This page was last updated Tuesday 11/17/2015 6:30 pm.
IMPORTANT: Weeks 10-15 have changed significantly since the original syllabus — check them out!!
Course schedule is subject to change. Changes will be announced in class, and this course schedule will be updated. Students are responsible for staying up to date on course assignments and schedule.
Changes to schedule will be marked in RED.
Students: For every class, prepare for class ahead of time. This means not just doing the readings or tutorials, but doing them, reflecting on them, annotating them/taking notes, preparing questions for class, and sometimes more.
Week 1: Introductions (August 24-28)
T Introductions
In class: introductions, surveys
Th Our relationships with technology
Read before class:
- Ian Bogost, “The Cathedral of Computing”
- N. Katherine Hayles, “Toward Embodied Virtuality” (this is the thing I handed out in class; if you weren’t in class the pdf is behind a password— check email for password) (Change is merely clarification — no change in assignment)
In class: discussions of readings + activity based on Miriam Posner’s “How Did They Make That”
Week 2: (Aug 31-Sept 4)
This week we begin Digital Tutorial #1 on WordPress worth 100 points and Digital Tutorial #2 on Voyant worth 100 points
T Why are we here
Read/do before class:
- Register for Class Blog (10 points DT1) and post test Blog Post (10 points DT1)
- Kathleen Fitzpatrick, “The Humanities Done Digitally” in Debates in the Digital Humanities http://dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/debates/text/30
- Tara McPherson, “Why are the Digital Humanities So White? or Thinking the Histories of Race and Computation” in Debates in the Digital Humanities: http://dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/debates/text/29
In class:
- Discussions
- Introduction to Voyant using
- http://voyant-tools.org/
- http://disc.library.emory.edu/lincoln/voyant/
- http://docs.voyant-tools.org/category/workshops/
Th Text Analysis: Exploring with Voyant Tools
Read/do before class:
- Andrew Smith’s Commentary (http://andrewdsmith.wordpress.com/2011/08/21/the-promise-of-digital-humanities/)
- Visit William Turkel, Data Mining with Criminal Intent (http://criminalintent.org/getting-started/)
- Use the dataset I provide to play around with Voyant http://voyant-tools.org/; use multiple aspects of the tool and save images. Resources if you need them:
- Documentation on Voyant http://docs.voyant-tools.org/ including the list of tools http://docs.voyant-tools.org/tools/LINK ADDED 8/31
- DH101 tutorial http://dh101.humanities.ucla.edu/?page_id=172
- Example at https://postapocalypticcities.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/voyanttools/
- Screencast tutorials on Voyant Tools https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDCADF35691404F54
- Course Blog posts (Groups A & B) should be
about Drucker andabout what you did or did not learn about the text(s) using Voyant (will count toward blog and 70 points DT2); comment on 2 other peers’ blog posts FIXED ASSIGNMENT 8/31
In class:
- Discussion of readings and Voyant
- Small groups: refine your work with Voyant and post to blog (20 points DT2)
Week 3: (Sept 7-11)
T What are we doing?
Read/do before class:
- Mark Sample, “The Digital Humanities is Not about Building, It’s about Sharing,” http://www.samplereality.com/2011/05/25/the-digital-humanities-is-not-about-building-its-about-sharing/
- Lisa Spiro, “‘This is Why We Fight’: Defining the Values of the Digital Humanities in Debates in the Digital Humanities http://dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/debates/text/13
In class:
- Class does not meet today. Instead, by 1 pm everyone write a blog post answering the questions: What is the Digital Humanities? Why the Digital Humanities? Reference points from each of the two assigned pieces as well as your own experiences in class in the past two weeks. You may have multiple answers to this question or one answer; you may have a critical take on DH or a positive one or a multifacted one.
Th Inclusion and Universal Design
Read/do before class:
- George H. Williams, “Disability, Universal Design, and the Digital Humanities,” in Debates in the Digital Humanities http://dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/debates/text/44
- Planet Money, “When Women Stopped Coding” http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2014/10/21/357629765/when-women-stopped-coding
- Think about what name you want for your own web domain; we will register in class next week.
In class:
- Class does not meet today. Instead, by 1 pm:
- respond to TWO blog posts from your peers from Tuesday. Comments should be analytical, non-trivial, and demonstrate reflection on both the course materials and your peers’ analysis of these materials. minor edit 9/1
- write a new blog post responding to the questions: What is your experience with computers and technology, and how is it similar to or different from the experiences Williams and the podcast describe? Why do the issues Williams and the podcast mention matter? Edited to add: since our blog is public you may choose not to write about extremely personal experiences and you can focus on the second question — why do these issues matter? 9/1
Week 4: (Sept 14-18)
Digital Tutorial #3: Text Analysis with AntConc (100 points)
T Text Analysis Continued: Dig Deeper with AntConc
Read/do before class:
- Drucker, “Distant Reading and Cultural Analytics” http://dh101.humanities.ucla.edu/?page_id=62 (READ the whole thing; Click through the links in sections A, B, D and Case Study: On Distant Reading; you can skip the Case Study: Cultural Analytics for now.)
- Download proper version of AntConc for your computer http://www.laurenceanthony.net/software/antconc/ & movie reviews dataset for class https://db.tt/2PsC23px (10 points)
In class
- Follow up on last week
- Tutorial based on Programming Historian Tutorial http://programminghistorian.org/lessons/corpus-analysis-with-antconc (40 points for work in class)
Extra Credit: Thursday noon: Lecture on Digital Teaching and Learning by Dr. Jim Groom
WPC 140
Lunch in hallway starts at 11:30, Lecture starts promptly at noon
Be sure Dr. S sees you (and sees you being attentive) there
Th
Read/do before class
- THEORY:
- Emory University Domain of One’s Own pages on Privacy and Digital Citizenship; for Digital Citizenship be sure to click through to the three additional pages linked at the bottom. (http://docs.emorydomains.org/general_information/privacy_and_domain_of_one_s_own & http://docs.emorydomains.org/digital_citizenship/digital_citizenship )added 9/15
- David Golumbia, “Crowdforcing: When What I Share is “Yours” http://www.uncomputing.org/?p=1658 added 9/15
- Group A: blog post by 9 pm on Privacy issues (Domain of One’s Own, Golumbia); Group B: 2 comments by class time.
- PRACTICE
- homework involving working with AntConc (50 points) homework instructions added 9/14
Lisa Nakumara, “Measuring Race on the Internet: Users, Identity, and Cultural Difference in the United States,” from Digitizing RaceCanceled 9/15
Week 5: (Sept 21-25)
T Sharing and Publishing Online
Read/do before class:
- Anne Gilliland, “Setting the Stage,” from Murtha Baca, ed., Introduction to Metadata (Los Angeles: Getty, 2008)
- “Metadata can expose person’s identity even without name” http://www.wsj.com/articles/metadata-can-expose-persons-identity-even-when-name-isnt-1422558349 [if you hit a paywall click here instead]
- Group B: blog post by 9 pm Monday night; Group A: 2 comments by class time.
In class:
- Discussion of readings/blog posts
- Domain registration
- DT1: WordPress Themes (including universal design/accessible design)
- Licensing and fair use http://creativecommons.org/ & http://www.britishmuseum.org/join_in/using_digital_images/using_digital_images.aspx
Th Collaboration and Working Together
Read/do before class
Cathy Davidson, “What if Scholars in the Humanities Worked Together in a Lab?” http://chronicle.com/article/What-If-Scholars-in-the/24009Collaborators Bill of Rights http://mcpress.media-commons.org/offthetracks/part-one-models-for-collaboration-career-paths-acquiring-institutional-support-and-transformation-in-the-field/a-collaboration/collaborators%E2%80%99-bill-of-rights/
Class does not meet today. EVERYONE: Write a post to the course blog by 1 pm. Comment on two peers’ posts by Friday. Get started on readings for next week.
Week 6: (Sept 28-Oct 2)
T Creating, Remixing, and Sharing Online: Potentials and Pitfalls
Read/do before class:
- Melissa Terras, “Re-use of Digitised [Cultural Heritage] Content” http://melissaterras.blogspot.com/2014/10/reuse-of-digitised-content-1-so-you.html
- Robert Leopold, “Articulating Culturally Sensitive Knowledge Online: A Cherokee Case Study*
- DT1 WordPress
- Install WordPress blog on your main personal domain (DT1 10 points)
- Select a WordPress Theme and install (DT1 20 points)
- Create an About page (20 pts); be sure it is in your website menu (10 points)
- Group A: blog post by 9 pm Monday; Group B: 2 comments by class time.
In class:
- Discuss last Thursday’s readings and blog posts
- Discuss readings
- DT1: Plug-ins; discuss and install plug-ins on domains; customize themes
Th Archives and Collections
Read/do before class
- Amy E. Earhart, “Can Information Be Unfettered? Race and the New Digital Humanities Canon” In Debates in the Digital Humanities or online http://dhdebates.gc.cuny.edu/debates/text/16
- Jerome McGann, “Radiant Textuality”
- Visit some online archives:
- Group B: blog post by 9 pm Wednesday; Group A: 2 comments by class time.
In class:
- Discussion
Week 7: (Oct 5-Oct 9)
Note: This week we begin online Tutorial #4: Omeka Exhibits (worth 200 points)
T Reading Sources, Creating DH Research Questions
Read/do before class:
- Background on martyrdom and early http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/why/martyrs.html
- Acts of Perpetua and Felicitas
- Visit http://omeka.net and http://info.omeka.net/showcase/
- Blog posts should be about Perpetua and Felicitas; Group A: blog post by 9 pm Monday; Group B: 2 comments by class time.
- Accept invitation to course Omeka site (10 points)
In class:
- Discuss Perpetua and Felicitas (blog posts, brainstorm: what more do you want to know about P & F and their time?)
- Introduction to Omeka with http://miriamposner.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Up-and-Running-with-Omeka2.pdf and http://dh101.humanities.ucla.edu/?page_id=104
Th Beginning our online collections and exhibits
Read/do before class:
- Find three digital/digitized objects from antiquity (material culture in a variety of forms: in museums, on site, digital reconstructions etc.) that help you address one or more of our questions about P & F and their time (50 points)
- be sure they are from a reliable source
- do you have permission to remix/repost?
- Read on classification: http://dh101.humanities.ucla.edu/?page_id=33
- No blog posts
In class:
- Discuss Collaborations from Thursday
- Upload ONE object per student to Omeka, including metadata (10 points)
- Begin creating Collections
Week 8: (Oct 12-Oct 16)
We are finishing up the Omeka tutorial
T Building together
Read/do before class:
- Finish uploading three digital objects to our Omeka site, including their metadata (40 pts)
- Add your objects to Collections (or create a new Collection if none fit) (10 points)
- No blog posts
In class:
- In groups begin creating exhibits for our Omeka site (30 pts); tie exhibits to our questions about Perpetua and Felicitas
Th Class project review
Read/do before class:
- Update about page on Omeka site (10 pts)
- Groups finish work on Omeka exhibits. (40 pts)
- No blog posts
In class:
- Review class Omeka site and exhibits
Week 9: (Oct 19-23) (note changes to original syllabus)
Finish Omeka (Tutorial #4); Mini Digital Tutorial (#5 Data Structure, 50 pts)
T Finish Omeka
Read/do before class:
- Register/Get a Google account (10 points for DT #5)
- Download spreadsheet at http://bit.ly/cushmancollection (10 points DT #5)
- Write a blog post to YOUR OWN WEBSITE about your learning experience using Omeka (Week9changes)
- Read Nathan Yau, Visualize This, chapter 1
Th Getting comfortable with data in spreadsheets
Read/do before class:
- Read Johanna Drucker, “Humanities Approaches to Graphical Display” paragraphs 1-11
- Visit Micki Kaufman’s “Quantifying Kissinger Project”
- Read the front page (scroll all the way down) to learn about the project
- Watch the video describing the project
- Check out some of the visualizations of her data (especially this one on word collocation of “bombing”)
- Optional: another data visualization project is the Lowell Massachusetts foreclosure project. This website has multiple charts and maps on one page. How effective are these visualizations?
- Group B: blog post by 9 pm Wednesday; Group A: 2 comments by class time. Consider:
- What does Drucker mean by capta vs data?
- What does Drucker mean when she says we must pay attention to the representation of knowledge? Why is this important for visualization? Is a chart knowledge, the representation of knowledge, both? Consider Yau’s comments, and what we discussed in class on Tuesday.
In class:
- Discuss Drucker & Yau
- Google Fusion Tables Workshop [based on Miriam Posner’s workshop] (30 points based on in class work)
NOTE: Weeks 10-15 are under revision. Check back again!
Week 10: (Oct 26-30)
Digital Tutorial #6 Mapping
T Spatial History
Read/do before class:
- Jenna Hammerich, “Humanities Gone Spatial” (handout)
- Zephyr Frank, Spatial History as Scholarly Practice (handed out in class; this download will disappear after Tues)
- Group A: blog post by 9 pm Monday; Group B: 2 comments by class time.
- Questions as prompts for your blog posts and class discussion:
- Why is the project Richard Pryor’s Peoria “spatial history”?
- How is “spatial history” different from reading an essay about history? What are its advantages/disadvantages?
- On p. 416, Frank states that spatial history is “much more than ilustration….It makes arguments rather than illustrations.” What does this mean? Some of the DH projects mentioned in this article are:
- What kinds of arguments do they make using space, maps, visualizations?
- If you could do a spatial history, what would it be?
In class:
- Discussion of Hammerich and Frank
- Introduction to Palladio tool
- Begin discussing Final Projects
Th Maps
Read/do before class:
- “A Map Is Not a Picture” (handout)
- Check out Palladio
- Group B Blog post by 9 pm Wednesday; Group A Comments by Class time
- Questions for blog post (you don’t need to answer them all—they are designed to prompt your thinking about the reading): How have digital technologies improved maps, according to Seed? What are some of the potential problems Seed documents when print or paper maps have been digitized? According to Seed, why is a map different from a “picture” or an “illustration”? What strategies does Seed say we should consider when we create or digitize maps? Find a historical map online — evaluate it according to Seed’s standards. Post the image and your evaluation.
In class:
- Discussion of Readings
- Palladio Tutorial (in class work: create a visualization 20 points: post to blog or email to me; must include: visualization image including legend, data source, explanation of the visualization)
Week 11: (Nov 2-Nov 6)
T Maps Day 2
Read/do before class:
- Palladio/Mapping Tutorial: EVERYONE post a blog post to your own website about mapping:
- Post at least 2 visualizations, at least one from Palladio (both/all can be using Palladio, or one can use another mapping tool, such as Google Fusion Tables, CartoDB, etc.)
- Explain and link to your dataset(s)
- Explain what your visualizations are showing and how you made them
- Compare your Palladio map to another kind of map
- Reference one of the readings from last week about Spatial history or maps
- Post worth 70 points: evaluated on whether it has all of the items referenced above plus clean links where necessary
In class:
- Review Mapping (including +10 points in class to revise and refine Mapping blog post due this morning)
- More TBD
- Begin discussing final project, form groups
Th Network Analysis
Begin Digital Tutorial #7 on Network Analysis with Palladio (# points TBD)
Read/do before class:
- Scott Weingart, “Demystifying Networks”
- Kieran Healy, “Using Metadata to Find Paul Revere“
- BE SURE YOU CAN ACCESS the data for the in-class tutorial
In class:
- Discussion of readings & networks
- Begin in-class Palladio network tutorial: http://programminghistorian.org/lessons/creating-network-diagrams-from-historical-sources
Resources:
Week 12: (Nov 9-13)
T
Read/do before class:
- Network graph homework: EVERYONE Blog post about network analysis using visualizations from last class sessions (50 points DT7); must include at least two visualizations, explanation and source of data, explanation of methods, and reference to the readings on networks.
In class:
- CLASS MEETS AT THE LIBRARY TODAY (Classroom 1 in the Library)
Th
Read/do before class:
Full instructions here (UPDATED)
- Brainstorm Final project: research questions and tools/resources need to address the questions.
- Create a Planning Document for your group
- Register for the Zotero Citation Management system and add two items
In class:
- Timeline tool (DT #8 — brief)
- Work on Group Projects
Week 13 (Nov 16-20)
T
Read/do before class:
- Fix your two entries to our Zotero site: is the type (blog post vs website, journal article vs book section, etc.) correct? is the publication location and date entered? author entered correctly? spelling? url? etc. etc.
- Write up Group Project proposal+bibliography and Group Charter
- The example student project site we looked at was Deatheater Studies
- The proposal is 10% of your final project grade. The charter is about 7% of your final project grade.
In class:
- HTML introduction
- Work in groups on Final Projects
Th
Read/do before class:
- Add an HTML page to your website — due before Tues 11/24; instructions here
- Continue to work on group projects — email Dr. S with your progress on your group projects
In class:
- Continue to work on group projects
Week 14: (Nov 23-27)
T-Th Class does not meet because Dr. S is at the Annual AAR/SBL conference & Thanksgiving; work on projects.
Week 15: (Nov 30-Dec 4)
T Work on Group Projects, course evaluations
Th Project preliminary presentations
Finals Week
Last refinements to Projects must be done by Tuesday 12/8 at 3 pm.