Job Talks: Assistant Professor in Historical Studies and Digital Humanities at Central European University, Vienna
Computer vision methods offer new ways of seeing and analyzing photographs. This talk will present a theoretical and methodological approach to analyzing photo archives from China's Cultural Revolution using computer vision techniques. Through the aggregation of algorithmic annotations across the entire photo archive, the study investigates the potential of computer vision to reveal patterns, narratives, and biases in the visual representation of various aspects of the Cultural Revolution, such as political propaganda, social life, and cultural practices. By combining close viewing with distant viewing, the research aims to shed new light on the role of photography in shaping the visual culture of the Cultural Revolution and contributing to our understanding of how photographs were used as tools for communication and documentation.
Qiuzi Guo is a Lecturer at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where she offers courses on Art and Digital Culture. She is involved as a Digital Humanities Specialist with the Digital Humanities Initiative. Her research primarily focuses on the history of Chinese photography, digital humanities, and the digital adaptation of cultural heritage. Previously, Guo was affiliated with the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut as a Postdoctoral Fellow. She holds a Ph.D. in East Asian Art History from Heidelberg University.