Discussion Topic

“What is digital humanites?” has been a perpetual question since the field emerged—so much so that many, including your professor, have long been exasperated by it. DH is big and sprawling, to be sure, but in 2024 there have been (at least) twenty years of definitions, conferences, journals, and collections that we can use to sketch DH’s broad commonalities, as well as to trace its distinct genealogies and communities of practice. For today’s class, then, we’ll not work to come up with a singular, universalizing definition—a task that would be challenge for any academic field—but instead to try and outline the evolving contours of the communities that have gathered under—or challenged, or rejected—the banner of “digital humanities” over the past two decades.

Discussion Prep & Collaborative Notes Doc

Core

  • Make sure to review the course policies and assessment sections, including the assignments for the semester. You should complete the discussion prep for this week using the link above.
  • Matthew K. Gold and Lauren F. Klein, “A DH That Matters,” Debates in the Digital Humanities 2019, external link & “Introduction: The Digital Humanities, Moment to Moment,” Debates in the Digital Humanities 2023, external link
  • John Russell, “Relearning Digital Humanities Librarianship,” in Digital Humanities in the Library (2024), library link
  • Meaningfully browse Reviews in Digital Humanities looking for projects that interest you: because of their topic, their methods, their institutional home, etc. To home in on likely projects of interest, you can browse by time period, field of study, or topic or method. As you browse, jot down some general notes about trends you observe among the projects you see. Then, choose 1 review to read in detail. As you do, consider how this project fits (or does not) your ideas about “digital humanities” heading into this class. Be prepared to introduce your chosen project to the class, including details such as:
    • Who are the project leads? Are they affiliated with particular institutions?
    • Which field(s) does the project contribute to?
    • What methods or technologies does the project employ?
    • What are the project’s major outcomes (e.g. datasets, code, maps, websites, exhibits, etc.)?

Penumbra

Remember, you should choose one penumbral reading to prepare in detail, based on your own interests and/or career goal(s), though you are of course free to read more. This week we have an especially large list because there have been so many introductions to DH. This is, if you can believe it, still only a sampling.

  • Susan Schreibman, Ray Siemens, and John Unsworth, The Digital Humanities and Humanities Computing: An Introduction” in A Companion to Digital Humanities (2004), external link
  • Matthew K. Gold, “Introduction: The Digital Humanities Moment,” Debates in the Digital Humanities (2012), external link
  • Browse Jason A. Heppler, “What Is Digital Humanities?” (2015), external link
  • Lauren F. Klein and Matthew K. Gold, “Introduction: Digital Humanities: The Expanded Field,” in Debates in the Digital Humanities 2016, external link
  • Ryan Cordell, “How Not to Teach Digital Humanities,” in Debates in the Digital Humanities 2016, external link
  • Scott B. Weingart and Nickoal Eichmann-Kalwara, “What’s Under the Big Tent?: A Study of ADHO Conference Abstracts” (2017), external link
  • Jacqueline Wernimont and Elizabeth Losh, “Introduction,” in Bodies of Information: Intersectional Feminism and Digital Humanities (2018)
  • Laure Barbot, Frank Fischer, Yoann Moranville, and Ivan Pozdniakov.,“Which DH Tools Are Actually Used in Research?” (2019), external link
  • Kelly Baker Josephs and Roopika Risam, “Introduction: The Digital Black Atlantic” in The Digital Black Atlantic (2021), external link
  • Anne McGrail, Angel David Nieves, and Siobhan Senier, “Introduction” to People, Practice, Power: Digital Humanities Outside the Center (2021), external link
  • Ian Milligan, “The Transformation of Historical Research in the Digital Age,” in The Transformation of Historical Research in the Digital Age (2022), external link
  • Domenico Fiormonte, Paola Ricaurte, and Sukanta Chaudhuri, “Introduction” to Global Debates in the Digital Humanities (2022), external link
  • Brian Croxall and Diane K. Jakacki, “What We Teach When We Teach DH,” in What We Teach When We Teach DH (2023) external link

Also Consider

  • Signing up for Slack account in the DH@UIUC workspace. The UIUC DH community uses this space to communicate about upcoming events, opportunities, and more. You can use this invitation link to sign up.

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