Requirements

Required Texts

In the spirit of open access, all readings for the course will be available online and, mostly, ungated. Most weeks, article-length essays make up the majority of the reading. In addition, I’ll ask that you explore digital history sites related to the weekly topic. 

  • McDivitt, Anne Ladyem. Hot Tubs and Pac-Man: Gender and the Early Video Game Industry in the United States (DeGruyter Oldenbourg, 2020). Available in e-version through UA Libraries

Other readings are online and freely available; these will be linked to the syllabus the weeks in which they’re assigned.

*You will need a laptop, desktop, or tablet for this class. If you have any difficulty securing a computer, please let me know so we can connect you with resources. I’ll be discussing technical requirements in more detail in class.

Also required:

Please purchase your own domain from the hosting service Reclaim (the $45/year personal account)

Learning Outcomes

  • Demonstrate a command of the debates in digital history practice (main assessment: blog posts and discussion, final project)
  • Critique and evaluate examples of digital history practice (main assessment: blog posts and discussion)
  • Employ data and digital history tools to make arguments about the past (main assessment: final project)
  • Build a site that draws from digital tools learned in the course (main assessment: CWRGA prototype)
  • Design an original digital history project that draws from principles learned in the course (main assessment: final project)
  • Written assignments require coherent, logical, and carefully edited prose. Students will be required to demonstrate higher-level critical thinking skills such as analysis and synthesis (assessment: blogs, final project)

Assessment

  • Discussion/participation (15%)The course will be conducted as a seminar in which everyone contributes to the conversation—you are expected to attend class weekly and be prepared to discuss readings by the time class meets. If you are sick or need to miss class for any reason, please alert me in advance. We are still in the middle of a pandemic, and I’m prepared to be flexible and offer support!
  • Blog assignments (15%) You will write a blog post each week that synthesizes the main themes of the readings and reflects on our practicum. During some weeks I’ll give you a specific prompt to which I’d like you to respond. You’ll post these on your own WordPress blog. Posts must be at least 250 words in length and demonstrate engagement with the week’s readings and themes. Blog posts are due by 5:00 on Thursday of each week and should address the contents of that week’s assigned readings and the in-class discussion and practicum; all posts will be pulled into the course website via an RSS feed. 

A note about privacy: Though I encourage you to use your name on the blog, I also understand if you’d prefer to blog under a pseudonym for the purposes of privacy. If you choose to employ a nickname or pseudonym, please email and let me know the name/identifier you choose. 

  • CWRGA prototype (25%): Together, we will build a prototype of the Civil War and Reconstruction Governors of Alabama project, an extension of the other projects in Kentucky (https://civilwargovernors.org/) and Mississippi (https://cwrgm.org/) in Omeka S (a content management system). This creation will include transcribing and tagging historical documents; assigning metadata to documents; and analyzing textual data that we use to create visualizations for the site. Through our work, we will learn what possibilities lie in providing public access to the governors’ papers from a watershed moment in American history. Our final class will involve an assessment of the ways that digital tools expand the scholarly and public possibilities of the papers. 
  • Final Project (25%) You may choose one of the following options for your final project (guidelines here):
    • Choose a digital tool or method to extend the CWRGA project. Can you imagine ways to use the governors’ papers that we did not encounter this semester? This option allows you to build an example of the possibilities you see using your Reclaim hosting account. In addition to the digital project, you will provide a 1,000-word essay that explains your methods and how your example extends the scholarly uses of the papers. More details are provided on the course website.
    • Design a digital history project based on your original research. Each of you doubtless has a specific research interest in history. For this option, complete a 2,000-word essay that explores the ways that digital tools allow for a re-examination of sources and topics you are familiar with; new modes of analysis; or alternative ways of interpreting your research for a specific audience. The essay should illustrate your command of best practices and principles in historical research and digital history work learned through the course, and should take into consideration issues of usability and accessibility.

The final project is due April 30th. 

Required Texts

In the spirit of open access, all readings for the course will be available online and, mostly, ungated. Most weeks, article-length essays make up the majority of the reading. In addition, I’ll ask that you explore digital history sites related to the weekly topic. 

  • McDivitt, Anne Ladyem. Hot Tubs and Pac-Man: Gender and the Early Video Game Industry in the United States (DeGruyter Oldenbourg, 2020). Available in e-version through UA Libraries

Other readings are online and freely available; these will be linked to the syllabus the weeks in which they’re assigned.

You will need a laptop, desktop, or tablet for this class. If you have any difficulty securing a computer, please let me know so we can connect you with resources. I’ll be discussing technical requirements in more detail in class.

Also required:

Please purchase your own domain from the hosting service Reclaim (the $45/year personal account)

Learning Outcomes

  • Demonstrate a command of the debates in digital history practice (main assessment: blog posts and discussion, final project)
  • Critique and evaluate examples of digital history practice (main assessment: blog posts and discussion)
  • Employ data and digital history tools to make arguments about the past (main assessment: final project)
  • Build a site that draws from digital tools learned in the course (main assessment: CWRGA prototype)
  • Design an original digital history project that draws from principles learned in the course (main assessment: final project)

Assessment

  • Discussion/participation (25%): The course will be conducted as a seminar in which everyone contributes to the conversation—you are expected to attend class weekly and be prepared to discuss readings by the time class meets. If you are sick or need to miss class for any reason, please alert me in advance. We are still in the middle of a pandemic, and I’m prepared to be flexible and offer support!

  • Blog assignments (25%): You will write a blog post each week that synthesizes main themes of the readings and reflects on our practicum. You’ll post these on your own WordPress blog. Blog posts must be at least 500 words in length and demonstrate engagement with the week’s readings and themes. Blog posts are due by 5:00 on Thursday of each week and should address the contents of that week’s assigned readings and the in-class discussion and practicum; all posts will be pulled into the course website via an RSS feed. 

A note about privacy: Though I encourage you to use your name on the blog, I also understand if you’d prefer to blog under a pseudonym for the purposes of privacy. If you choose to employ a nickname or pseudonym, please email and let me know the name/identifier you choose. 

  • CWRGA prototype (25%): Together, we will build a prototype of the Civil War and Reconstruction Governors of Alabama project, an extension of the other projects in Kentucky (https://civilwargovernors.org/) and Mississippi (https://cwrgm.org/) in Omeka S (a content management system). This creation will include transcribing and tagging historical documents; assignment metadata to documents; and analysing textual data that we use to create visualizations for the site. Through our work, we will learn what possibilities lie in providing public access to the governors’ papers from a watershed moment in American history. Our final class will involve an assessment of the ways that digital tools expand the scholarly and public possibilities of the papers. 

  • Final Project (25%): You may choose one of the following options for your final project:
    • Choose a digital tool or method to extend the CWRGA project. Can you imagine ways to use the governors’ papers that we did not encounter this semester? This option allows you to build an example of the possibilities you see using your Reclaim hosting account. In addition to the digital project, you will provide a 1,000-word essay that explains your methods and how your example extends the scholarly uses of the papers. More details are provided on the course website.
    • Design a digital history project based on your original research. Each of you doubtless has a specific research interest that you are examining in a seminar paper or master’s thesis. For this option, complete a 2,000-word essay that explores the ways that digital tools allow for a re-examination of your sources; new modes of analysis; or alternative ways of interpreting your research for a specific audience. Ideally, the project will become a part of your thesis or seminar work. The essay should illustrate your command of best practices and principles in historical research and digital history work learned through the course, and should take into consideration issues of usability and accessibility.

The final project is due April 30th. 

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