Digital Humanities 2023 Transforming the Pietist Tradition: Disciplinary Innovation through Linked Digital Engagement Faull, Katherine Mary faull@bucknell.edu Bucknell University, United States of America Prell, Martin martin.prell@klassik-stiftung.de Klassik Stiftung Weimar, Germany Tögel, Philipp philipp.toegel@kit.edu Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany Lasch, Alexander alexander.lasch@tu-dresden.de Technical University Dresden, Germany Garces, Juan juan.garces@slub-dresden.de SLUB Dresden, Germany Introduction The panel has as its focus how collaboration in and implementa- tion of DH methods has opened up a) new knowledge networks in the (traditionally conservative) field of Pietism and Religious His- tory and b) transformed understandings of traditional disciplinary structures and hierarchies. In the field of the history of religion, especially the subfield of the study of pietism, traditional discipli- nary hierarchies in Europe and the US very much have determined the shape and breadth of scholarship, viewing with distrust the fo- rays into DH that some, usually younger, scholars have pursued. (Hutchings / Clivaz 2021) Although the demand for developers with a deep understanding of the needs of humanistic thinking is great, the number of practitioners of DH in the area of Pietism is woefully small. Furthermore, often when DH approaches have been accepted, they have been firmly inscribed in the realm of the archive and the library. Breaking with this conservative tradition in Pietist Studies, the recently published Pietismus Handbuch in- cludes as its second entry an essay on the potential and practice of Digital Humanities in the study of Pietism. (Faull 2021) Fol- lowing this impetus, this panel will focus on how the process of opening up the discipline, despite resistance, is moving forward and fostering innovation through active links of collaboration. In the field of textual scholarship, network analysis, sonic analysis, mapping, and cultural heritage, the methods of digital humanities have been very successful in fostering new directions of critical inquiry. (Eyerly 2022, Faull 2022, Sciutti, 2022) The separate pa- pers in this panel will echo the question posed in the latest issue of the Journal of Moravian History, by the scholar of religion Dr Rachel Wheeler who introduces the Forum on “Digital Moravi- ans” claiming that although digital scholarship invites collabora- tion, it does not necessarily entail equal access to collaborative re- lationships. (Wheeler 2022) How can we change this? To attempt to model collaborative partnerships across disciplines, ranks, and expertises this panel brings together a senior US scholar whose institutional support has allowed her to teach US undergraduate students DH approaches to Pietistic materials; two younger scho- lars from Germany whose work opens up new ways of accessing and analyzing archival materials and the networks of their wri- ters; and an established academic and library professional from a technical university and state library whose work revolutionizes approaches to mission history, historical linguistics, and cultural heritage. All four papers examine individual projects that focus on aspects of Pietist research and DH methodologies and that are also collaborative partners in a transatlantic knowledge exchange network. The hope is that this panel will open up discussions of the paths towards collaboration between scholars across the ranks, across disciplines and languages, and across the Atlantic. Linking Pietists and Moravians: Building and Sharing Knowledge Networks Katherine Faull As DH projects are developed around the globe, how can we connect digital collections of historical documents across conti- nents? Given the geographically but not necessarily theologically close relationship in the 18th century between the Pietists in Halle and the Moravian Church based in Herrnhut, Saxony and in the expansive transatlantic missions it is extremely desirable to ex- amine the connections between the two movements and their ad- herents. Linking these sources would allow comparative studies in the various fields and debates in which Halle Pietists and Mo- ravians were active, such as missions, ecclesiology, questions of race and gender, sexuality, or educational practice. The field of Linked Open Data offers a set of design principles for sharing ma- chine-readable interlinked data on the web; but to what extent are we able to effect data integration? To some extent, geo-data sharing has already occurred between some projects that focus on geographically adjacent areas, such as “moravian soundscapes” (https://moraviansoundscapes.musi- c.fsu.edu) and Moravian Lives (https://moravian.bucknell.edu), or projects where person data can be linked (Moravians at Sea (https://www.moravians-at-sea.uni-jena.de) and Moravian Lives). However, the ability to link Moravian manuscript sources and do- cuments from repositories of other Pietist and Anabaptist move- ments would provide a powerful example of LOD in the field of Pietism. Examining the data structures behind the Digital Francke portal (https://digital.francke-halle.de) and Moravian Lives, this paper will investigate how such a knowledge network might be establis- hed, what beginnings have already been made, and what obstacles lie in the way. Collaboration through reuse: Analyzing letters explored by others Philipp Tögel August Hermann Francke was an integral figure in Pietism. Af- ter coming to Glaucha, a suburb of Halle (Saale), in 1695, he foun- ded an orphanage and a school for the poor. In the subsequent years, the so-called "Glauchasche Anstalten" (today "Francke Foundations") flourished and were complemented by the addition of multiple schools and business ventures. Following Francke’s death in 1727 his son Gotthilf August Francke and Johann Anast- asius Freylinghausen became the directors of the Anstalten. (Breul 1