Digital Humanities

About ENGL 428: Digital Humanities

sliming

August 7, 2016

¶ 1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 “What is ‘digital humanities,’ and what’s it doing in English departments?” This is the question that Matthew Kirschenbaum, a digital humanities scholar and professor of English, asks in a 2013 essay. And in his answer to the question, Kirschenbaum keeps things simple: the digital humanities comprise a “common methodological outlook” that unites the kinds of research, teaching, and invention taking place at the intersection of humanities and digital computing. Today, we live in the age of information — information that is constructed and digitally relayed via vast amounts of text. What’s more, that constant exchange of information requires constant interpretation and interpretation, in turn, requires modes of textual literacy and expertise. And that’s where English departments – and English scholars and students – come into play.

¶ 2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 0 This course offers students an introduction to the concepts, tools, and techniques of digital humanities. It does so by encouraging students to put new technologies, tools, and methods to use in answering complex questions about culture and society — questions, that is, which have traditionally formed the bedroom of humanistic inquiry.  Over the course of the semester, students will have the opportunity to study and interact with:

¶ 3 Leave a comment on paragraph 3 0 – Tools and techniques for analyzing text in both print and digital formats

¶ 4 Leave a comment on paragraph 4 0 – Software and specialized computer programs, designed to help users navigate textual resources

¶ 5 Leave a comment on paragraph 5 0 – Electronic research methods and approaches to critical thinking required to find and evaluate electronic textual sources

¶ 6 Leave a comment on paragraph 6 0 – Methods of analyzing humanities research problems including appropriate computing solutions, where applicable

¶ 7 Leave a comment on paragraph 7 0 – Methods for collaborative and multimodal research projects

¶ 8 Leave a comment on paragraph 8 0 – The social, ethical, legal, and philosophical implications of using digital technology in conjunction with traditional humanities research

¶ 9 Leave a comment on paragraph 9 0 At its core, this course offers students a chance to apply their interests in reading, writing, and literary study to a variety of digital formats and tools. For this reason, students need not worry about their own levels of digital competency. No specific computing skills are required: we will be learning as we go, and experimenting all along the way.