Participation
You are expected to attend each class having completed the week’s readings and/or tutorials and be prepared to discuss them. As part of that preparation, you will write 2-3 questions related to the week’s theme and post these questions to the course Slack channel by midnight the night before class. Please read each of your classmate’s questions prior to the start of class. If you need to miss a class, notify me ahead of time and we will then come up with a plan or alternative assignment to catch you up on what you missed.
Project Example
Each week, one or two students will present a short overview of a real-world digtial history/humanities project related to the week’s topic. You will provide a SHORT introduction to the project (3-5 minutes) and how it relates to the week’s theme or readings. You are welcome to discuss its background, strengths or shortcomings, etc. but keep in mind that you do not have very much time. Plan out ahead of time exactly what you need to convey to your classmates so that they can understand the project and its relationship to the theme. If you would like to display any visuals (website, images, etc.) on the big screen, please send them over Slack prior to the start of class.
The goal of this assignment is two-fold. First, it will provide the class with a series of real-world examples of particular method or topic “in action.” Second, in trying to find your project you will get exposed to a wider body of digital history research. To find projects, I suggest searching Current Research in Digital History (2018 and 2019) and abstracts from the Digital Humanities annual conference (2018 and 2019).
Please email or Slack DM me with the project you are thinking of doing at least two days before class so that I can approve it.
Homework Assignments
You will have regular homework assignments in addition to the weekly readings. You are expected to complete these and (when indicated) submit them to me. These are to help you practice the skills that you learn in class. I will not be grading these, but it is a chance for me to go through them and make sure everyone is understanding the concepts, tools, etc.
Professionalization
As part of your participation in this class, I would like you to get to know the wider digital humanities community at Northeastern. Please attend at least three digital humanities events on campus (talks, brown bag lunches, etc.) sponsored by NULab or the Digital Scholarship Group.
Final Project
In your final project, you be completing your own work of digital history. The particulars of the project are up to you, including its topic or content and the mode of analysis and interpretation. This project can be created collaboratively or individually, and I will be working with you over the course of the semester to develop a feasible project and plan for completion. My only requirement is that you: a) create a clear historical interpretation or narrative, and b) develop new technical skills - either by learning an unfamiliar method or by developing a substantially new level of expertise in a tool or technique with which you are already familiar.