The Humanities Digital Workshop (HDW) at Washington University in St. Louis is marking a major milestone this year: 20 years of innovation, collaboration, and impact across the humanities. From its earliest digital experiments to an expansive portfolio of faculty‑ and student‑driven research, the HDW has become a central hub for computational and collaborative approaches to humanistic inquiry.
Founded on the idea that meaningful research in the humanities thrives in a lab‑style, team‑based environment, the HDW has supported hundreds of students and nearly two dozen active projects annually. These projects merge traditional humanistic questions with digital methodologies—from text analysis and database construction to mapping, machine learning, and cultural analytics. Over two decades, the workshop has helped redefine what is possible in humanities research and broadened who can meaningfully participate in it.
Spotlighting Classics Alumni: Jen McLish and Vedul Palavajjhala
Among the many students who have shaped and been shaped by the HDW’s collaborative model are two distinguished alumni of the John and Penelope Biggs Department of Classics:
Jen McLish: From Classical Meter to Archaeological Research
As a WashU undergraduate majoring in linguistics, Jen McLish joined the HDW as a summer intern and quickly became an essential collaborator on a groundbreaking Classics project. Working with Professor Tim Moore, the John and Penelope Biggs Distinguished Professor of Classics, Jen helped build Moore’s pioneering online database of dramatic meters, a resource that has transformed the study of rhythm and performance in ancient drama.
Her contributions extended beyond technical development: Jen later co‑authored a scholarly paper with Professor Moore, demonstrating the deep intellectual partnership fostered through the HDW’s collaborative model. The experience shaped both her academic path and her commitment to interdisciplinary research.
Today, Jen is pursuing a PhD in archaeology at Brown University, where she continues to integrate linguistic, digital, and classical methodologies into her study of the ancient world.
Vedul Palavajjhala: Machine Learning and the Making of an Early Modern Archive
As an undergraduate, Vedul Palavajjhala entered the HDW’s EarlyPrint Project with no formal background in English literature. What he did have, however, was curiosity and a growing interest in computational methods. His work soon became a model of how digital tools can open new scholarly pathways.
Using the extensive 53,000‑text EEBO‑TCP corpus, Vedul applied machine learning and statistical techniques to classify early modern English works by genre. His analysis helped transform EarlyPrint into a rich, searchable resource for studying:
- how literary genres evolved over time,
- stylistic variations across authors and periods, and
- how ideas spread through early modern England.
This research not only expanded the utility of the EarlyPrint archive but also revealed Vedul’s emerging passion for Early Modern textual data science. That passion now drives his work as a PhD student in statistics and data science, where he continues to explore computational approaches to historical literature.
Celebrating the Legacy of HDW and the Impact of Classics Alumni
The achievements of Jen McLish and Vedul Palavajjhala reflect the enduring strength of Classical Studies as a foundation for advanced research—research that can move fluidly between languages, data, material culture, and digital methodologies.
As the HDW marks 20 milestones for 20 years, the Department of Classics proudly celebrates the contributions of Jen and Vedul to this storied history of innovation.
To read the full story and explore the complete list of 20 HDW milestones, visit the article on The Ampersand:
“The Humanities Digital Workshop celebrates 20 years with 20 milestones”
