Biography
Dr Shawn Day stands at the crossroads of academia and innovation, distinguished as an entrepreneur, digital historian, and economist. Born and raised in Canada, he currently serves as Head of Department and Lecturer in Digital Humanities at University College Cork, Ireland, where he also furthers his research with the Department of Geography. His role at UCC highlights his commitment to interdisciplinary scholarship and academic excellence.
Dr Day's academic career includes significant contributions to several Irish institutions such as Queen's University Belfast, University College Dublin, Maynooth University, and Trinity College Dublin. His expertise primarily lies in Digital, Spatial and Medical Humanities, as well as Social Computing, where he has been instrumental in advancing Irish scholarship.
His personal research explores the Socio-Cultural Terroir of Irish Craft, a study that blends cultural studies with economic and historical geography.
Moreover, his research extends to examining the social and economic aspects of the nineteenth-century retail liquor trade in Canada and its implications for family structures and societal norms. He employs sophisticated methodologies such as digital, spatial, and social network analysis to dissect the complexities of credit, respectability, and order in Victorian societies. His recent publications, employing GIS and statistical modeling, offer groundbreaking insights into the social dynamics of Victorian public mental hospitals.
In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr Day has been a pivotal figure in several influential digital humanities projects. His contributions include the development of the Digital Humanities Observatory within the Royal Irish Academy, his work with the Network for Digital Methods in the Humanities (NeDiMAH) as part of the Dariah Project, and his involvement in creating extensive manuscript census databases for the 1871/1891 census project at the University of Guelph. He has also played a key role in the TAPoR text analysis portal project, the Canadian Network for Economic History (CNEH), and the Network for Canadian History and the Environment (NiCHE).
Bridging his academic expertise with entrepreneurial acumen, Dr Day has founded several successful software development companies in Canada. This blend of management economics and digital history, coupled with his entrepreneurial experience, brings a unique perspective to his academic work, enriching both his research and teaching endeavors.
Dr Day's academic career includes significant contributions to several Irish institutions such as Queen's University Belfast, University College Dublin, Maynooth University, and Trinity College Dublin. His expertise primarily lies in Digital, Spatial and Medical Humanities, as well as Social Computing, where he has been instrumental in advancing Irish scholarship.
His personal research explores the Socio-Cultural Terroir of Irish Craft, a study that blends cultural studies with economic and historical geography.
Moreover, his research extends to examining the social and economic aspects of the nineteenth-century retail liquor trade in Canada and its implications for family structures and societal norms. He employs sophisticated methodologies such as digital, spatial, and social network analysis to dissect the complexities of credit, respectability, and order in Victorian societies. His recent publications, employing GIS and statistical modeling, offer groundbreaking insights into the social dynamics of Victorian public mental hospitals.
In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr Day has been a pivotal figure in several influential digital humanities projects. His contributions include the development of the Digital Humanities Observatory within the Royal Irish Academy, his work with the Network for Digital Methods in the Humanities (NeDiMAH) as part of the Dariah Project, and his involvement in creating extensive manuscript census databases for the 1871/1891 census project at the University of Guelph. He has also played a key role in the TAPoR text analysis portal project, the Canadian Network for Economic History (CNEH), and the Network for Canadian History and the Environment (NiCHE).
Bridging his academic expertise with entrepreneurial acumen, Dr Day has founded several successful software development companies in Canada. This blend of management economics and digital history, coupled with his entrepreneurial experience, brings a unique perspective to his academic work, enriching both his research and teaching endeavors.
Research Interests
- Cultural Geography of Irish Craft Beer
- 19th Century Economic HIstory
- Spatial Humanities
- History of Health and Medicine
- Information Visualisation
- Canadian Social History
- Candian Business History
Publications
Book Chapters
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2023) | 'Visualising Humanities Data' Day, Shawn (2023) 'Visualising Humanities Data' In: O'Sullivan, James (eds). The Bloomsbury Handbook to the Digital Humanities. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. [Full Text] [Details] | |
| (2011) | 'DHO:DRAPIer: A Research Infrastructure for Irish Digital Humanities' Day, S, Lawrence, F (2011) 'DHO:DRAPIer: A Research Infrastructure for Irish Digital Humanities' In: Mouiln, C (eds). Research Infrastructures in the Digital Humanities. Strasbourg: European Science Foundation. [Details] |
Peer Reviewed Journals
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2024) | 'Exploring Global Sense of Tianjin City through Digital Tools' Niu, W, Day, S (2024) 'Exploring Global Sense of Tianjin City through Digital Tools'. Cultural Geographies, [Details] | |
| (2020) | 'A report on Digital Humanities at University College Cork' Day, S, O'Sullivan, J., Murphy, O (2020) 'A report on Digital Humanities at University College Cork'. Digital Humanities Quarterly, (3):169-174 [Details] | |
| (2015) | 'The Emergence of the Digital Humanities in Ireland' O'Sullivan, James; Murphy, Orla; Day, Shawn (2015) 'The Emergence of the Digital Humanities in Ireland'. breac: A Digital Journal of Irish Studies, [Details] | |
| (2014) | 'Burying Dead Projects: Depositing the Globalization Compendium' Rockwell, G, Day, Shawn, Yu, J, Engel, M (2014) 'Burying Dead Projects: Depositing the Globalization Compendium'. Digital Humanities Quarterly, 8 (2) [Details] | |
| (2008) | 'A Janus-Like Asylum: The City and the Institutional Confinement of the Mentally Ill in Victorian Ontario' Wright, David; Day, Shawn; Smith, Jessica; Flis, Nathan (2008) 'A Janus-Like Asylum: The City and the Institutional Confinement of the Mentally Ill in Victorian Ontario'. Urban History Review-Revue D Histoire Urbaine, 36 (2):43-53 [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2007) | 'Distancing the mad: Jarvis's Law and the spatial distribution of admissions to the Hamilton Lunatic Asylum in Canada, 1876-1902' Smith, Christopher A; Wright, David; Day, Shawn. (2007) 'Distancing the mad: Jarvis's Law and the spatial distribution of admissions to the Hamilton Lunatic Asylum in Canada, 1876-1902'. Social Science and Medicine, 64 (11):2362-2385 [Details] |
Conference Publications
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2009) | Web Sci 2009 Lawrence, F, Day, S (2009) Linking Ireland's Past and the Digital Future Web Sci 2009 Athens, , 10-MAR-09 [Details] |
Published Reports
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2020) | A Report on Digital Humanities at University College Cork. Murphy, Órla; Day, Shawn; O'Sullivan, James (2020) A Report on Digital Humanities at University College Cork. Chinese Journal of Digital Humanities 数字人文, Beijing. [Full Text] [Details] | |
| (2012) | Second NeDiMAH workshop on Space and Time in the Digital Humanities: Here and There, Then and Now – Modelling Space and Time in the Humanities. Isaksen, L, Day, S, Ridge, M, Shaw, R (2012) Second NeDiMAH workshop on Space and Time in the Digital Humanities: Here and There, Then and Now – Modelling Space and Time in the Humanities. European Science Foundation, Strasbourg. [DOI] [Details] | |
| (2003) | Economic History in Canadian Universities: A Survey. Day, S, McCalla, D (2003) Economic History in Canadian Universities: A Survey. CNEH, Canada. [Details] |
Professional Activities
Professional Associations
| Association | Function | From / To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Network for Economic History | Coordinator | 21-OCT-03 / | |
| Institute for Collaborative Research in the Humanities | DH Strategist | 02-SEP-13 / 27-MAY-16 | |
| European Health Futures Forum | Director | 04-APR-12 / | |
| Open Knowledge Foundation Ireland | Director | 15-OCT-13 / | |
| Network in Canadian History of the Environmenta | Web Coordinator | 04-JAN-07 / 22-MAY-08 | |
| Network for Digital Methods in the Arts and Humanities (NeDIMAH) | Co-Chair WG1 Spatial and Temporal Representation | 01-JAN-12 / | |
| Association for Information Systems | Member | 05-MAR-09 / |
Conference Contributions
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| (2017) | Improving Research Integrity and Reproducibility through Openness and Transparency, Day, Shawn (2017) FAIR Data Principles. [Invited Lectures (Conference)], Improving Research Integrity and Reproducibility through Openness and Transparency, UCC , 23-OCT-17 - 23-OCT-17. [Details] | |
| (2014) | Digital Cultural Empowerment, Palm, F, Murphy, O, Day, S, Thély, N (2014) The workshop focussed on digital cultural empowerment in particular looking at the ways in which humanities participants are empowered through using visualisation outside traditional domains, and harnessing the power of digital techologies to explore culture outside the confines of textual, linear narrative and traditional publication. We will focus on visualisation as the representation of knowledge in a multiplicity of new, engaging and challenging approaches across humanities disciplines. [Invited Lectures (Workshops)], Digital Cultural Empowerment, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Université de Lausanne , 07-JUL-14 - 12-JUL-14. [Details] | |
| (2012) | New Methods/New Perspectives on Humanities Scholarship, Day, S (2012) Report on Conceptualisation of Space and Time. [Invited Lectures (Conference)], New Methods/New Perspectives on Humanities Scholarship, Trinity College Dublin , 27-NOV-12. [Details] | |
| (2012) | Digital Diversity: Cultures, languages and methods, Isaksen, L, Day, S, Andresen, J, Hyvönen, E, Mäkelä E (2012) Here and There, Then and Now – Modelling Space and Time in the Humanities. [Invited Lectures (Workshops)], Digital Diversity: Cultures, languages and methods, Universität Hamburg , 16-JUL-12. [Details] | |
| (2011) | Metadata to Linked Data Summer School, Day, S (2011) Workshop on turining linked data into spatial visualisations. [Invited Lectures (Workshops)], Metadata to Linked Data Summer School, Trinity College Dublin , 04-JUL-11 - 08-JUL-11. [Details] | |
| (2009) | DH 2009, Rockwell, G, Day. S (2009) Burying Dead Projects: Depositing the Globalization Compendium. [Invited Lectures (Conference)], DH 2009, University of Maryland , 20-JUN-09 - 25-JUN-09. [Details] | |
| (2009) | DH2009, Schreibman, S, Edmond, J, Day, S, Porter, D, Gourely, D (2009) The Digital Humanities Observatory: Building a National Collaboratory. [Invited Seminars/Guest Lectures], DH2009, University of Maryland , 20-JUN-09 - 25-JUN-09. [Details] | |
| (2008) | CaSTA 2008: New Directions in Text Analysis, Rodgers, Johnny; Sinclair, Stefan, Day. Shawn (2008) Digital Texts 2.0: Towards Social Networking of Texts. [Oral Presentation], CaSTA 2008: New Directions in Text Analysis, Vancouver, BC . [Details] | |
| (2007) | International Workshop on Record Linkage, Day, S (2007) An Exploratory Journey in Automated Linking of Single Males between the 1901 Census and World War I Enlistment Records. [Invited Lectures (Conference)], International Workshop on Record Linkage, University of Guelph , 07-MAR-07. [Details] | |
| (2006) | CaSTA 2006: Breadth of Text: A Joint Computer Science and Humanities Computing Conference, Day. Shawn (2006) The Use of the Recipe as a Guiding Metaphor for Flexible and Efficient Self-Guided Computing Instruction. [Invited Lectures (Conference)], CaSTA 2006: Breadth of Text: A Joint Computer Science and Humanities Computing Conference, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB , 11-OCT-06 - 14-OCT-06. [Details] | |
| (2005) | Guelph History, Day, S (2005) Widowhood Survival Strategies in Nineteenth Century Guelph. [Invited Lectures (Conference)], Guelph History, Guelph , 11-MAR-05. [Details] | |
| (2004) | York University Graduate Conference, Day, S (2004) The Keeper’s Trade: The Pursuit of the Hotel Trade in Nineteenth Century Ontario. [Invited Lectures (Conference)], York University Graduate Conference, York University , 14-FEB-04. [Details] | |
| (2004) | International GIS Day, Day, S, McFadyen, J (2004) Geographic Information Systems and the Historian: Studies in the Hotel and Flax Industries. [Invited Lectures (Conference)], International GIS Day, University of Guelph , 04-DEC-24. [Details] | |
| (2004) | Queen’s/McGill Graduate Conference, Day, S (2004) Keepers and the Kept: The Personality of the 19th Century Hotel Keeper and the Temperance Movement. [Invited Lectures (Conference)], Queen’s/McGill Graduate Conference, McGill University, Montreal , 27-MAR-04. [Details] | |
| (2004) | Building New Bridges: Sources, Methods, and Interdisciplinarity, Day, S (2004) Rascals and Respectability: The Prism of Private documents and Public Respectability. [Invited Lectures (Conference)], Building New Bridges: Sources, Methods, and Interdisciplinarity, University of Ottawa , 09-MAY-04. [Details] | |
| (2003) | Tri-University Conference, Day, S (2003) Skills, Character, Ingenuity and the Pursuit of the Hotel Trade in Late Nineteenth Century Guelph. [Invited Lectures (Conference)], Tri-University Conference, Wilfrid Laurier University , 10-DEC-24. [Details] | |
| (2003) | The Future of Economic History: A Canadian Conference, Day. Shawn and Prof Douglas McCalla (2003) Economic History in Canadian Universities: A Survey. [Invited Lectures (Workshops)], The Future of Economic History: A Canadian Conference, Guelph, ON , 17-OCT-03 - 18-OCT-03. [Details] |
Committees
| Committee | Function | From / To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CACSSS Ethics | School Representative and Application Evaluator | 2024 / | |
| Dr Séamus McDermott Entrepreneurial Scholarship Programme | Evaluator and College Rep | 2023 / | |
| Professional Placement Workkgroup | member | 2022 / | |
| CACSSS Community Engagement | Delegate | 2018 / |
Employment
| Employer | Position | From / To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Irish Academy | Project Manager | 01-JUL-08 / 15-SEP-13 | |
| Ardesic Corporation | Founder and VP R&D | 01-JAN-97 / 30-MAY-01 | |
| McMaster University | Research Assistant | 01-SEP-04 / 30-JUN-08 |
Education
| Year | Institution | Qualification | Subject | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | University of Guelph | MA | History | |
| 2024 | University College Cork | PhD | Cultural Geography | |
| 1988 | University of Guelph | Specialised Hons BA | Management Economics |
Journal Activities
| Journal | Role | To / From | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The International Journal Of Humanities And Arts Computing | Co-Editor | 01-DEC-20 - |
Other Activities
| Description | |
|---|---|
Reviewer, DH2014, Lausanne | |
Chair, Irish-Canadian Society |
Teaching Activities
Teaching Interests
- Information Visualisation
- Social Computing
- Digital Humanities
- Social History
- Economic History
Research Information
External Collaborators
| Name | Organisation / Institute | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professor Kris Inwood | Canadian Network for Economic History | CANADA | |
| Prof John Thompson | Institute for Collaborative Research in the Humanities | UNITED KINGDOM | |
| Dr David Somekh | European Health Futures Forum | UNITED KINGDOM | |
| Professor Leif Isaaksen | NeDIMAH | UNITED KINGDOM |
Contact details
-
Hesd of Department - shawn.day@ucc.ie
- Elderwood 2
College Road
University College Cork
Cork - +353 021 490 2856
- shawnday.com