Named after the small red sticker that once guided scholars through legacy 35mm slides, The Red Dot is here to help you navigate the ever-evolving landscape of visual and material research. While rooted in the University of California, Santa Barbara community, our posts are open to all.
At MIRL, we engage with art history, digital humanities, and material culture through hands-on research and archival projects. Guided by our core principles—critical engagement with visual and material culture, ethical stewardship of images and data, and innovative approaches to research and pedagogy—we work at the intersection of technology and the humanities. We are especially interested in how digital tools can expand the study of images, objects, and spaces.
Here, we’ll share insights on Digital Art History and Architectural History, highlight new image and data resources, discuss copyright and ethical considerations, and spotlight events that shape our field.
The Red Dot © 2025 is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0
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New Digital Resource: Project Himalayan Art
The Rubin Museum of Art, in collaboration with a faculty Humanities Advisory Group, have recently launched Project Himalayan Art: a three-part initiative that offers comprehensive resources for teaching about Tibetan, Himalayan, and Inner Asian art and cultures, with a focus on cross-cultural exchange. This dynamic project serves as a content hub for teaching about Asia… Read more
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DH Monday: “Artists’ depictions of climate data can cut through politicisation of science, study finds”
A study conducted recently in the US suggests artistic depictions of environmental data can help counter climate scepticism. Art may be one tool to help bridge ideological splits over climate change in the United States, a new study in the 31 May issue of the journal Nature finds. Its five authors say that art offers… Read more
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DH Monday: CFP – International Journal of Islamic Architecture Special Issue: The Urgency of the Digital
International Journal of Islamic Architecture (IJIA) Special Issue: The Urgency of the Digital Thematic volume planned for July 1, 2025 Proposal Submission Deadline: June 15, 2023 This special issue focuses on the critical and urgent use of digital tools, interfaces, media, and methods for the study and design of Islamic architecture, cities, and the built environment. Over recent decades,… Read more
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DH Monday: CFP – Society of Architectural Historians 2024 Annual International Conference (April 17–21/Albuquerque, NM)
Society of Architectural Historians 2024 Annual International Conference April 17–21 in Albuquerque, New Mexico Abstracts Submission Deadline: June 6, 2023, 11:59 p.m. CDT Session: Mapping Late Ottoman Architecture, Ideas, Objects, and People in Flux Ottoman architectural and urban culture was transformed by momentous changes in the 19th century. Advances in transportation and communication technologies resulted… Read more
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DH Monday: CFP – CUDAN 2023 (Tallinn/13-16 Dec 23)
Cultural Data Analytics Conference 2023 / CUDAN 2023 Abstract Submission Deadline: July 24, 2023 (23:59 CET) CUDAN 2023 is organized by the ERA Chair project for Cultural Data Analytics at Tallinn University, generously funded by the European Commission. Inspired by initial large gatherings of the cultural analytics community, including UCLA/IPAM 2016, and multidisciplinary conferences such… Read more
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DH Monday: CFP – Digitally Mapping the Middle Ages (South Bend, IN; March 14-16, 2024)
Medieval Academy of America 2024 University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN, Mar 14–16, 2024 Abstract Submission Deadline: May 30, 2023 Since the Spatial turn in the late 1980s, theorists and historians alike have championed the insights geospatial analysis can lend to historical research. The digital age produced a robust array of digital Geographical Information… Read more