Do This BEFORE Our First Class (due January 28)
- Read an article: Colby reads Katherine Harris, “Play, Collaborate, Break, Build, Share: ‘Screwing Around’ in Digital Pedagogy: The Debate to Define Digital Humanities… Again”. Kerishma reads Jentery Sayers, “Tinker-Centric Pedagogy in Literature and Language Classrooms”. Laura reads Matthew Kirschenbaum, “What is Digital Humanities and What Is It Doing in English Departments?”.
- Write a post on our class eportfolio that a) explains the core ideas of your assigned article and b) responds to those ideas. You have all been added to the class eportfolio.
- Set up a digital reading journal, and send Lindsey and Jenny the URL.
Class 1 – 28 January – (Literary) Texts Are Objects That We Can Manipulate
Introductions. Writing of scholarly biographies and adding them to the class web site. Verbal reports on advance reading. Collaborative annotation and discussion of Aimee Bender, “The Rememberer.” A brief look at TEI and XML markup. Examination and analysis of existing digital scholarly projects.
For Next Class
- Write a post on the class eportfolio about the ways in which you already use technology in your research (be that in school or out in the world).
- Everyone reads Mark Granovetter, “The Strength of Weak Ties” and Benjamin Kunkel, “Socialize Social Media! A Manifesto.” Be ready to discuss both readings in class.
- Start aggregating content in your digital reading journal.
- Continue revising your written thesis project.
Class 2 – 4 February – Critical Multimedia and Social Networks
What kinds of research material can be gleaned from social media? Conversely, how can social media be used to creatively present the fruits of our research? In-class analysis of social media experiments—YouTube video remixes, Twitter novels, Facebook feeds for literary characters, etc. Collaborative multimedia project on Granovetter.
For Next Class
- Colby reads Nicholas Hookway, “‘Entering the Blogosphere’: Some Strategies for Using Blogs in Social Research”
- Kerishma reads Nootje Marres, “The Redistribution of Methods: On Intervention in Digital Social Research, Broadly Considered”
- Laura reads Edwards et. al., “Digital Social Research, Social Media and the Sociological Imagination: Surrogacy, Augmentation and Re-Orientation.”
- Come prepared to explain your assigned article to your peers.
- Continue revising your written thesis project.
- Continue aggregating content in your digital reading journal.
Class 3 – 11 February – Digital Ethnography
Guest speakers Karen Gregory and Kara Van Cleaf, Macaulay ITFs and Graduate Center doctoral candidates in Sociology, will present their digital ethnography work and discuss their research practices with us. Karen and Kara will reschedule their visit for some time in March. Discussion of the week’s reading. Collaborative mural-making activity. Reflection on the first three weeks of the course.
For Next Class
- Everyone reads Ben Blatt, “A Textual Analysis of The Hunger Games.”
- Respond to Blatt’s article with a brief post of your own on the class eportfolio. What are the strengths and limitations of this kind of comparative analysis? If you were to conduct a similar analysis of your thesis’s primary sources, what parts of the text (parts of speech, repeated words, etc) would you analyze and why?
CompleteContinue your revisions on your written thesis project.- Continue aggregating content in your digital reading journal.
Class 4 – 18 February – Textual Analysis and Data Visualization
All revisions to your written thesis should be submitted to your advisor by this date.
Guest speaker, Dr. Lauren Klein of Georgia Tech, will discuss data visualization and her own research practices with us. Dr. Klein’s visit has been rescheduled for April. Collaborative in-class exploration and discussion of the work of Lev Manovich and the Software Studies Initiative. In-class data visualization projects using your own thesis research.
For Next Class
- Finish your written thesis work and submit to Lindsey, Jenny, your advisor.
Read both the “Introduction” and one individually-assigned chapter of Franco Moretti, Graphs, Maps, Trees: Abstract Models for a Literary History (Verso, 2007).Colby reads “Trees”Kerishma reads “Maps”Laura reads “Graphs”Use your assigned Moretti chapter to guide you in the creation of a visual representation of a literary work (a novel, a poem, or a short story) that you know really well—ideally, a canonical piece of literature that is not part of your thesis.
- Bring in a physical copy of one canonical piece of literature you already know really well–novel, novella, poem, short story, or drama. Do not bring material that you write about in your thesis. Ideally, bring in something that is from the same country/time period as the sources you’re writing about in your thesis work–but whatever you know and love will do.
- Continue aggregating content in your digital reading journal.
Class 5 – 25 February – Moretti and Maps
All revisions to your written thesis should be submitted to your advisor by this date.
In-class projects on Moretti and visual representation. Then: What is GIS? Why does it matter to humanities scholars? Collaborative digital mapping activity. Reflection on the first third of the course and initial brainstorming on individual digital projects.
For Next Class
- Draft a two-page proposal for your digital thesis project
- Share your proposal with the class, either as a post on the class eportfolio, or as a Google Doc.
- Continue aggregating content in your digital reading journal.
Class 6 – 4 March – Preparing to Present
Jenny leads a discussion on how to give good conference presentations, including how to create strong and engaging visual materials. Class edits and offers feedback on digital project proposals. Visualizing and organizing your digital thesis project.
For Next Class
- Revise your digital thesis project proposal.
- Share the final version of your proposal with the class, either as a post on the class eportfolio, or as a Google Doc.
- Everyone reads Andrew McKinney, “Content Management Systems, Value, and the Interface as a Site of Production,” and leaves a thoughtful comment on his post.
- Continue aggregating content in your digital reading journal.
Class 7 – 11 March – Information Architecture
Discussion and comparison of content management strategies. What are the politics of content management? How do digital structures shape audience response? In-class examination and assessment of past digital thesis projects.
For Next Class
- Be ready to present!
Class 8 – 18 March – Practice Presentation Day
10 to 15-minute presentations on your thesis research, in front of a live audience. Thesis advisors, former thesis students, and other members of the Macaulay community will be on hand to provide you with both verbal and written feedback on the style and content of your presentation.
For Next Class
- Begin creating your digital thesis project!
- Revise your presentation in preparation for NCUR
- Continue aggregating content in your digital reading journal.
Class 9 – 25 March – Individual Consultations
No formal class meeting. Set up individual appointments with both Lindsey and Jenny (a total of two meetings) to discuss your digital thesis project, with an eye towards creating an intelligible project structure.
For Next Class
- Read one article on audience:
- Colby reads Jenny Kidd, “Digital Storytelling at the BBC: The Reality of Innovative Audience Participation”
- Kerishma reads Alice Marwick and danah boyd, “I Tweet Honestly, I Tweet Passionately: Twitter Users, Context Collapse, and the Imagined Audience”
- Laura reads Peter Levine, “A Public Voice for Youth: The Audience Problem in Digital Media and Civic Education”
- Continue developing your digital thesis project.
- Continue revising and preparing your NCUR presentation.
- Continue aggregating content in your digital reading journal.
Class 10 – 1 April – Overlapping Audiences
Verbal reports on this week’s reading. Discussion: who is the audience for your written thesis? For your digital project? Where and how do those audiences overlap? Preparing for NCUR: final in-class consults on presentations, and we’ll talk conference etiquette. NCUR logistics and planning.
Special Activity
National Conference on Undergraduate Research, Lexington KY, 2-5 April.
Class 11 – 8 April – What We Learned
NCUR recap. What did we learn? What would we do differently next time, at least in an academic context? Two collaborative multimedia projects on audiences and public presentation, and the lessons learned from our trip to Kentucky.
For Next Class
- Note: We are off for two weeks for spring break!
- Everyone reads:
- Colby also reads :
- Kerishma also reads:
- Laura also reads:
- Please develop a comparison between Fish and Srinivasan’s article and your individually assigned article in some form—either a written post, or a chart, map, graph, tree, infographic or other visualization. Share your comparison on the class eportfolio.
- Continue working on your digital thesis project.
- Continue aggregating content in your digital reading journal.
Class 12 – 29 April – Gender, Race, and Labor in Digital Research (Revised, Much Improved Title: Intersectionality and DH)
Rescheduled from February: Guest speaker, Dr. Lauren Klein of Georgia Tech, will discuss her DH research practices with us. Comparison assignment: show-and-tell and peer response. Roundtable discussion of your homework reading. Collaborative project (details TBD).
For Next Class
- Write a reflective post on the class eportfolio, considering how this week’s activities and discussion might have an impact on your own work, both this semester and in the future.
- Continue working on your digital thesis project.
- Continue aggregating content in your digital reading journal.
Class 13 – 6 May – Art + Tech: Digital Research Methods Out In The World
This week, please be sure to meet with your thesis advisor, walk them through your digital thesis project, and get their feedback. Field trip to Eyebeam: Art + Technology Center, followed by a collaborative digital research activity conducted on the High Line. Please bring a camera if you have one; we will also check out some tools from Macaulay.
Special Activity
Class trip to 3-Legged Dog to see zoe | juniper’s dance/tech performance, “BEGINAGAIN,” We will be attending a performance together on Saturday, May 10, at 7 PM. Please bring in $15 to cover the cost of your ticket.
For Next Class
- Finish the blogging component of today’s collaborative activities on the class eportfolio.
- Respond to “BEGINAGAIN” in a post on the class eportfolio.
- Continue working on your digital thesis project. Incorporate your advisor’s suggestions!
- Continue aggregating content in your digital reading journal.
Class 14 – 13 May – Digital Thesis Project Work Session
Group work session on digital thesis projects—an ideal time to troubleshoot, ask for feedback, and simply use the pressure of the group environment to get a lot of stuff done. Lindsey will be on hand to help. Bring snacks to share!
Special Activity
Macaulay’s annual Research Event. All of you will prepare presentations for this event. Exact date TBD.
For Next Class
- Finish your digital thesis project and your digital reading journal.
- Everyone reads Brown et. al., “Published Yet Never Done: The Tension Between Projection and Completion in Digital Humanities Research”
- Write a post on the class eportfolio responding to Brown et. al.
Class 15 – 20 May – Reflections and Assessment
Discussion: just how should we assess or “grade” the work we’ve completed this semester? In-class presentation and discussion of digital reading journals and final projects—invite your friends and your advisors to come see what you’ve completed. Celebration.
