The Digital Methods School
A program for digital archeology and investigative research that seeks to go beyond conventional methods and mine unique data, taking the field of digital humanities to a new level
ABOUT
The Digital Methods School


How to study Russia without a direct access to it? How do we make the best use of empirical evidence that the digital world offers? It is time to rethink our approach to the humanities.
The New Methodological School is a program for investigative research that seeks to go beyond conventional methods and mine unique data that is otherwise impossible to get without specialized knowledge. The New Methodological School takes the field of digital humanities to a new conceptual and technological level.
In partnership with GEODE—the leading French institution for the study of the datasphere—and leading investigative journalists, the New Methodological School creates a hub for the study of the datasphere in Russia and will offer academic seminars and courses exploring OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence) research.
GEODE Center
Geopolitics of the Datasphere
A multidisciplinary research and training center dedicated to the study of the strategic and geopolitical issues of the digital revolution. Supported by the University of Paris 8, GEODE has been awarded Center of Excellence status. It is also the largest beneficiary of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation’s Cyber Initiative.

GEODE has a dual ambition:

  • To study the datasphere as a geopolitical object in its own right
  • To use the resources of the datasphere to conduct geopolitical analysis
Methodological Tracks
Our methods allow us to conduct online research on public opinion, sociology, and discourse analysis; explore digital geography and examine the impact of events; compile and process open-source information; and fulfill other research objectives using metadata.
WHAT WE DO

An interactive digital map that systematize all activities of Yevgenii Prigozhin and his media accross the globe.

Read our Research

The War in Ukraine, Open-Source Investigation and the Potential for “Digital Fieldwork” in Geopolitics

by

Kevin Limonier

The war in Ukraine shows that a more systematic approach of OSINT methods is a necessity for academic researchers dealing with empirical data from the field.

Beyond “Hybrid Warfare”: A Digital Exploration of Russia’s Entrepreneurs of Influence

by

Marlene Laruelle and Kevin Limonier

To capture Russia’s influence abroad, one needs to look at entrepreneurs of influence such as Prigozhin and Malofeev and their digital activities.

Mapping the Routes of the Internet for Geopolitics: The Case of Eastern Ukraine

by

Kevin Limonier, Frédérick Douzet, Louis Pétiniaud, Loqman Salamatian and Kave Salamatian

Data routing being of geopolitical significance, this article studies the new forms of power rivalries that occur within the lower layers of cyberspace through the analysis of eastern Ukraine.

Culturalizing the Nation: A Quantitative Approach to the Russkii/Rossiiskii Semantic Space in Russia’s Political Discourse

by

Marlene Laruelle and Ivan Grek

A pioneering research quantifying the deployment of rossiiskii and russkii in three datasets: presidential speeches, Duma stenograms, and the global Russian media realm.
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Contact
Feel free to write or call us
+1 (202) 9946340
russiaprogram@gwu.edu

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