Updates from I2SC

You know those words you can barely say out loud without people shooting you dirty looks? Ever wonder how they got that way? At some point, they were thrown around with openly hostile intent, and over time, their meaning either shifted or the words themselves became socially off-limits. This process is called reappropriation , reclamation, or resignification, where a group reclaims words or artifacts that were previously used in a way disparaging of that group. This can happen through Value Reversal (changing the meaning from pejorative to positive), Neutralization (changing the meaning from pejorative to neutral), or Stigma Exploitation (retaining the derogatory nature as a reminder of the unfair treatment). Well-known examples of this include the N-word (in African-American communities) and the F-word (in LGBTQIA+ spaces). But this isn’t a new phenomenon. One of the earliest famous examples is actually Impressionism: when Monet and others first developed the style, “Impressionist” wa...

Date : November 28, 2025 Abstract : This talk presents an innovative approach to literary history that integrates machine learning (ML) with linked open data (LOD), demonstrating how computational methods can expand the scope of traditional humanities research. The approach was developed in the Mining and Modeling Text project at the Trier Center for Digital Humanities and leverages three complementary data sources: bibliographic metadata from the Bibliographie du genre romanesque français, a corpus of 200 XML-TEI encoded French novels (1750–1800), and secondary scholarship on the Enlightenment novel. Using ML techniques such as topic modeling and named entity recognition, we extract structured information and represent it as LOD triples in a public Wikibase instance. The resulting semantic knowledge graph enables complex querying across heterogeneous data, uncovering large-scale patterns and trends in 18th-century French literature. Beyond the case study, the talk highlights the broad...

We are happy to share Lajla Fetic’s ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/lajlafetic/ ) TEDx talk, Krieg und Frieden. Und Künstliche Intelligenz. Wie wir trotz und mit Technologien demokratischen Frieden sichern , from our TEDxSaarbrigge event on June 14th, 2025. KI ist nicht neutral – sie beeinflusst Macht, Gerechtigkeit und Demokratie. Lajla Fetic zeigt, warum wir Verantwortung übernehmen müssen, um technologische Entwicklungen aktiv und demokratisch zu gestalten. AI is not neutral. Lajla Fetic explains how technology shapes power, justice, and democracy—and why we must act responsibly. 👉 Full talk on YouTube:  More details on TEDx Saarbrigge: https://www.i2sc.net/events/past-events/tedx-saarbrigge    

We are happy to share Hanna Gleiss’ TEDx talk, Ein Netz für alle: Wie wir das Internet demokratie-tauglich machen können , from our TEDxSaarbrigge event on June 14th, 2025. Hass im Netz bedroht Meinungsvielfalt und Demokratie. Hanna Gleiß erklärt, wie digitale Räume sicherer und demokratie-tauglich werden können – durch Zusammenarbeit, Vertrauen und Engagement. Hate online threatens democracy. Hanna Gleiß shows how we can create safer, more democratic digital spaces through trust and collaboration. 👉 Full talk on YouTube:   More details on TEDx Saarbrigge: https://www.i2sc.net/events/past-events/tedx-saarbrigge  

We are happy to share Hauke Wiemer's TEDx talk, „Reload Democracy“ – Demokratie spielerisch erleben , from our TEDxSaarbrigge event on June 14th, 2025. Kann ein Game junge Menschen für Demokratie begeistern? Hauke Wiemer bringt politische Bildung in digitale Räume, in denen junge Menschen zuhause sind – Demokratie wird erlebbar, spannend und interaktiv. Can a game make democracy exciting for youth? Hauke Wiemer explores digital approaches to engage Gen Z in civic participation. 👉 Full talk on YouTube:  More details on TEDx Saarbrigge: https://www.i2sc.net/events/past-events/tedx-saarbrigge    

We are happy to share Susanna Ahonen's ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/susannaahonen/ ) TEDx talk, Truth, Trust, and the Fight for Democracy , from our TEDxSaarbrigge event on June 14th, 2025. Truth and trust are under attack in the age of synthetic media. Susanna Ahonen shows how disinformation, deepfakes, and declining media trust threaten democracy—and why strong journalism and media literacy are the key defenses. Susanna Ahonen erklärt, wie Desinformation und Deepfakes Demokratien weltweit bedrohen – und warum Medienkompetenz die beste Verteidigung ist. 👉 Full talk on YouTube:  More details on TEDx Saarbrigge: https://www.i2sc.net/events/past-events/tedx-saarbrigge