GlobaLS held a research seminar and workshop on data visualisation with Philipp Hofeneder
On October 30, 2025, the fourth scientific seminar of the project Translating Diversity: Institutional Agents and Literary Translation Policy-Making in Iberoamerica (2001–2022) took place at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, in collaboration with GlobaLS – Global Literary Studies Research Lab.
The session was delivered in a hybrid format, combining in-person participation at the Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation Hub (Building C, Room C1.18) with online attendance via Google Meet.
The event consisted of two parts. The first session (12:00–14:00 CEST), entitled “Data visualisation in the Humanities and the Social Sciences: Some methodological remarks on integrating visuals into the research process,” focused on the theoretical foundations of data visualisation. The second session (16:00–18:00 CEST), “Data visualisation. Exploring disciplinary peculiarities and useful applications,” took the form of a practical workshop.
Integrating visualisations into research processes
The seminar addressed the growing role of data visualisations in humanities research. While visual tools are increasingly used to present projects, represent complex research questions, and communicate scholarly knowledge to broader audiences, their methodological and epistemological implications remain unevenly explored.
The sessions examined questions such as how to cite visualisations, how to identify and work with primary or secondary visual data sources, and how to move beyond the dominant formula of “one research question = one visual.” Drawing on examples from translation studies, the speaker presented alternative methodological approaches and practical solutions for integrating visuals into the research workflow.
Both the seminar and the workshop were aimed at researchers and doctoral students in the Humanities and Social Sciences interested in incorporating data visualisation into their academic practice.
About the speaker
Philipp Hofeneder is an independent senior researcher based in Vienna, Austria. With a background in Slavic Studies (Polish, Russian, Ukrainian) and Translation Studies, his research focuses on historical phenomena of knowledge transfer and forms of communication in multilingual and pluricultural societies, including the Habsburg Monarchy, the Russian Empire, and the Soviet Union.
He has extensive expertise in digital humanities methodologies, particularly in data visualisation, digital knowledge production, and science communication. He is currently preparing a monograph on data visualisation.