Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Wenyi Shang

@wenyishang.bsky.social

780 followers 200 following 120 posts

Assistant Professor at SISLT, University of Missouri. UIUC iSchool PhD. Peking University alumnus. Digital humanities researcher focusing on premodern Chinese history (and occasionally English literature). https://wenyi-shang.github.io

wenyi-shang.github.io

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · 13d

20 years ago, you may also often encounter a strong belief that a distinct, new thing called "machine learning" was invented recently, while regression before that date was reliable and transparent🤣

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · 18d

I saw the news on the very same day my CHR2025 paper was accepted. It might mean I won't be able to attend the conference, for the third time that I've had a paper accepted☹️

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · Sep 5

My line: DH researchers are likely those I consider my immediate colleagues, those using AI in the humanities are not.

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · Sep 4

My first impression when I studied the history was quite different, as I tend to be wary of anything supported by the Soviet Union, and it's also clear that the Republicans also committed mass killings and other crimes. But perhaps that reaction is just my own bias...

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · Sep 4

Actually, I was wondering what the general opinion of Western academics is regarding the Spanish Civil War. Is it commonly framed as a clear dichotomy, with the Republicans seen as the "justice/liberal" side and the Nationalists as the "evil/authoritarian/conservative" side?

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · Sep 4

I think Springfield corresponds to Madrid, geographically and politically. Maybe Champaign corresponds to Valencia?

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · Sep 4

It is indeed hard. Chinese folks are quickly shifting to more trendy terms like "AI for the humanities." But we will try. I believe DH will not remain a distinct field in future, but precisely because distant reading will become fully integrated as just another approach to doing humanities research.

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · Jul 17

Figure 1 with annotations

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · Jul 17

Please join us in person or online if you can! I'll be presenting virtually, while Carsten will be on site in Lisbon. Feel free to chat with him locally or reach out to me online with any questions. (Hint: I'm the methodology person for this project. Please direct any Kafka questions to Carsten! 🤣)

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · Jul 17

We investigated the semantic and rhetoric imagery of The Trial through 3 illustrated editions. Using image analysis and examining the relationship between images and corresponding texts, we found them more closely associated with sentences than chapters and uncovered artistic & hermeneutic nuances.

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · Jul 17

Today at 3:30pm Lisbon Time (busy day for me!) I will also be presenting our work, "A Study of Imagery in Franz Kafka's Novel The Trial Through Illustrated Editions" with my colleague at the University of Missouri, Professor Carsten Strathausen at #DH2025.

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · Jul 17

Our findings highlight a discourse shaped by patriarchal privileges, echoing the assertion that "the subaltern cannot speak." I'll be presenting virtually, while Professor Ochi will be on site in Lisbon. Feel free to chat with her locally or reach out to me online with any questions!

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · Jul 17

Using Transformer-based models, we examined how males and females were depicted differently in medieval Chinese epitaph verses, and which classical texts (the Analects 論語, the Book of Rites 禮記, or the Book of Songs 詩經) these verses resemble.

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · Jul 17

Presenting our work, “Text Mining Gender Depictions in Northern Wei (386–539 C.E.) Epitaph Verses,” with Professor Seiko Ochi (Meijo University, Japan) today at 2 PM Lisbon time at #DH2025! Please join us in person or online if you can!

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · Jun 21

Curious about what @tedunderwood.me's answer to this question would be🤔

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · May 13

"popular hero" for being guillotined😅

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · May 11

Wow, that's incredible, especially considering the election of the new Pope took most observers and the betting markets by surprise. Do we have access to the underlying data to check what exactly is considered a "relationship" in the network?

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · May 9

We now have Math majors whose career paths range from professional NFL player (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ur...) to Catholic Pope.

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · May 8

Interesting coincidence: Pope Leo XIV and Fr. Chase Hilgenbrinck, former chaplain at UIUC's Catholic Newman Center, are both Illinois natives and spent significant time in South America. Pope Leo XIV was ordained in 1982, when Fr. Chase was born, and consecrated in 2014, when Fr. Chase was ordained.

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · May 6

That said, one aspect of CHR's policy I do find problematic is its restriction to LaTeX submissions only, which places an undue burden on many humanities scholars who are unfamiliar with the format. @comphumresearch.bsky.social

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · May 6

to some degree, social science and LIS). In this context, I think the importance of maintaining anonymity in the peer review process may outweigh the drawbacks of CHR's policy on preprint embargo.

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · May 6

Great point. But in my opinion DH is not a field that moves as quickly as CS (the most cutting-edge methods are not always the central concern). And preprints are not yet widely recognized as a standard form of publication among many scholars in the field (for positions in the humanities, and

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · Apr 24

Thanks for introducing the Bender Rule! I hadn't thought much about this when coming up with the title (probably because I am a non-native English speaker myself), but I completely agree: it's important to explicitly mention the language being studied.

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · Apr 24

And while this is an online-only presentation, I've long been inspired by the city of Shiraz—home to Saadi and Hafez, and a city of literature and flowers—making it a fitting setting for a talk on poetry!

Wenyi Shang @wenyishang.bsky.social · Apr 24

Invited by Shiraz University's Digital Humanities Association, I'll be presenting my work with @tedunderwood.me on classifying English poetry tomorrow at 8:30am US Central Time via Google Meet. Excited to be part of the growing global conversation on DH, including students and scholars from Iran!