Discovering the Digital Humanities

I’m in the Rhetorical Precis group for this week. I selected “The Place of Video Games in the Digital Humanities” by Trent Hergenrader from my Zotero entries. I’ve posted my RP and Presentation here . The readings for this week include the final two chapters of The Emergence of the Digital Humanities , “Publications” and “Practices.” In “Publications” Jones discusses the shifts and changes that have occurred within the publishing world in the wake of ongoing technological advances. His discussion addresses academic and general publications, as well as digital and print publishing. I found this particular chapter to be particularly interesting. And I’m always interested in the discussion of digital publishing versus traditional publishing.  Throughout this chapter, Jones points out several different and new publishing platforms that have come about in recent years, and he also discusses how academics (including himself) are using some of these digital tools. Toward the end of t...

I’m getting close to finishing my course work and I have been working toward a focus for my dissertation. At this point, I have decided to do something with John Steinbeck, probably something related to his nonfiction work. Steinbeck is most well-known for his novels such as The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men , and others. But I’ve been spending a lot of time lately reading his less well-known works; specifically, his nonfiction works, which include lots and lots of personal journals, letters, and other personal writings. What is of specific interest to me in these works is Steinbeck’s MANY MANY connections to well-known and important people and events of the twentieth century. Steinbeck had personal friendships with political figures, (including presidents), Hollywood actors, directors, screenwriters, and others. He also spent time traveling to various places during important historical events. Steinbeck was in Europe for a time during World War II; he travel...

Rhetorical Precis In his article “The Place of Video Games in the Digital Humanities” (2016), Trent Hergenrader explains that his school is beginning a BS program in Digital Humanities and Social Sciences and he argues that “it would be a dereliction of duty not to consider games as objects worthy of study, especially in a digital humanities program built on inter-disciplinary concepts” (29). Hergenrader supports his argument by explaining three ways that video games can be woven into a digital humanities curriculum: real world controversies within game culture, the rhetorical analysis of games, and how games can be studied as persuasive tools. His purpose is to point out the value of games within the digital humanities alongside the opportunities this type of curriculum can provide to students. Hergenrader writes in a formal, academic tone for other scholars that may also be interested in developing a curriculum that incorporates the digital humanities. Presen...

DH Projects Brian – The Cyberpunk Project: Looks so very 90s. LoL! The role of fanzines from this period and in relation to this topic is super interesting, especially considering this was before there was a significant academic audience discussing these topics. Katie – Shakespeare’s Staging: You mention using this in your classroom? Are you teaching in high school? If so, this seems like it could be SUPER useful and engaging! I wish I would have known about something like this when I was still teaching high school students. The Emergence of the Digital Humanities This visual of DH is super helpful! In our early discussions we talked about the DH being organized in a big tent or a house. I’m a person that prefers clear definitions and organizational structure, so I preferred the house analogy. I like this visual because it also provides a clearer explanation of how DH all comes together. Sometimes just a clear visual explanation can be so beneficial...

This week's readings included the last section of Moretti's Graphs, Maps, and Trees , as well as the "Places" and "Things" chapters in The Emergence of the Digital Humanities.   I went into Moretti's "Trees" chapter feeling a little skeptical about applying trees to different genres of literature. However, after I got into it and understood what he was trying to do, I began to like this approach. Admittedly, using a tree to explain that history of every literary genre would not be possible. But, I think that evolutionary trees could be a really effective and clear way to show the growth and development of some genres. Moretti focuses on the evolution of the detective mystery story. I think it would be interesting to see a tree showing the evolution of fantasy or horror novels.  The readings from The Emergence of the Digital Humanities for this week are just as interesting as the ones we have previously read. In “Plac...

DH Presentations Greg, Interactive Visual Bibliography: Describing Corpora ·       Super cool project. ·       This seems like it could be helpful when looking for connections between authors and certain topics. The visual mapping shows connections that might not otherwise be so easily identifiable. ·       I bet there are some interesting connections that you probably wouldn’t even expect that show up if you poke around enough. ·       I, too, could probably easily get sucked into a rabbit hole in this site. Jennifer, Electronic Beowulf ·       The printed pages right next to the typed-out text is interesting. ·       Seems like you could make a whole lesson plan for Beowulf from just these resources and the other resources it connects you to. Final Pr...

I’m in the Rhetorical Precis group for this week. I choose to read and present “Book Notes: Franco Moretti’s Graphs, Maps, and Trees ” by Timothy Burke. I posted my RP and Presentation here . The further we get into the readings in The Emergence of the Digital Humanities , the more I enjoy them. For this week, first I read “Dimensions.” Overall, I really enjoyed this chapter; however, there were times when I felt bogged down and a little overwhelmed with some of Jones’ writing and explanation. As I was reading, I made sure to have my handy-dandy highlighter close by and I found myself marking all kinds of things that I particularly liked and/or was confused by. I found myself really drawn into his discussion of video games. One part of the chapter focuses on the game Braid . I previously knew of this game; however, I have never played it before. But, Jones’ comments about the game and how it could be read as an allegory for the atomic bomb or the “elusive knowledge of the universe”...

Just a random thought while I was reading... In "Dimensions" Jones spends a lot of time talking about QR codes. He states, "As I write this, QR codes show no signs yet of fading away" (41). After reading this statement, I immediately flipped to the front of the book to see when it was published. Turns out, it was published in 2014. I don't know about anyone else, but I definitely feel like QR codes have somewhat faded away at this point in 2019. I still see them from time to time, but I don't feel like I'm just bombarded with them all the time anymore. A few years ago I felt like they were EVERYWHERE!  Maybe I've become desensitized to them and I'm just not noticing them as much. We all know how quickly technology develops and how quickly technology can become outdated. Even though this book is only five years old, I felt like Jones' discussion of QR codes was another reminder of how quickly this happens, oftentimes without us even real...

Rhetorical Precis Timothy Burke, in his essay “Book Notes: Franco Moretti's Graphs, Maps, and Trees ” (2006), claims that Morretti’s ideas are useful in all areas of literary study and analysis; however, he also claims that there are problems and gaps in Moretti’s work that should be addressed. Burke supports this claim by explaining three specific observations and concerns that he noted in Moretti’s work, as well as suggestions for improvement. His purpose is to acknowledge the value of Moretti’s work, but to also acknowledge its shortcomings. He writes in a casual tone that also includes scholarly jargon for other scholars who may have similar experiences and questions in reading Moretti’s work. Presentation Timothy Burke begins his essay, “Book Notes: Franco Moretti's Graphs, Maps, and Trees ” by pointing out that Moretti’s ideas in Graphs, Maps, and Trees are valuable to all areas of literary study; however, all aspects of Moretti’s work m...

Once again, this post is made up of the thoughts, comments, and questions that came to my mind as I watched and listened the lecture and discussion.  *****************  Checklist is super helpful! Thanks for doing this! Just a comment about the Zotero discussion – I’ve been using it for a few semesters now. But, when I first started using Zotero I was completely overwhelmed. However, there are some great YouTube videos that walk through the different things you can do in Zotero. I specifically liked the videos posted by Nicholas Cifuentes-Goodbody . They were super helpful! Where are we finding DH projects? I’ve been looking through the winners of the Digital Humanities Awards for the past few years. I’ve found some really great ones here. Thanks for spending a little more time talking about the final project. I feel like I’ll probably want to work by myself. I’ve started narrowing down my dissertation topic to Steinbeck’s nonfictio...

Sadly, once again I am unable to log in for the live class. I enjoyed watching last week’s recording and catching up on what I missed. Hopefully I will be able to log in for the live class again soon. In regard to the assigned readings for this week, apparently, I got a little ahead of myself at the very beginning of the course. I read Graphs, Maps, Trees a couple of weeks ago, and I blogged about here . I had a difficult time getting into Moretti’s chapter about Graphs, but I really enjoyed reading his chapter on Maps. This chapter was super-interesting and something I think I may want to look into a little more. I also enjoyed reading Jones’ “Eversion.” Personally, I’ve had inklings of some of the ideas he presents in this chapter; however, he was able to take those ideas so much further than I ever would have been able to and he was able to write about these ideas in a much more articulate and engaging way than I ever could. I kept wanting to read more. ...

I’ve enjoyed the readings and other DH related activities I have completed this week. Sadly, once again, I will not be able to log in live tomorrow night, but I’m looking forward to watching the recording and catching up. I’m hoping to be able to log in for the live class again soon. In addition to the assigned class readings, I read an interesting article about implementing the DH at a small college. “Doing a Lot with Little: Making Digital Humanities Work at a Small College” by Deborah Vanderbilt opened my eyes and described a specific project that the author implemented at her small college. Her project was very approachable, not intimidating, and seems to have been well-received by her students. This encourages me to explore different options for introducing the DH at my own small community college. While a lot of the projects we have looked at and discussed are super interesting, I fear they might be a little overwhelming for some student populations. Howe...

NOTE: I took notes and made comments as I watched the lecture video from Thursday night. This post is made up of the thoughts, comments, and questions that came to my mind as I watched and listened the lecture and discussion. If the post seems a little choppy, that's why. 🙂 ******************* Glad to know I wasn’t the only one confused with all the D2L and submissions. LoL! I really appreciate the checklist and looking ahead to what’s coming up in the next week. This is very helpful. Thanks! Thanks for spending time clarifying the DH project presentation. This is very helpful. I feel much more sure about what to do now. I found the points that Katie made in discussing her article very interesting. The contrast between “checkbox data” and “lived experience” is so significant. I think it’s safe to assume that in most cases so much more information about a person or their life would come from looking at their lived experience as opposed to th...