Join us for the 2023 Distinguished Lecture by Dr. Suzanne Churchill in the Green Room of the MSU Main Library (4th Floor, West) on Thursday, November 16th, 4:00-5:30pm.
“THE future is limitless”: Mina Loy as a Model for Inclusive DH Designs
Dr. Churchill will showcase a series of projects that develop and theorize a practice she calls “inclusive UX design.”
Graduate Student Lunch with Dr. Churchill
Digital Humanities is arranging a lunch for graduate students to meet with Dr. Churchill on Thursday, November 16th, 2023, 12:00-1:00pm in Linton Hall 120. Graduate Students from any discipline are welcome to join. Please RSVP by 12pm Tuesday 11/14/23 so we know how much Potbelly to order.
THATCamp (which stands for “The Humanities and Technology Camp”) is a gathering where the agenda is set by attendees on the day of the event based on what people want to learn and/or share. It is an event where students, staff, and faculty from any discipline and from all skill levels learn and build together in sessions proposed, led, and voted upon by the community.
Why THATCamp MSU?
At DH@MSU THATCamp, we create space for meeting fellow members of the community in informal networking sessions, and we encourage people to share their work in impromptu discussions and workshops.
DH@MSU started hosting bi-annual THATCamps each August and January targeted at MSU faculty, staff, and students for a few reasons:
To bring people back together at the start of the semester
To introduce new folks to the DH@MSU community
Share knowledge, expertise, and skills among the community
Build connections between community members for future collaborations, troubleshooting, and less formal interactions
This day-long unconference is a fantastic opportunity for members of the DH@MSU community (old and new) to gather, learn from each other, and make connections to carry forward into the academic year.
THATCamp is FREE, but we do strongly encourage registration in advance (it helps us determine how much pizza and coffee to buy). A tentative schedule and the registration form are available below. Please direct any questions to Max Evjen (evjendav@msu.edu).
2:45 – 3:30 PM Share out from the sessions, closing thoughts, and next steps (and raffle!)
Technology and Communication
Slack
We encourage all THATCamp attendees who have an MSU email address to join and engage in discussion and information/resource sharing on the MSUDH Slack group. The Slack group can be accessed via a browser and/or by downloading the app on your device and then signing into the MSUDH community. To sign up for the MSUDH Slack Group, go to msudh.slack.com/signup. Note that you must signup using your MSU email address. After signing up, you will be added to the #thatcamp channel. Once you have registered, you can sign in by visiting msudh.slack.com.
Please reach out with questions about signing up, accessing, and using Slack by contacting dh@msu.edu or @DHatMSU!
Additional Information
Mask Policy
As of August 10, 2022, MSU has lifted its face-covering directive. Masks are encouraged, but they are not required.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this event, please do not hesitate to contact DH@MSU at dh@msu.edu or planning committee chair Max Evjen at evjendav@msu.edu.
Founded in 2016, Humanities Commons is an open, not-for-profit social and professional network and knowledge exchange environment for scholars, researchers, and practitioners across the humanities and around the world. Humanities Commons provides a communication infrastructure that unites professional profiles, group discussion spaces, a WordPress-based publishing network, and a library-grade repository, CORE. Humanities Commons unites a broad spectrum of researchers within an open-source and open-access environment, enabling them to discuss, share, and store cutting-edge research and innovative pedagogy.
The following Project Highlight was originally created as part of a list of DH@MSU projects on this website.
The Current is a unique publication that allows students to participate in every aspect of creating a printed magazine, from writing to editing and design. By targeting one of the biggest demographics in the country, Gen Z, students learn how to market and aim a publication toward a specific audience as well as creating unique pieces for their portfolios. To complement the print edition, The Current’s website allows students to expand their writing beyond the East Lansing audience and gain experience writing for a national audience of their peers.
The following Project Highlight was originally created as part of a list of DH@MSU projects on this website.
MSU Digital Humanities Fall 2021 Distinguished Lecture
Jacqueline D. Wernimont “Visceral Data: Renderings that Matter”
4:00PM-5:30PM, October 12, 2021, Virtual
I closed the book Numbered Lives: Life and Death in Quantum Media with a call “to rematerialize data, to make it into something that one can touch, feel, own, give, share, and spend time with. We can leverage quantum mediation to make media with texture, sound, color, heft, weight, and length—media that grapple with the n-dimensionality of human experience.” This call was in response to 2 phenomena: the long history of ‘aesthetic rationalism,’ a mode of relating to the world in ways that bring unruly living bodies and matter under the representational control of quantum media, and the success that linear conceptions of time have had in ordering our relations to the past. After a brief overview of these histories, I’ll be presenting two ‘data visceralizatons:’ one of energy consumption in the U.S. and the other on eugenic sterilization in one U.S. state. We will use these two examples in order to think about how we might rematerialize data and how doing so might change our relationship to the phenomena represented therein.
Jacqueline D. Wernimont is the Distinguished Chair of Digital Humanities and Social Engagement and Associate Professor in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Dartmouth College. She is also Co-Director of HASTAC.
Staff members in the Lab for Education & Advancement in Digital Research (LEADR) collaborate with History and Anthropology faculty to incorporate digital research methods into a variety of classes each semester. This fall (2022) Dr. A.L. McMichael (Director, LEADR) and Professor Chantal Tetreault (Anthropology) continued a tradition of collaborating on ANP 420: Language and Cultures that began in 2014. This time they worked closely with LEADR Graduate Assistant Marcela Omans-McKeeby (PhD candidate, Anthropology) to focus students’ attention on current modes of communication and styles of language online.
For the project, students learned about the ethics of data collection, survey design basics, and how to analyze survey results. The hands-on workshops used two free tools, Google Forms and Voyant, to collect and visualize survey data. Marcela was able to draw on her own dissertation experience developing and disseminating a city-wide survey on perceptions of China in Tijuana, Mexico.
Prof. Tetreault assigns the project because learning about online communicative environments allows students, often for the first time, to critically evaluate their own practices. Some of this year’s research topics include “use of digital technology for classroom communication,” “phone use between generations” and “use of emojis in texting.” Students apply current theories of language to the online environment and learn how to communicate complex ideas as they share results.
By the end of the semester students will have designed a robust survey that is generated and disseminated by the group with clear research questions and a clear set of goals for the data collection. They will have hands-on experience with data collection, analysis, and disseminating research findings. Thus the project entails enhancing digital awareness and literacy as well as the complex ethics of research generally, which are further complicated by the online environment.
The following Teaching Highlight was originally created for the DH@MSU Newsletter and was featured in the December 6, 2022 issue. Subscribe to the Newsletter here.
What Digital Humanities Means to Me: Amanda Tickner
I am the GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Librarian at MSU and I have a PhD in Anthropology from UNC-CH. As a GIS Librarian, I help people with all things related to GIS, including consulting about using GIS in research and classes, supporting learning with GIS workshops, and helping people find GIS data. What attracts me to helping people as a GIS librarian and what drew me to Anthropology is the broad range of subjects they can encompass and connect to.
Collaboration is another DH value that I appreciate, having participated in quite a bit of collaborative research I think it can be effective and useful. Digital Humanities as a discipline often expands collaborative activity into humanities disciplines that traditionally have been focused on solo work, and I think this is valuable. And I value my collaboration and participation with DH at MSU, they have provided a great opportunity for connection to faculty and graduate students who are interested in GIS and digital scholarship services at the library.
I enjoy teaching applications to the DH community, in addition to GIS I have taught class workshops on Twine, 3D modelling and other applications that can be used in DH. Giving people confidence to enter technical subject areas and accomplish things with new methods that they may not have felt comfortable with previously and opening them to possibilities of technology are things I value. Digital Humanities as a discipline shares those values.
The following piece was originally created for the DH@MSU Newsletter and was featured in the January 23, 2023 issue. Subscribe to the Newsletter here.
What America Ate Led by History professor Helen Zoe Veit
This is a interactive website and online archive about food in the Great Depression, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. What were Americans eating in the Depression? Economic upheaval, mass migration and technology were all changing Americans’ diets, and people living through the Depression wondered if there was such a thing as American cuisine and who was eating what. To answer those questions, the U.S. government did something extraordinary: it created the America Eats Project, sending writers around the country to document American eating. Today, for the first time, America Eats sources that had been scattered across the country are digitized and fully searchable, along with almost two hundred local community cookbooks and thousands of food advertising materials from the 1930s. Start exploring now!
Dr. Helen Zoe Veit joins Michael Cullinane to answer all his questions about decadent recipes, food security, poverty, picky children, and the connections between Gilded Age foodstuff and our diet today. Dr. Veit is a professor at Michigan State University and the director of the “What America Ate” project.
The following Project Highlight was originally created for the DH@MSU Undergraduate Newsletter and was featured in the January 26, 2023 issue. Subscribe to the Newsletter here.
The following piece was originally created for the DH@MSU Newsletter and was featured in the January 23, 2023 issue. Subscribe to the Newsletter here.
Alumni Highlight: Miranda Madro
What is your current role/responsibilities in your job?
I am an Adult Services Librarian at a public library in Virginia. Public libraries act as free community centers with a focus on equal access to information; most of my job is thinking of new, innovative ways to serve my community.
I help customers find library books and navigate library resources, like our free music and eBook/eAudiobook apps. I create programs for adults, like the Diversity Book Club I’m planning to start in June that will be held in a local coffee shop or bar. I create social media content for our library, as well as flyers and other promotional materials. I make book displays and organize our collection of materials. I provide notary services and an adult volunteering program. I’m also constantly looking for and attending professional development opportunities.
How did DH connect to your major?
I was an English Major, and there were a lot of exciting opportunities to enhance my study of literature with digital humanities resources. For example, text analysis became so much easier with a tool like Voyant, and comparing authors became simpler with Literature Map.
What experiences in DH stand out from your time at MSU?
I went on a four week Digital Humanities Study Abroad trip in 2016, called Technology, Humanities, and the Arts in London. This was a wonderful opportunity for me to see how digital humanities techniques were being applied in real institutions. Through the two classes I took during my study abroad, “Creative Arts and Humanities: The Creative Process” and “Culture: Physical and Digital”, I visited four libraries, seven museums, two archives, four galleries, two universities for conferences and lectures, three theaters, and one charity organization in London, Manchester, and Liverpool. Outside of class, I was able to visit many other places in England and Scotland with my study abroad group, which enhanced the whole experience. For one of my assignments, I created a map of each institution I visited during classes on my study abroad trip, and it still exists!
Also, Kristen Mapes introduced me to an academic librarian at MSU, who helped me decide on librarianship as a career path. Kristen is partially responsible for my happiness in my chosen field!
What did you learn in DH that you didn’t expect?
I didn’t expect that my Digital Humanities studies would turn into an internship at the MSU Archives, teaching me to transcribe, digitize, and input collections of Civil War era letters into the MSU Archives website. I also compiled a digital project based on my analysis of the digitized materials, including a genealogical research of a Civil War soldier (who I found out married his niece, scandalous!).
How did your experiences in DH prepare you for success?
Digital Humanities is all about innovation, analysis, collaboration, broadening access to information, and data management. I apply all of these principles in my job as a librarian. I was introduced to #TransformDH, a movement to work for social justice, accessibility, and inclusion in the Digital Humanities field, during my Digital Humanities studies, which is an extremely important goal and should be a goal in every field, including my own. I also still use resources I learned about during my Digital Humanities courses, like Trello, on a daily basis.
Your advice to today’s students and soon-to-be graduates?
Keep digital humanities in mind, no matter where your career path takes you. I still search for digital humanities resources that apply to my job, even as a librarian, and I’ve found some just in the past year or two, like Which Book and What Should I Read Next.
DH@MSU Core Faculty Kate Birdsall discusses her project The Cube, a space for diverse ranges of people, places, and communities to participate in communications of all kinds, from traditional book production to user experience research to web and app development.
“The Cube has a new website and several exciting projects underway, including social media strategy for Detroit Accessibility Project (for whom we did the build last year), a new website for WRAC, information architecture and a website for MSU Financial Planning and Budget, and a brand new site for MSU’s Chief Financial Officer. We’re also working on content strategy, graphic design, and a website for STRIDE, a new center housed in the College of Education that will help individuals with disabilities.
In community news, we’re partnering with Holt Public Schools to expand the DEI initiative we created last year to include a mental health content strategy campaign.
We completed the new website for the MSU Work/Life Office in the fall, and it’s up and running.
Stay tuned!”
The following Research Highlight was originally created for the DH@MSU Newsletter and was featured in the February 7, 2023 issue. Subscribe to the Newsletter here.
