledge in areas I was familiar with –such as Relational Databases– but I also discovered a whole new universe of possibilities such as unexpected applications of LLMs, the passionate world of digital editions, or the challenging yet fascinating field of linked data.
As a literature researcher and student, I must admit that three sessions, in particular, left a lasting impact on me: “Digital editions”, “Large Language Models” and “Introduction to linked open data and knowledge graphs for cultural heritage research”.
The session on digital editions, taught by Jack Orchard, was eye-opening. It made me realize that we are witnessing a revolution comparable to the invention of the printing press. Learning about the monumental Electronic Enlightenment project —a digital archive containing more than 80,000 letters of the greatest thinkers of the Enlightenment— was inspiring. Exploring examples of Scalar-based digital books encouraged me to reconsider my current research projects, which include two critical editions and a monograph. Digital editions stand out for their metadata, searchability, hypertextuality, fluidity, integration of linked data, and their potential for collaborative authorship. They are not just tools; they represent a paradigm shift in how we create, share, and interact with the History of Literature.
Secondly, the session on Large Language Models (LLM) and the Humanities, led by Dominik Lukeš, helped demystify many of the uncertainties surrounding this rapidly evolving technology. Through practical demonstrations, we examined how AI-driven tools have fundamentally expanded the boundaries of what is possible. While earlier approaches focused on the semantic web, by 2025, LLMs are enabling us to interact with language, style, imagery, code, and data structures in radically new ways. The boundaries of possibility have shifted incredibly. Learning how to design effective prompts and strategically use tokens revealed the extraordinary potential of these tools for the humanities.
Finally, the session on Linked Open Data (LOD) and knowledge graphs, taught by Eric Canning, introduced me to an entirely new dimension of digital scholarship. At first, the concepts felt overwhelming, but the session made them both accessible and intellectually stimulating. I gained a solid understanding of the graph-based representation of information and key concepts such as “ontology”, “class”, “property” or “domain range”. I left with a deeper appreciation for how these technologies can interconnect cultural and literary data.
In conclusion, attending Digital Humanities at Oxford Summer School (DHOxSS) was an unforgettable experience that exceeded all my expectations. The generosity of the instructors, and the abundance of practical examples made even the most complex topics approachable, even for participants who had never worked with these tools before. The knowledge and skills I have gained will have a direct impact on my research: I will not only enhance my relational database, CoPoHiM (Corpus de Poesía Hispanomagrebí / Corpus of Hispanophone-Maghrebi Poetry), but I will also begin creating digital editions to make literary knowledge more accessible and collaborative. So, once again, thank you! I feel incredibly fortunate to have had this opportunity, and I am deeply thankful to Oxford for making it possible.
