Digital Forensics in the Humanities

A workshop that brings together forensic methodologies and archival work

Location:: University of Bern
Date of the event:: 08.05.2026

Photograph of a projected slide titled “Down the rabbit-hole: forensic examination and born-digitals”. Boxes labelled “provenance”, “authentication”, “materiality” and “format” are joined by lines to a rabbit drawing at the bottom of the slide. — A slide from the workshop: “Down the rabbit-hole: forensic examination and born-digitals”.

A full-day workshop organized by the Bit Philology project team and funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), taking place Friday 8 May 2026 at the University of Bern.

The program ran from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM and included welcome remarks, a keynote on digital forensics and vintage computing, three panel sessions on archival work with electronic materials, digital preservation practices, and forensic methodologies, followed by a closing discussion, a GameLab visit, and an aperitif.

Contents and speakers

Digital Forensics and Vintage Computing
Bruce Nikkel (Digital Forensics Professor, Bern University of Applied Sciences)
slides
From Electronic Word Processors to Computers: Experiences with the Archives of Swiss Writers
Elena Barchielli, Simon Willemin, Elena Spadini (University of Bern)
slides
Between Philology and Digital Forensics: The Case of Franco Fortini
Emmanuela Carbé, Mariangela Giglio (Universities of Venice/Bologna)
slides
Digitale Archivierung im Schweizerischen Literaturarchiv – aktueller Stand und Vorgehensweise
Kristel Roder (Swiss National Library)
Levels, Limits and Ethics of Forensic Approaches in the Social Sciences and Humanities
Moritz Feichtinger (University of Basel)
slides
Manuals as Forensic Evidence: Reconstructing Digital Systems and Administrative Practice
Moritz Mähr (University of Bern/ETH Library)
slides