The steady dry heat of roughly 100 degrees fahrenheit in Tempe, Arizona may have slowed down our walking and upped our water intake, but it did not alter the participants’ enthusiasm for the 2016 HASTAC (humanities, arts, science, and technology alliance collaboratory) annual conference.
My HASTAC 2016 journey began with former MSU alum from the Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures Department and friend, Allegra Smith picking me up from the airport. Not long after, we met up with current MSU student Howard Fooksman to discuss, over margaritas and tacos, leading the HASTAC scholars unconference day the following afternoon. Divided into three breakout sessions and one synthesis session at the end, the unconference kicked off with scholars from around the world collaborating and connecting over topics such as:
- Pedagogy within digital humanities
- DH Labor / Grants / Job Market
- Public Humanities
- Data Visualization and Big Data
- Tools & Tech
Some of the take-aways from these discussions were: allow students to do self-assessment on digital skills they offer to projects, teach process and not product, provide students with platforms they feel comfortable using in digital spaces (some suggested tools https://hypothes.is, https://ant.umn.edu, http://futureofthebook.org/commentpress/). Furthermore, some of the keys to being in this field were to make one’s work public, create interdisciplinary projects that are recognizable in different fields for various grants and opportunities, as well as staying focused on the importance of one’s digital humanities work (i.e. https://www.hastac.org/groups/university-worth-fighting).
One of my favorite conference sessions was “Speculative Classroom Design: What’s Your University Worth Fighting For?” During this session lead by Cathy Davidson, Michael Dorsch, Lauren Melendez, Mike Rifino, Katina Rogers, Danica Savonick, Lisa Tagliaferri, and Kalle Westerling, participants were asked to draw their ideal classroom and post their picture on twitter. Outdoor spaces, open rooms, bookshelves, and diversified learners filled the screen as we observed what our fellow participants had created. This was followed with a conversation about how higher education needs to progress to be more inclusive, navigate-able, and supportive of all learners and leaders involved.
After that inspiring session, I trotted off to my own five-minute lightening talk, “Identity & Representation in Student Documentaries: Stories of Concern and Hope.” I highlighted the importance of letting students have time, creative freedom, agency, and collaboration as a way to create digital stories they care about.
The films for my talk are:
Opening Film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OR8Xz3kwjI
Finding their Stories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfemBUxjV34
Being Personally Invested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVnRhnLtnWw
Having Creative Control: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK06deYWe8k
Pride in their Accomplishments https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi_4Nwcft2U
The HASTAC annual conference continues to surprise and inspire many, myself included, as it pushes boundaries, asks deep questions, and plays with learning!
Photos from the conference, made possible by Bruce Matsunaga: https://www.flickr.com/photos/brucematsunaga/albums/72157668030331091/page2