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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DH Monday: “How Florence Nightingale Changed Data Visualization Forever”
The celebrated nurse improved public health through her groundbreaking use of graphic storytelling. By RJ Andrews Excerpt: Nightingale’s key persuasion tactic was to convey statistics in exciting ways. I recently conducted the first in-depth study of how Nightingale created and used data visualization, and I share my research in the forthcoming book Florence Nightingale, Mortality… Read more
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DH Monday: Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Early Modern Art History, AORUM Project (Paris, Oct 1, 2022–Mar 31, 2024)
Application Deadline: September 1, 2022. Funded by the ANR (Agence Nationale de la Recherche), the AORUM project (‘Analyse de l’OR et de ses Usages comme Matériau pictural (Europe, XVIe-milieu du XVIIe siècle)’ / ‘Analysis of gold and its uses as a painting material (Europe, 16th – 17th c.)’) is led by Romain Thomas (HAR, Université… Read more
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DH Monday: CFP – Urban Humanities Global (Un)Conference (Tucson / March 3-5, 2023)
Deadline to Submit Letter of Intent: September 1st, 2022 CONFERENCE BACKGROUND The urban humanities are a series of practices located at the intersection of architecture, urban studies, and the humanities. Over the last decade, it has been institutionalized as a field through the support of the Mellon Foundation (AUH grant), creating pedagogical programs, research centers,… Read more
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Robert Cornelius and the First Selfie
Robert Cornelius, a Philadelphia photographer, is believed to have taken the world’s first self-portrait — the first selfie — in 1839. The Library, which already had the world’s large collection of his work, in December acquired a donation from Cornelius’ great-great-grand-daughter, Sarah Bodine, of more of his photographic materials. Preservationists are now at work on… Read more
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DH Monday: Call for Reviewers: ARLIS/NA Multimedia & Technology Reviews October 2022 Issue
Reviewer Interest Form Completion Deadline: Friday, July 29 Initial Draft Submission Deadline: Thursday, September 1 ARLIS/NA Multimedia & Technology Reviews Co-editors are seeking volunteers to author reviews for the October 2022 issue. To volunteer, choose a resource from the list below (note: The snippets below are taken from each resource’s web page and are not… Read more
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DH Monday: CFP – Magazén 2023, “Relations”
Abstract Submission Deadline: September 30, 2022 Abstract Acceptance: October 31, 2022 Articles Submission: February 15, 2023 (issue 1) or July 15, 2023 (issue 2) Prospective Publication: June 2023 (issue 1) and December 2023 (issue 2) magazén | International Journal for Digital and Public Humanities is accepting proposals to its 2023 volume, which shall devote two… Read more