Digital Humanities - Research, Teaching, and Learning: DH CENTERS AT USC

Archaeological survey and excavation provide critical information to fields as diverse as Classics, Art History and Biblical Studies allowing for a broad interdisciplinary approach to understanding the world and its material history using a range of tools and approaches whether the discovery occurs with trowel in hand, or through laboratory analysis, artifact study, remote sensing or by documenting heritage.

USC Dornsife’s Archaeology Research Center (ARC) Lab is home to a collection of almost 5,000 antiquities from the ancient Near East and Mediterranean. In addition to sponsoring fieldwork in areas like the Yucatán and Rome, the ARC Lab uses advanced techniques such as geospatial mapping, non-invasive excavation and panoramic image capture to help the public experience history’s artifacts and the cultures that made them.

Examples of Projects:

• Exploring Catalina Old Style This is a stereo 3D, 360 video experience that takes you across Catalina Island, including a winding ride in the Wrigley family's stagecoach (4 minutes). The file can also be viewed in a headset or on a phone-base VR viewer.
• Cyprus Troodos Mountains - Image Documentation Project  -  Mount Olympus (also called Mount Troodos), has an elevation of 6,401 feet and is the highest point on Cyprus island, the third-largest island in the Mediterranean.,” The Troodos mountains are the country’s largest mountain range. It covers most of the southern and western portions of the island and accounts for roughly half of its area. The region is home to one of the largest groups of churches and monasteries of the former Byzantine Empire. Because of their significant historical and artistic values, ten of the Byzantine structures were placed on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites including nine churches and a monastery These historic buildings, some dating back to 11th century, contain some of the most important preserved monuments of the history of Byzantine painting.

A comprehensive set of spherical panoramic images was made of the interiors of eight of the ten churches and monasteries that are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Selected images were also made of important, specific areas of the paintings by employing Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) technology in order to analyze the brushwork of the artisans and to document overall conditions for purposes of conservation monitoring.

The other technique employed in the churches is Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), an imaging technique that the WSRP team was the first to apply to cultural heritage targets. In the Troodos churches, the RTIs had the remarkable ability of illuminating the individual brush strokes of the original artisans, as well as even the slightest defect on the painted surfaces, an invaluable record for conservation monitoring.

• West Semitic  Research Project .  The West Semitic Research Project is an academic project affiliated with the University of Southern California School of Religion and directed by Professor Emeritus Bruce Zuckerman. For the past 40 years WSRP has used advanced photographic and computer imaging techniques to document artifacts and texts from the ancient Near East and Mediterranean worlds. See:  InscriptiFact: An Image database of Inscriptions and Artifacts.  A vast collection of images are available to scholars, students, educators and the general public through the USC Digital Library.

As a part of an effort to understand the relationship between religion and place,  the Center for Religion and Civic Culture (CRCC) has created maps of congregations in California. Some of these maps show one type of congregation, including storefront churches, megachurches and mosques, with data compiled from outside sources. CRCC also created neighborhood [interactive] maps based on data collected on more 500 congregations across six different areas in Southern California. These maps show the concentration of religious groups and their diversity, both in terms of religious tradition (Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and the like) and in the different people they serve. Los Angeles is an area of rich religious vitality and diversity that can be observed in these maps.

Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts  This Center is a 35,000 square foot facility and is the country's first and only fully digital training center, which includes The Michelle and Kevin Douglas Imax Theatre and Immersive Media Lab.

In addition, the Zemeckis Center is home to Trojan Vision, the university's student-run television station, which offers courses for credit to undergraduate and graduate students from all schools and programs at USC. Trojan Vision programming and production offices include a sound stage, a broadcast-quality control booth and suites for digital sound and picture editing. Trojan Vision brings together students from several academic units to produce four original strip-series and 17 weekly half-hour series.