Amaranth is UNM’s digital humanities studio. We focus on using technology to expand the reach of the humanities engaging broad audiences with collaborative websites, oral histories, podcasts, virtual and augmented reality, 3D printing, and interactive narratives built on open infrastructure.
Central to our mission: humanists need to help guide AI practices. The interpretive habits built through close reading, archival research, and critical interpretation—evaluating sources, questioning frames, recognizing biases—are exactly what responsible AI use requires. We guide collaborators through iterative AI workflows, starting with technical work where stakes are low and feedback is immediate, building comfort and fluency that transfers into research, writing, and teaching.
We investigate how emerging technologies can deepen the questions humanists ask. 3D-printed replicas, terrain maps, open-source frameworks---each project tests what happens when you make abstract scholarship physical, holdable, comparable.
What we're investigating →Use AI to explore patterns in texts, transcribe oral histories, analyze images, and ask new questions of familiar sources---with the critical thinking that makes it meaningful. No technical background required--just an open mind.
Learn more →A website for your research project or workshop. A portfolio for your aspirations and applications. A collaborative site for your class. We help you build it on open tools you actually own---your design, your content, no fees, no platform lock-in.
Start building →Oral histories. Podcasts. ScrollStories. Each form argues differently---through voice, through intimacy, through pacing and image. We help you match the medium to what you're trying to say, and then build it.
Find your medium →We work with students building their first digital project, faculty bringing research into public view, and community partners whose stories deserve more than a PDF. Come talk to us early---before you have it figured out. That's exactly the right time.
Collaborate →Some of the most interesting projects start as a half-formed question, a vague idea, something you’re not sure is even possible. We want to hear about it!
Our space and our approach is more like a workshop, not a service desk. We work alongside you, teaching the thinking behind technical and design decisions so you can carry it forward. Whether it’s a class assignment, a research project, or something you haven’t quite figured out yet—action reduces anxiety.
We’re practitioners more than evangelists. We test tools and workflows all the time, share what we learn, and build on open-source infrastructure with stability at its core. We want to explore with you, not just complete a technical task for you. Read more about our studio ethos →
Drop by studio hours, email us at amaranth@unm.edu, or book a consultation.
