Syllabus


Syllabus


1/11 -- Week 1: What is (and isn't) Digital Humanities?

Introduction to the field of Digital Humanities, from its beginnings in Humanities Computing to the current state of the field; how is DH different from (and how does it overlap with) New Media Studies?  What is a DH research question? 

Pre-Seminar Readings:

-  Matt Kirschenbaum, “What Is Digital humanities and What’s It Doing in English Departments?”
-  Patrik Svensson, “The Landscape of Digital Humanities,” Digital Humanities Quarterly 4, no. 1 (Summer 2010).


Introduction to selected UCLA projects that exemplify certain fields of DH:



In-class Problem Set #1: Divided into groups of five, each team will analyze the basic functionalities and technologies of one of these sites.  Pay attention to the following: What technologies does the project use to engage with a humanistic problem?  What is the humanistic problem that these technologies address?  How is the project structured in terms of interface, interactivity, and, to the extent that you can tell, the back-end (ie, data structures and database)?  How is the project supported and what stage is it in?

1/12 (2 PM) – EndNote workshop at YRL RC, room 11630F


1/18 -- Week 2: A Very Brief History of Digital Humanities (With Reference to Some Key Thinkers in New Media Studies)


Problem Set #2: Building on the work that your team did in week 1, come prepared to class to discuss the interrelation between the "humanities problem" exemplified by the digital project and the technologies/tools/methods that the project employs.  You may need to contact the director of the project if you have questions about the technical documentation or project specifications.   

1/24 (1PM), EndNote Workshop (second offering) in YRL RC, Room 11630F


1/25 -- Week 3: The Transformation of the Human Sciences and the Humanities



Problem Set #3: How can we connect the practices of DH to the traditions of critical theory (ie, questions of authority and authorship, knowledge legitimation, expertise and credentialing, institutional histories, the nexus of knowledge and power, among other things)?  Pick a mature DH project and discuss how it exemplifies (or fails to exemplify) the connection to critical theory. 

1/27: YRL Research Commons Open House (11-1) + Grad Student Mixer with DH Faculty (1-2 PM)


2/1 -- Week 4: Radiant Textuality: Transformations of Text and Critical Edition

2/1 (11 AM) – YRL RC Workshop on XML (strongly recommended), room 11630F


ASSIGMENT #1 DUE by Friday, Feb. 3: Evaluating a mature DH project.  Posted to class blog by the end of the week. 


LINK TO CLASS POWERPOINT: Critical Theory and DH

2/8 -- Week 5:  The Historical Sciences: Medium and Practice

http://chnm.gmu.edu/essays-on-history-new-media/essays/

Problem Set #4: Describe the methods specific to investigating historical questions.  How would you characterize the changing relationship between narrative and medium?  What methods and tools (if any) are not specific or relevant to investigating historical questions? 

2/10 (2 PM) – TEI Workshop – YRL RC, room 11630F

2/13 -- 1:30 PM in YRL -"Visualization" workshop with Fredrik Palm of Umea HumLab (and Johanna Drucker)

2/14 -- 1:30 Geo-tools with Yoh Kawano: Google Fusion Tables, Geo-data, and GIS.  YRL RC.

2/15 -- Week 6:  Distant Readings, Network Analyses, and Data Deluge



ASSIGMENT #2 DUE: Mapping the Digital in your discipline (in teams, assigned in class)

Assignment of Final Project Teams (in-class) and first meetings

2/16 (2 PM) – Copyright Workshop, YRL RC, Room 11630F


2/22 -- Week 7: Thick Mappings and the "Spatial Humanities"



Problem Set #5: Has there been a "spatial turn" in your discipline and, if so, how would you characterize it?  What's the significance (or insignificance) of spatial analysis (and how is it undertaken) for advancing knowledge in your field? Can you imagine a set of research questions in your discipline that demand spatial analysis? What kinds of tools and technologies would be necessary for pursuing these questions?


2/29 -- Week 8: New Models for Scholarly Publishing, Authorship, and Sharing



In-class team meetings and final preparations for NEH start-up grant projects


3/7 -- Week 9: Intellectual Horizons and Institutional Challenges for 2012 and Beyond


Please familiarize yourself with these resources:


à ASSIGNMENT #3 DUE BY 3/9: A draft grant proposal for a NEH "Digital Humanities Start-up" grant.  Your proposal should follow the guidelines set by the NEH and situate your project within the state of your field/discipline. 


3/14 -- Week 10: In-class Evaluation and Discussion of "DH Grant Proposals"

We will be joined by members of the DH faculty who will discuss and evaluate the merits of each proposal in dialogue with each group.  Each group will be asked to present their proposal for 10 minutes, followed by discussion with the DH faculty and students. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)