THATCamp Milwaukee, May 23-24, 2014

via Ann Hanlon, Head, Digital Collections and Initiatives, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, UWM Libraries

Please join us in Milwaukee, May 23-24, for THATCamp (The Humanities and Technology Camp) Milwaukee 2014, an (un)conference organized by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Library’s Digital Humanities Lab and the UWM History Department. In this collegial setting, we invite you to have a little fun talking about new media and its wider application in the humanities, other scholarly disciplines, and the world beyond. Regardless of technical expertise or skill level, THATCamp Milwaukee provides an open and accessible space to “get your feet wet,” so to speak, in the digital humanities. Above all, it is a place to learn, experiment, and create.

This particular THATCamp is loosely based around the theme of building community through the digital humanities. Many of the DH Lab’s initial projects focus on public-facing and community-oriented projects that document, visualize, and contextualize the city and state where we’re headquartered ­ Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Other UWM projects ­ proposed or underway ­ look outward to other virtually imagined communities around the nation and the world. The DH Lab is an experimental and growing community itself, grounded in the same improvisational spirit that animates THATCamp’s organizers.

May 23rd: Bootcamp (workshops)
May 24th: THATCamp (sessions)

Register at: http://milwaukee2014.thatcamp.org/register/
Registration is free!

THATCamp is truly democratic and relies on YOUR session proposals to succeed. The more session proposals we receive, the more topics we will have to discuss. So, we strongly encourage you to propose a session after registering: http://milwaukee2014.thatcamp.org/propose/

More information on schedule, workshops and locations TBA soon.

Announcing the 2014 NUDHL Connections Grant

The NUDHL Connections Grant supports graduate student travel to symposia, conferences, workshops, and other events related to digital humanities taking place outside the Chicagoland area. Students who receive funding to attend these events are required to present the knowledge they have gained at a future NUHDL meeting. The purpose of this grant is to support graduate student education, deepen digital humanities expertise and knowledge within the Northwestern community, and forge connections to other institutions.

Two grants of up to $500 will be awarded. First round of applications are due April 1, 2014 for immediate use. For summer or fall 2014, applications are due May 30, 2014. Email your application to josh.honn@northwestern.edu.

To be eligible, applicants should submit:

  1. Application Form (download as PDF).
  2. A current CV.
  3. A statement not more than two pages, single-spaced, that details the nature of the event that you wishes to attend, how it relates to your research, teaching, or scholarly activity as well as what its value may be to digital humanities knowledge and learning at Northwestern more broadly.
  4. Documentation (pdfs, screen shots, links, etc.) of your participation at NUDHL meetings, on the NUDHL blog (www.nudhl.net), and/or HASTAC (hastac.org), and/or similar spaces of digital humanities scholarly discussion.
  5. Any supporting materials (pdfs, screen shots, links, etc.) that document your current digital humanities research.
  6. Supporting materials from the event organizers: explanation of the event, CFP, advertising, or other relevant documents.

Email your application to josh.honn@northwestern.edu. For more information or questions, feel free to email Michael Kramer (mjk@northwestern.edu), Jillana Enteen (j-enteen@northwestern.edu), or Josh Honn (josh.honn@northwestern.edu).

Jonathan Sterne and the Sound of Digital Humanities (NUDHL 2.2 Recap)

For the second NUDHL session of 2013-2014, the group had the privilege of hearing from and visiting with Jonathan Sterne who teaches at the Department of Art History and Communication Studies and the History and Philosophy of Science Program at McGill University, and author of the recent book MP3: The Meaning of a Format. With a focus on “sound studies,” this session especially attracted faculty and graduate students from the various departments of the Bienen School of Music (e.g. Musicology, Music Theory & Cognition), the School of Communication (e.g. Theater & Drama, Performance Studies), and librarians from Northwestern University Library’s Music Library.

After an introduction by NUDHL co-convener Michael Kramer, author of The Republic of Rock: Music and Citizenship in the Sixties Counterculture and whose research interests include “sonification” in the context of historical research and argument, Jonathan Sterne started things off by providing the group a definition of digital humanities. Sterne sees DH as humanists using digital technology in order to do new research and forms of publishing they couldn’t previously do, while also placing it in conversation with fields like New Media and those who study digital culture and media technologies. Yet, Sterne was quick to caution against a DH that embraces an “app fetishism” that privileges methods over questions (or, as he described it, “playing with toys”). Sterne then went on to discuss media historically, elaborating on the university mainframe of the past as a collaborative physical space, and the long tradition of humanists appropriating technology (e.g. photocopier, slide projector, card catalog, etc.) for their own uses.

On issues of sound and digital humanities, Sterne stressed the integration of sound into humanist pedagogy and presentations, and, in multimodal publishing, to create auditory content to illustrate arguments. Seeing this as a moment similar to when art historians started using slide projectors, Sterne questioned why we don’t embed sound the way we embed images? One major barrier to this, Sterne thinks, is institutional timidity around fair use. But, once we begin using sound the way we use images, he felt it could bring about major transformations in how we think, talk, study, and listen.

In the question and answer session, the group wondered how the digital might help us better study analog sound technologies? This question had us considering “close listening” and work such as Adorno’s “The Curves of the Needle.”

When it came to a question on using sound in publications, Sterne saw appropriate use being a question scholars have long faced: do you go for broad legibility or poststructural academic prose? This, to him, seemed to be the same question we have to ask ourselves in relation to multimodal argumentation, which can easily overwhelm and obscure through an excess of sound, image, video, and more.

Finally, we also discussed issues of labor (e.g. publishing multimodally usually does not come with institutional support), collaboration (e.g. the need for designers), and, to come full circle, how we need to not get so lost in methods that we stop asking questions.

As the session ended, scholars and graduate students from Northwestern shared their own experiences and challenges with using sound in their pedagogy, making it clear that this was an activity happening more and more throughout a wide range of disciplines, and one that often requires collaboration between scholars, librarians and technologists. Luckily, all of these folks were in the room, so ideas, questions, resources, and contact information were quickly exchanged, connections formed, and plans hatched while we divvied up the leftover coffee and pastries on our way out.

What are the Digital Humanities?

What are the Digital Humanities?

November 14-16, 2013 @ University of Chicago

Scholars have long been interested in how new media technologies and novel statistical methods can alter the way that humanists approach their work. Indeed, for as long as there have been computers, there has been talk of imminent transformation in the study of our collective cultural life. Only recently, however, have digital technologies made major inroads into the broad range of disciplines that constitute the humanities as a field—scholars in disciplines as diverse as philosophy, art history, English and film studies are now making use of them in their work. But what are the digital humanities? How do they promise to change the way we approach the study of language, literature, philosophy and the arts?

 

Wikipedia Hackathon at Northwestern

Are you a researcher, developer, designer, or data visualizer interested in wikis, Wikipedia, and open online collaboration? If so, the inaugural Chicagoland Wiki Research Hackathon is coming up Friday, November 8 at Northwestern and you should be a part of it!

You can signup on this form and read on to learn more.

What is this event? The Wiki Research Hackathon is a free and open to all, and is being coordinated in conjunction with Wikimedia Labs² and the global Wiki Research Hackathon, which is currently scheduled to take place on four different continents over a 24 hour period!

Why “wiki research”? Wikis and other platforms for open, online collaboration (also known as peer production) are responsible for some of the most innovative and ground-breaking activities on the Internet. In addition to generating valuable public goods (like the world’s largest free encyclopedia!), many of these online communities also produce incredibly rich and detailed public datasets that can be used to conduct research of many kinds, visualize social interactions, and also to build new services, tools, and platforms.

Why should I participate? The goal of the Chicagoland Wiki Research Hackathon is to bring together a local community of people interested in wikis, Wikipedia, and open online communities in order to facilitate collaborations, connections, and new projects. It is an opportunity to meet, brainstorm, and work together. You’ll have the chance to create innovative projects and take advantage of the incredible public data resources available from Wikipedia, Wikia, and other open online communities. By participating, you’ll also be part of a much larger, global community doing wiki research!

Where and when is this happening? The inaugural Chicagoland Wiki Research Hackathon will take place on the Northwestern University campus in Evanston (specific location pending confirmation) from 10am-5:30pm on Friday, November 8. We’ll spend most of the day developing and executing collaborative projects. All attendees are then invited for appetizers and drinks from 6-8pm. You can check out a slightly inaccurate draft agenda for the day if you want more details than that. Note that remote participants are also welcome, but you should get in touch with the organizers ahead of time if you’d like to participate remotely.

What do I need to bring? Most importantly, you need to bring your ideas, skills, and willingness to meet and work with other people who have diverse interests. The organizers will provide some basic infrastructure (space, food, brainstorming activities, internet connections, lightweight planning and organization). All attendees are encouraged to bring their own laptops (or other personal computing devices) as needed.

Sounds fantastic! How do I get involved? Just signup here. We’ll keep you posted with reminders, additional details about the event, and future announcements Please complete the signup form even if you think you can only come for part of the day or just want to stay informed about future events.

I still have questions – who do I talk to? Email Aaron Shaw (Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, Northwestern).

Who’s supporting this event? The inaugural Chicagoland Wiki Research Hackathon is co-sponsored by the Northwestern Program in Technology & Social Behavior and the Wikimedia Foundation. We’re also grateful for the support of the Northwestern School of Communication; the Department of Communication Studies; and the Program in Media, Technology & Society. If you’d like to get involved as a sponsor and/or organizer of this hackathon or future events like this, please email Aaron Shaw.

ETOPiA

I just stumbled across ETOPiA—NU’s Engineering Transdisciplinary Outreach Project in the Arts—via a well-designed poster hanging up in the library promoting performances of “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs.” Certainly seems of interest to NUDHL and our discussions of issues of technology criticism and interdisciplinary. Here more from the group’s website:

ETOPiA: The Engineering Transdisciplinary Outreach Project in the Arts uses performance arts staged in the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences to inspire a cross-disciplinary dialogue about the role of science and technology in society. This annual event highlights the pursuit and application of knowledge by individuals whose historical and personal circumstances span from tragic to epic. In its inaugural year, 2008, ETOPiA produced the play Copenhagen and opened the doors of the Technological Institute of Northwestern to an audience of almost 1,000 community members, high school students, undergraduates, graduate students, staff, and faculty from the greater university neighborhood.

ETOPiA strives to generate awareness among students of all ages and disciplines about the interdependence of the different fields of study, and the services, responsibilities, and obligations of engineers and scientists in today’s society. To broaden outreach, admission is free to all, and special performances are scheduled for the benefit of area high schools. Support comes from various Northwestern institutions, such the Materials Research Center, the International Institute for Nanotechnology, and The Graduate School. ETOPiA succeeds through direct involvement of Northwestern undergraduate and graduate students who assist in the organization and execution of the event.

More, including information about the current performance, at http://etopia.northwestern.edu/

Presentation: DH in NU Graduate Studies

Please join Northwestern University Library on Thursday, August 22, at 2pm, for a presentation by Jade Werner, PhD candidate in English, as she presents on digital humanities, tools for the analysis of literary texts, and graduate studies at Northwestern University.

Jade Werner is the Center for Scholarly Communication & Digital Curation‘s first Digital Humanities Graduate Student Fellow and has been blogging about her experience throughout the summer; her posts can be found here: http://cscdc.northwestern.edu/blog/?author=9.

Digital Humanities in NU Graduate Studies
Jade Werner, PhD Candidate in English, Northwestern University
Video Theater Room, Northwestern University Library
Thursday, August 22, 2013 @ 2:00 PM

DH (& Other) Resources a the Library

In lieu of making slides, I thought a blog post outlining what I’ll be discussing informally at today’s NUDHL meeting might be a better resource for everyone. I would like to briefly discuss some of the resources available to faculty and graduate students, most of which can be filed under a very loosely defined digital humanities. Please feel free to leave a comment on this post or contact me directly at josh.honn@northwestern.edu with any questions or comments. I’m also online a lot.

  • Center for Scholarly Communication & Digital Curation
    This is where I work as Digital Scholarship Fellow along with my boss Claire Stewart, who is both head of the Center and Digital Collections. Claire is the go-to person for all things copyright, fair use, and data management. Me, I mostly research digital tools and methodologies and consult/collaborate with faculty and grad students on digital humanities and publishing projects. Though, by projects, I don’t necessarily mean BIG projects, but projects of all kinds, shapes, and sizes. Some types of projects we’re working on now include online manuscript transcription and annotation, a digital history course, various types text analysis  research, experiments in multimodal scholarly monograph publishing, born-digital web archiving curation and research, and others. Finally, I’ve also begun to provide presentations and resources on digital pedagogy and building an online scholarly presence.
  • A Guide to Digital Humanities
    One of my projects is this guide, which should provide a pretty basic and broad (but I hope high quality!) overview of many of the methods, tools, research, and projects that often fall under the umbrella term digital humanities. It’s also collocates many of the best repositories online, such as Bamboo DiRT for finding many, many kinds of digital research tools. A good amount of the tools and methodologies listed here I and other folks in the library have some experience with, so please feel free to consult with me/us. And if there’s something I don’t know, it’s part of my job to, at the very least, look into it! I’m also always looking for feedback on how to make the guide better, so please feel free to contribute ideas.
  • Digital Collections & the Digital Media Lab
    The Center and the Digital Collections department work very closely together and we also share a space in 2 East in the Library. Digital Collections works on digitization and other digital projectschecks out equipment, and also has a digital media lab which is open to faculty and graduate students. Digital Collections is an excellent source for learning about metadata, best practices for self-digitization in archives, learning and using new software, running OCR on PDFs, and a lot more. My colleague Brendan Quinn is a particularly great person to be in touch with when it comes to multimedia production and web design.
  • Northwestern University Library
    I don’t know everything that’s going on in the library, but there are a lot of other resources pertinent to digital humanities research, especially through many of our humanities librarians. For instance, if you want to find out more about what databases the library subscribes to and how to search and use them, Charlotte Cubbage is invaluable, especially for English. She’ll help you find everything from primary to secondary research resources online. If you’re looking to learn reference/citation management software like Zotero, I recommend making an appointment with Geoff Morse. And for GIS data and visualization, Ann Aler. For a full list of subject specialists, go here.

MA in Digital Humanities @ Loyola

I know a few undergraduates have attended NUDHL events, and I’m guessing many of NUDHLs regulars work with and teach undergraduates, so this may be of interest. Loyola University’s MA in Digital Humanities is fantastic, as is its Center for Textual Studies and Digital Humanities. Forwarding on this note from Steve Jones:

Dear colleagues,

A reminder that now is the time for applications to the MA program in Digital Humanities at Loyola University Chicago (for fall 2013 semester). Information on the curriculum is available at the CTSDH website:

http://www.ctsdh.luc.edu/ma_digital_humanities

And that page also contains a link to the free online application:

http://www.luc.edu/gradschool/application/procedures.shtml?application=/gradschool/application/biology.shtml

Please refer interested students to the program and encourage them to email me directly with any questions.

With thanks,

Steve

—–

Steven Jones
Professor of English
Co-Director, CTSDH
Loyola University Chicago
http://stevenejones.org

A Guide to Digital Humanities

DH Comrades— I have published “A Guide to Digital Humanities” which has a focus on Northwestern University, but is also appropriate for all interested in DH. I would love for you all to check it out, use it, and offer suggestions. To Andrew and everyone else working on the NU toolography, I’d be happy to work with you and host it in the DH@NU section of the site. I may launch the blog at some point too, but I’m not sure yet. Happy to coordinate with NUDHL in anyway possible too!