This article is based on a session given by the authors at the ACH/ALLC conference at the University of Victoria in June 2005. It discusses the prospects for partnership between the humanities and computing from the alternative perspective afforded by Empirical Modelling (EM). Perceived dualities that separate the two cultures of science and art are identified as the primary impediment to this partnership. A vision for 'human computing' that promises to dissolve these dualities is outlined. The key characteristics and potential for EM for the humanities are illustrated with reference to a modelling exercise on the theme of Schubert's Erlkonig. This highlights how each of the six varieties of modelling identified by McCarty can be represented within an EM model. The implications of EM are discussed with reference to McCarty’s account of the key role for modelling in the humanities, in relation to James's 'philosophic attitude' of Radical Empiricism and to ideas from phenomenological sources.
['Meurig Beynon', 'Steve Russ', 'Willard McCarty']
Human computing : modelling with meaning