The USC Mellon Humanities in a Digital World Program and the Ahmanson Lab of the Sidney Harman Academy for Polymathic Study in the USC Libraries invite applications for the second annual Immersive Technologies and Cultural Heritage (ITCH) Symposium. The symposium will take place on Friday, September 20, and Saturday, September 21, at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

We seek innovative projects rooted in the humanities or humanistic social sciences that rely on immersive technologies (including but not limited to augmented reality, mixed reality, virtual reality, photogrammetry or 3D modeling) to enable close engagement with cultural heritage materials, or open new possibilities for research, teaching, and learning. We particularly seek projects that realize the benefits of working at the intersection of digital technologies and the liberal arts.

Participants will:

Pre-circulate materials related to their current project (such as a draft article, website, VR/AR experience, 3D model, or other format) two weeks prior to the symposium.
Give a 10-15-minute presentation summarizing their project’s context, goals, and implications for humanities scholarship at the symposium.
Lead a hands-on project demonstration and engage in conversation with users.
Offer comments on another participant’s pre-circulated project.
Participate in a concluding roundtable discussion of the promise and perils of immersive technologies for humanities research, teaching, and learning.

Workshop discussions will foreground interdisciplinary elements and user experience in project development.

The Humanities in a Digital World Program at USC will provide round-trip domestic economy airfare, 3 nights lodging at a hotel near USC in downtown Los Angeles, and up to $200 in reimbursement for ground travel to and from the airport.

To apply, send a single PDF document containing your name, title, affiliation; project or presentation title; 300-word abstract; and any relevant URLs to [log in to unmask] by July 1, 2024.