Code of Conduct

At the Global Digital Humanities Symposium we want everyone to feel welcome, included, and safe throughout the event. This Code of Conduct sets expectations for all participants, provides steps to report violations of the Code, and lists possible consequences for would-be-violators. The Global Digital Humanities Symposium does not tolerate harassment and discrimination in any form.

The Global Digital Humanities Symposium sets a tone of encouragement for mutual respect and growth. In this spirit, participation in the Symposium is grounded in the following Community Agreements:

  • We encourage discussions that focus on the work, not the person.
  • We practice active listening and engagement.
  • We assume good intentions, but take responsibility for negative effects.
  • We give credit where credit is due.
  • We value transparency.
  • We support one another’s work and welcome support for our own.
  • We value fair and transparent labor relationships, and we work actively to counter exploitation.
  • We encourage creativity and experimentation within the digital humanities.

These agreements build on our commitment to abiding by the Michigan State University Anti-Discrimination Policy and Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct and Title IX Policy.

Behaviors NOT tolerated:

Discrimination and harassment includes, but is not limited to:

  • Comments or actions that minimize a person’s experiences, identity, or safety
  • Deliberate misgendering, including disregard for a person’s pronouns, and any other identifiers
  • Deliberate revealing of a person’s experiences or identity without their consent
  • Deliberate misuse of a person’s stated name
  • Sustained disruption during sessions or other events or gatherings
  • Deliberate intimidation or stalking of any kind
  • Deliberately contacting a person after they have requested contact to stop
  • Unwelcome sexual attention
  • Distribution of harassing photography or recordings without explicit consent (including screen capture of Zoom meetings)
  • Threats or acts of violence
  • Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior

Discrimination/harassment is not:

  • Feeling singled out or persecuted for your social privilege
  • Reasonable communication of boundaries, such as “leave me alone,” “go away,” or “I’m not discussing this with you”
  • Refusal to explain or debate social justice issues when the person being asked is put in a defensive position based on their experience, personal identity, or safety
  • Communication in a tone you don’t find congenial
  • Discussion of sensitive topics
  • Criticism of racist, sexist, cissexist, or otherwise oppressive behavior or assumptions
  • “Reverse” -isms, including “reverse racism,” “reverse sexism,” and “cisphobia”

How to report a violation of the code of conduct*

  • If you have been involved in or witnessed an incident during the Global DH Symposium that you believe violates this Code of Conduct, you can report it in any of the following ways:
    • Direct Message in Zoom
      • Several members of the Planning Committee will be identified as point people for reporting. Messaging any of them during the Symposium to receive a near-immediate response.
    • Email: email dh@msu.edu
      • you will receive a response within 8 hours
    • Mastodon: Direct message msuglobaldh@hcommons.social
      • You will receive a response within 1 hour during the event
      • If reporting after the Symposium, you will receive a response within 8 hours
    • In-Person: by making contact with the Global DH planning committee members (recognized by nametags indicating planning committee member)

The Global Digital Humanities Symposium Planning Committee will expeditiously and confidentially examine all incidents reported before, during, and after the Symposium. We reserve the right to take actions we deem necessary at any time to remedy disruptive behavior that renders the conference experience unsafe for participants. Anyone found to be in violation of this Code of Conduct may be subject to sanctions, including without limitation:

  • Require immediate compliance with the Committee’s decision
  • Immediate cessation of harassing or disruptive behavior
  • Removal of or declining to post a presenter’s talk online (if violation occurred during a presentation) 
  • Immediate removal from the Symposium 
  • Temporary or permanent ban from any future Global Digital Humanities Symposia, participation, attendance, reviewing, and/or planning

*Since some Program Committee members are mandatory reporters under Clery Act and Title IX, we may be required to follow the policies of Michigan State University for documenting and reporting instances of harassment that occur at Michigan State University.

This code of conduct is a living document, drafted by the Global Digital Humanities Communications and Community Building Committee on December 10, 2019 and updated on October 24, 2023, and is subject to change.

This Code of Conduct was inspired by and references codes of conduct drafted by Museum Computer Network, The Digital Library Federation, Digital Frontiers, and the University of Kansas Institute for Digital Research in the Humanities.