OVERVIEW

The use of new technologies is transversal to many disciplines including the humanities. Literary and artistic works need to be safeguarded and also enhanced with new digital tools. The course thus aims to give students ICT competencies that apply to this aim. No particular previous ICT knowledge is necessary. 

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course offers a panorama of the main ICT languages and tools at the disposal of humanities in the context of management and enhancement of knowledge aimed at conservation, production and use in the literary and artistic field. The course aims to cover basic concepts of systems and technologies for digital representation of contents, the main instruments of productivity, evolutionary scenarios and relevant case-studies from real applications in artistic contexts and for cultural assets. 

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims at providing the fundamentals of computer science, with particular reference to their field of application in human sciences. At the end of the course, the student will have acquired theoretical knowledge on the architecture and functioning of the computer, the representation of data, computer networks, computational linguistics, the use of digital for cultural heritage and cataloging. 

Attendance and active participation in the proposed educational activities (lectures and practical exercises) and individual study will allow the student to:

- know the fundamentals of computer science
- express themselves with terms appropriate to the IT field
- understand the relationships between algorithms, programs and computers
- know the principles and technologies underlying operating systems
- know and apply the concepts underlying the binary representation of information (numbers, characters, images, videos and sounds)
- know the operating principles of computer networks, and their application to the World Wide Web
- know and be able to describe the concept of participatory museum
- provide examples of integration between computer science and cultural heritage
- know the principles of library cataloging and the semantic web
- know the principles of computational linguistics
- use word processing applications, managing styles, images and indexes
- use spreadsheets to develop standard formulas and functions and creating and formatting charts or tables
- use LaTeX for creating simple documents.

PREREQUISITES

No prerequisites.

TEACHING METHODS

Lessons will be held in person.

The course consists of lectures, for a total of 28 hours (38 for the 9-credit course), and a theoretical-practical part of 12 hours (22 hours for the 9-credit course). In the practical part, the students, possibly divided into small groups, and with the support of the teacher, will have to carry out some exercises related to the software covered by the course (Microsoft Word, Excel, LaTeX, Python).

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Programme for students taking the course for 6 cfu:

- Fundamentals of Computer Science and Computer Architecture
- Software and Operating System
- Data representation
- Computer networks
- World Wide Web
- Digital arts and cultural heritage
- Basics of computational linguistics
- Development of text documents with Microsoft Word
- Spreadsheet development with Microsoft Excel
- Development of text documents with LaTeX

Programme for students taking the course for 9 cfu:

Additionally to the previous points,:

- IT, music and entertainment
- Computer science and teaching
- Bases of Artificial Intelligence
- Library science and information research
- IT and tourism
- Development of simple applications in python

All teaching materials will be available on the Aulaweb platform.

For any doubt, please refer to: carmine.recchiuto@dibris.unige.it

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

All the slides used during the lessons and other teaching material will be available on Aul@web / Teams. In general, the notes taken during the lessons and the material on Aul@web / Teams are sufficient for the preparation of the exam.

The book: "Informatica umanistica - terza edizione, Marco Lazzari, McGraw-Hill, 2021, pp. 310+XVIII, ISBN: 9788838697135" is suggested as a support text, but students can also use other similar books.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

CARMINE RECCHIUTO (President)

DANIELE D'AGOSTINO

ANTONIO SGORBISSA (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Lessons will start on Feb 20th.

Class schedule

IT FOR THE HUMANITIES

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam consists of two tests: a written test, in the form of a questionnaire, on the theoretical topics of the course, and a practical test.

The written test is aimed at assessing the degree of knowledge of the theoretical aspects analyzed during the lectures of the course. The test is divided into a series of questions (4 open-ended and 2 multiple-choice) and is considered passed if the student has obtained a grade greater than or equal to 14/27.

The practical test consists of a short exercise carried out on the computer (using Word, Excel, or LaTeX applications), and increases the grade of the written test up to a maximum of 4 points.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Details on how to prepare for the exam and the degree of depth of each topic will be given during the lessons.

With the written test, questions of general theoretical nature are proposed, both in the form of open answers and multiple choice questions. With the practical test, the student must demonstrate that they have acquired operational skills by carrying out an exercise. Through both tests, it will be verified whether the educational objectives have been correctly achieved by the students.

Exam schedule