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- PhD – University of Western Ontario (2009)
- MA – Wilfrid Laurier University (2005)
- Honours BA – Wilfrid Laurier University (2004)
I’ve published seven books and more than two dozen articles on Canadian, military, and health history supported by more than $1.5 million in external funding. I have more than twenty years experience working in digital history, including the Through Veterans Eyes project which digitized more than 10 million pages of First World War veterans’ files in partnership with Veterans Affairs Canada. Since 2020 I have been developing new digital approaches to the history of the North American fur trade, seeking to use AI to trace individuals across massive source bases that include parish records, account books, fur trade post journals, legal records, and correspondence. By exploring this specific application of AI to a historical research problem, I am trying to develop a broadly applicable research stack for use in the social sciences and humanities.
I began working in machine-learning almost two decades ago when I trained an ABBYY FineReader model to accurately read German Fraktur script. My current research focuses on applying the use of artificial intelligence, specifically generative AI, to historical practice to understand how knowledge work is likely to evolve and change over time. I’ve fine-tune models (primarily from OpenAI and Llama) to improve accuracy on domain specific Named Entity Recognition (NER) and summarization tasks. I’ve also developed domain specific Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines that surface 95-98% of relevant documents on proprietorial validation sets. I build open-source software that lets historians transcribe and analyze handwritten historical documents and maintain the Historical Handwritten Text Recognition (HHTR) benchmark which tracks LLM progress on recognizing historical handwriting without fine-tuning.
I’ve developed one of the first certificate programs in Generative AI and teach courses on AI to undergraduates through our digital humanities program and graduate students at the Balsillie school of International Affairs. write a popular substack called Generative History, publish articles in peer-reviewed journals, and maintain several open-source repositories on GitHub. My research has also been featured in the Verge, University Affairs, on the Cognitive Revolution podcast, and I regularly speak to academic and public audiences across Canada and the United States.
- SSHRC – General Research Fund (GRF), Wilfrid Laurier University – “Generative AI”, 2023.
- Choice Award, American Library Association, 2019.
- AMS Pope Foundation Fellow, Annual Lecture, Dalhousie Medical History Society, Dalhousie University, 2018.
- LH Thomas Memorial Lecturer, University of Alberta, 2018.
- Aid to Scholarly Publication Program Grant, 2018.
- SSHRC Insight Grant, 2018-2026.
- Early Ontario Researcher’s Award, 2015-2019.
- SSHRC Insight Grant, 2013-2018.
- Department of National Defence, Engagement Grant, 2017.
- Choice Award, American Library Association, 2014.
- Aid to Scholarly Publication Program Grant, 2011.
- Canadian Historical Review Prize, 2010.
- SSHRC Standard Research Grant, 2009-2013
I am currently interested in supervising students at the MA and PhD levels interested in applying generative AI to historical problems.
AI Related Publications
- Mark Humphries, Lianne C. Leddy, Quinn Downton, Meredith Legace, John McConnell, Isabella Murray, Elizabeth Spence, “Unlocking the Archives: Using Large Language Models to Transcribe Handwritten Historical Documents,” ArXiv Preprint (forthcoming in Historical Methods), DOI: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2411.03340.
- Mark Humphries and Lianne C. Leddy, “The Future of History,” Intersections 6, 3 (2023): 21-22, DOI: https://cha-shc.ca/publications/intersections/.
- Mark Humphries and Eric Story. “Today’s AI, Tomorrow’s History: Doing History in the Age of ChatGPT,” Active History, 1 March 2023, DOI: https://activehistory.ca.
- Mark Humphries. “History and Generative AI,” Teaching History 57, 3 (2023): 4-9, DOI: https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/informit.322748974380724.
- Mark Humphries. “Generative AI and the (Tame) Digital History Revolution,” Historica, 14 Sept 2023, https://www.historica.org/blog/generative-ai-digital-history-revolution.
- Mark Humphries, “Stochastic Canaries in the Coalmine,” Generative History 6 March 2025, https://generativehistory.substack.com/p/stochastic-canaries-in-the-coalmine.
- Mark Humphries, “Is This the Last Generation of Historians,” Generative History 7 February 2025, https://generativehistory.substack.com/p/is-this-the-last-generation-of-historians.
- Mark Humphries, “Transcription Pearl for Non-Coders and Next Steps,” Generative History 12 November 2024, https://generativehistory.substack.com/p/transcription-pearl-for-non-coders
- Mark Humphries, “Introducing Transcription Pearl,” Generative History, 1 November 2024, https://generativehistory.substack.com/p/introducing-transcription-pearl/
- Mark Humphries, “Why OpenAI’s New Model Might Change Everything for Researchers,” Generative History, 13 September 2024, https://generativehistory.substack.com/p/why-openais-new-model-might-change.
- Mark Humphries, “Making the Infeasible Practical in Historical Research,” Generative History, 31 May 2024, https://generativehistory.substack.com/p/making-the-infeasible-practical-in.
- Mark Humphries, “Microsoft Copilot Necessitates Some Tough Conversations,” 16 February 2024, https://generativehistory.substack.com/p/microsoft-copilot-necessitates-some.
- Mark Humphries, “Growing the Knowledge Gap: OpenAI's New Updates Are Important for Researchers in the Arts”, Generative History, 9 November 2023, https://generativehistory.substack.com/p/growing-the-knowledge-gap-openais.
- Mark Humphries, “AI in Higher-Ed: What You Need to Know to Move from First Encounters to Actual Integration,” Generative History, 2 October 2023, https://generativehistory.substack.com/p/ai-in-higher-ed-what-you-need-to.
- Mark Humphries, “Some Advice To Handle AI in the Classroom this Fall,” Generative History, 21 August 2023, https://generativehistory.substack.com/p/some-advice-to-handle-ai-in-the-classroom.
- Mark Humphries, “Crafting Policies for Generative AI in Research Will Not be Easy for Universities,” Generative History, 28 July 2023, https://generativehistory.substack.com/p/crafting-policies-for-generative
- Mark Humphries, “Building an AI Research Assistant,” Generative History, 2 June 2023, https://generativehistory.substack.com/p/building-an-ai-research-assistant
- Mark Humphries, “The Paradox of Embracing AI in Higher Education,” Generative History, 10 May 2023, https://generativehistory.substack.com/p/the-paradox-of-embracing-ai-in-higher.
- Mark Humphries, “Practical AI for Historians (and the Arts): Part I,” Generative History, 3 April 2023, https://generativehistory.substack.com/p/practical-ai-for-historians-and-the.
- Mark Humphries, “A First Look at GPT-4 and the Humanities,” Generative History, 15 March 2023, https://generativehistory.substack.com/p/a-first-look-at-gpt-4-and-the-humanities
- Mark Humphries, “How ChatGPT Can Help Teach Students to Write Better Research Papers,” Generative History, 13 March 2023, https://generativehistory.substack.com/p/how-to-use-chatgpt-honestly-and-effectively.
- Mark Humphries, “Understanding the Fuzzy Accuracy of Generative AI,” Generative History, 7 March 2023, https://generativehistory.substack.com/p/understanding-the-fuzzy-accuracy
- Mark Humphries, “The Future is Generative,” Generative History, 28 February 2023, https://generativehistory.substack.com/p/the-future-is-generative.
Books
- Mark Humphries. A Weary Road: Shell Shock in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914-1918. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2018, 416 pp.
- Terry Copp, Mark Humphries, Nick Lachance, Caitlin McWilliams, and Matt Symes, Canadian Battlefields of the First World War: A Visitor’s Guide. Waterloo: LCMSDS Press of Wilfrid Laurier University, 2015, 171 pp.
- Mark Humphries. The Last Plague: Spanish Influenza and the Politics of Public Health in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013, 323 pp.
- Mark Humphries, John Maker (editors), Wilhelm J. Kiesselbach (translator), with a foreword by Hew Strachan, Germany’s Western Front: Translations from the German Official History of the Great War, 1914 Part I. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2013, 620 pp.
- Terry Copp and Mark Humphries, Combat Stress in the 20th Century: the Commonwealth Experience. Kingston: Canadian Defence Academy, 2011, 595 pp.
- Mark Humphries, John Maker (editors), Wilhelm J. Kiesselbach (translator), with a foreword by Hew Strachan, Germany’s Western Front: Translations from the German Official History of the Great War, 1915. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2010, 413 pp.
- Mark Humphries (editor), The Selected Papers of Sir Arthur Currie: Diaries, Letters, and Report to the Ministry, 1917–1933. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press/LCMSDS Press, 2008, 407 pp.
Selected Articles, Essays, and Special Issues
- Co-Editor (with Eric Story and Lyndsay Rosenthal), Special Issue, Canadian Military History titled “Canadian First World War Veterans and their Families”, eight peer-reviewed articles.
- ‘A “Pretended Copy Right”? E.A. Kendall and the Writing of Alexander Henry’s Travels and Adventures in Canada and the Indian Territories,” Michigan Historical Review, 48, 1 (Spring 2022): 1-29, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/mhr.2022.0002.
- ‘Working the Short-Haul Fur trade: Voyageurs and the Family Economy at St-Benoit, 1796-1821,” Histoire Sociale/Social History, 54, 110 (May 2021): 17-41, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/his.2021.0036.
- Kandace Boegart with Mark Humphries, “‘Remember me to the folks’: Memory, the Great War and the 1918-1919 Influenza Pandemic in Canada,” in Guy Beiner, Pandemic Re-Awakenings (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021), 152-168.
- “In Death’s Shadow: The 1918-19 Influenza Pandemic and War in Canada,” in Tim Cook and Jack Granatstein (eds.), Canada, 1919: A Nation Shaped by War. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2020.
- “The Best Laid Plans Sir Arthur Currie’s First Operations as Corps Commander,” in Serge Durflinger and Doug Delany, eds. Capturing Hill 70: Canada’s Forgotten Battle of the First World War. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2017, 78-101.
- ‘This is the Time to Mobilize Forces to Resist the Invader’: War, Public Health, and the 1918 ‘Spanish’ Influenza Pandemic in Alberta,’ In Jeffrey Keshen and Adriana Davies, eds. The Frontier of Patriotism: Alberta and the First World War. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 2016, 485-508.
- “Introduction,” In G.W.L. Nicholson, Canadian Expeditionary Force, 1914-1919, revised edition. Montreal-Kingston: McGill-Queen‟s University Press, 2015, xii-xli.
- Mark Humphries, ‘Between Commemoration and History: The Historiography of the Canadian Corps and Military Overseas,’ Canadian Historical Review 95, 4 (September 2014): 384-397, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/chr.95.3.384.
- ‘Willfully and With Intent: Self-Inflicted Wounds and the Negotiation of Power in the Trenches,’ Histoire Sociale/Social History XLVII, 94 (June 2014): 369-97, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/his.2014.0038.
- ‘Paths of Infection: The First World War and the Origins of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic,’ War in History 21, 1 (January 2014): 55-81, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0968344513504525.
- ‘A Calamity from which no Relief can be expected’: Empire, Authority, and Civilian Responses to the French Occupation of Newfoundland, June–September 1762,’ Acadiensis XLIII, 1 (Winter/Spring 2014): 35-64, DOI: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24329575.
- ‘Terry Copp’s Approach to History,’ in Canada and the Second World War: Essays in Honour of Terry Copp, Geoffrey Hayes, Michael Bechthold, and Matt Symes, eds. (Waterloo: WLU Press, 2012), 15–32.
- ‘The Limits of Necessity: Public Health, Dissent, and the War Effort during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic,’ in Esyllt Jones and Magda Fahrni, eds. Epidemic Encounters: Influenza, Society, and Culture in Canada, 1918–20 (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2012), 21–47.
- ‘War’s Long Shadow: Masculinity, Medicine and the Gendered Politics of Trauma, 1914–1939,’ Canadian Historical Review 91, 3 (September 2010): 503-531, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/chr.91.3.503.
- Mark Humphries with Kellen Kurchinski, ‘Rest, Relax, and Get Well: Re-Conceptualising Great War Shell Shock Treatment,’ War & Society 27, 2 (2008): 89–110, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1179/war.2008.27.2.89.
- ‘Old Wine in New Bottles: A Comparison of Canadian and British Preparations for the Battle of Arras,’ in Geoff Hayes, Andrew Iarocci and Michael Bechthold, (eds.) Vimy Ridge: A Canadian Reassessment. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2007, 65-86.
- ‘The Horror at Home: the Canadian Military and the Great Influenza Pandemic of 1918,’ Journal of the Canadian Historical Association 16 (2005): 231–265, https://doi.org/10.7202/015733ar.
- ‘Myth of the Learning Curve: Tactics and Training in the 12th Canadian Infantry Brigade, 1916–1918,’ Canadian Military History 14, 1 (2005): 15-30, DOI: https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1357&context=cmh.
Recent Courses Taught
DH201: An Introduction to Generative AI
DH301: Advanced Generative AI
HI126: War and Society in the Western World
HI292: History of Canada to Confederation
HI347P: Furs and Empire in North America
HI429/HI479: Research and Reading Seminars in the Canadian Fur Trade
HI656: War and Empire in the Great Lakes Region, 1700-1821
Certificate Programs
Undergraduate Certificate in Generative AI
Links
Open Source Software
Transcription Pearl Software Download
Writing
Blog Post: “Stochastic Canaries in the Coalmine,” Generative History 6 March 2025,
Blog Post: “Is This the Last Generation of Historians,” Generative History 7 February 2025.
Blog Post: “Transcription Pearl for Non-Coders and Next Steps,” Generative History 12 November 2024.
Contact Info:
Office location: DAWB 4-151
Office hours:
See your syllabus or course My Learning Space (MLS) site for updated hours.
Languages spoken: English