Workshop Invitation: Digital Encoding for the Study of Syriac Literature
On line : 29 June - 9 July, 2026
Syriaca.org and the Digital Lab at Vanderbilt University are pleased to invite applications for a virtual workshop on “Digital Encoding for the Study of Syriac Literature” to be held 29 June to 9 July, 2026 (with 5 days of live instruction).
Participation in the workshop is free of charge and will be held via Zoom.
We invite researchers, graduate students, faculty members, independent scholars, librarians, and technologists with expertise in Syriac Studies to join this workshop to learn best practices for encoding Syriac data using the Syriaca.org data model.
Participants will learn the following:
- An introduction to Syriaca.org and other digital projects within the field of Syriac studies.
- How to use tools for collaborative digital humanities research, including XML editors and GitHub version control software.
- Best practices for using the TEI XML encoding standard widely used within the field of Digital Humanities.
- How to link data to the Syriaca.org knowledge graph.
- An introduction to using AI with Syriaca.org‘s digital resources.
There is no cost to participate in the workshop, and all who complete the workshop will receive a letter of completion. For those interested, it is also possible to earn continuing education credit through Vanderbilt University for a modest fee.
Through the generosity of the Institute for Classical Christian Studies, we are also pleased to be able to offer a limited number of $500 stipends to participants who successfully complete the workshop and become contributing editors to Syriaca.org. Preference will be given to students, early career scholars, independent scholars, and others if funds permit.
Full details and an application form can be found here: https://blog.syriaca.org/2025/06/digital-encoding-for-syriac-studies-a-virtual-workshop-july-29-31-2025/
David A. Michelson
General Editor of Syriaca.org
Associate Professor of the History of Christianity
Vanderbilt University, 411 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37240