School of Information Sciences

Mak invited to speak at inaugural Information + Humanities conference

Bonnie Mak
Bonnie Mak, Associate Professor

Associate Professor Bonnie Mak will return to The Pennsylvania State University to participate in the inaugural Information + Humanities conference on October 28-29. The conference is sponsored by the Center for Humanities and Information, where Mak was visiting senior fellow in 2015-2016. 

Mak is among twelve invited speakers from across the country who will offer their perspectives on a set of terms especially associated with information, including infrastructure, classification, interface, keyword, and design. In her presentation on the topic of metadata, Mak will discuss how the descriptive practices of natural historians in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries can shed light on questions about metadata in the twenty-first century. 

"I look forward to joining my colleagues to discuss how the notion of information might be usefully interrogated from a humanistic perspective. It is now urgent for us to develop a nuanced understanding of the historical and social conditions that have contributed to today’s emphasis on 'data', and how such an emphasis has already begun to reconfigure what is perceived as scholarly activity and knowledge," Mak said.

At Illinois, Mak holds a joint appointment in the School of Information Sciences and the Program in Medieval Studies. She teaches courses in the history and future of the book and offers doctoral seminars on authenticity, reading practices, and knowledge production. Her first book, How the Page Matters (2011), examines the interface of the page as it is developed across time, geographies, and technologies. A second book-length project, Confessions of a 21st-Century Memsahib, explores the historical circumstances that shape the digital materials with which scholarship is increasingly conducted, and thereby examines the notions of data and information in the humanities. In 2011, she was named the School's Centennial Scholar in recognition of her outstanding accomplishments in the field of library and information science.
 

Research Areas:
Tags:
Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

iSchool researchers present at ILA 2025

School faculty, staff, and students will present their research at the 2025 Illinois Library Association (ILA) Annual Conference, which will be held on October 14–16 in Rosemont. The theme of this year's conference is "You Belong Here."

Craig named Illinois Library Luminary

Anne Craig, iSchool adjunct lecturer and senior director of the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI), has been inducted as an Illinois Library Luminary. The Illinois Library Luminary program, an initiative of the Illinois Library Association (ILA), recognizes those who have made a significant contribution to Illinois libraries.

Anne Craig

iSchool researchers present at CSCW 2025

Several faculty, students, and recent grads will present their research at the 28th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW 2025), which will be held October 18–22 in Bergen, Norway. The online portion of the conference will be held on October 10. 

Downie appointed executive associate dean

The iSchool is pleased to announce that Professor J. Stephen Downie has been appointed executive associate dean. In this role, he will work closely with Interim Dean Emily Knox to realize the iSchool's strategic goals and objectives. He also will provide leadership for the internal administration of the School, coordinate the work of associate deans and assigned staff, and facilitate faculty affairs.

Stephen Downie

School of Information Sciences

501 E. Daniel St.

MC-493

Champaign, IL

61820-6211

Voice: (217) 333-3280

Fax: (217) 244-3302

Email: ischool@illinois.edu

Back to top