Birkbeck academics awarded prestigious 2025 ACLS Digital Justice Development grant
The grants support digital humanities projects that enrich cultural heritage through the intentional use of technology
Jen Baird, Professor of Archaeology and Adnan Almohamad, Honorary Research Fellow of History, Classics and Archaeology are recipients of a 2025 American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Digital Justice Development Grant. The ACLS Digital Justice Grants Program funds digital projects across the humanities and social sciences that critically engage with the interests and histories of people of colour and other historically marginalised communities through the ethical use of digital tools and methods.
Supported by the Mellon Foundation, the program also prioritises projects that bolster the local ecosystem of digital humanities at their academic, community, or cultural heritage institutions, thereby creating opportunities for scholars, especially those within historically underfunded fields, to pursue innovative, diverse digital scholarship.
Professor Baird and Mr Almohamad have been awarded this grant for the project Archaeological Archives as Inclusive Learning Laboratories, which reimagines how archaeological records are engaged with, by centering the voices of the local communities whose labour underpinned major excavations. Focusing on American digs at sites in Syria, the project addresses the historical erasure of local workers by incorporating their perspectives into the digital record. It aims to amplify Syrian voices through oral histories, enhance archival datasets, and develop more accessible digital tools for students and marginalised professionals. The other members of the principal investigative team are Bahaa AbdAllah, Hazem Al Khleaf, Hiba Alkhalaf, Lamis Bakjaji, Anne Chen, Asmaa Shehadeh, and Yasser Showhan.
Archaeological Archives as Inclusive Learning Laboratories is one of seven established projects that has been awarded ACLS Digital Justice Development Grants of up to $100,000.
Mr Almohamad commented: “This project is personally and professionally significant for me. As a Syrian archaeologist, I have long witnessed how stories about our past are told about us, not with us, in languages other than our own, and often moved to distant museums outside the country, creating a barrier between us and our heritage.
Excavations like Dura-Europos have shaped how ancient Syria is seen globally, yet the Syrian workers and communities who made them possible are often reduced to footnotes or forgotten entirely.
This grant will help create space for Syrians to speak about their heritage, in their own words and on their own terms. It’s a hopeful step toward a more just and representative way of engaging with the past and ensuring that our narratives are reclaimed in ways that are accessible, meaningful, and truly representative of our communities.”
Professor Baird added: “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to continue our collaborations in this work, and eager to see the positive impact it will have. By rethinking how archaeological archives are used and who they serve, we can open new ways of researching and learning that are more inclusive, equitable, and reflective of diverse experiences.”
Keyanah Nurse, ACLS Senior Program Officer of Intentional Design for an Equitable Academy said:
“ACLS is proud that this year’s Digital Justice Grants include advanced doctoral students and postdocs among the principal investigators and lead scholars on the awarded projects,” said Keyanah Nurse, ACLS Senior Program Officer of Intentional Design for an Equitable Academy (IDEA) Programs.
This is an encouraging signal of the growing capacity of pipelines, mentorship networks, and skills-training for those pursuing digital work earlier in their academic careers.”