Why the Digital? Why the Digital Liberal Arts? A Public Lecture by William Thomas

December 8, 2014, 12:00 P.M.
Axinn 229

The Digital Liberal Arts Executive Committee is delighted to announce our fall speaker, William G. Thomas III, one of the country’s leading spatial historians and digital humanists. Will’s public lecture on Monday, Dec. 8, will assess the current state of “the digital” in academe, including the digital humanities, and make the case for integrating digital research practices and pedagogies into the liberal arts more fully and broadly than has yet been realized. This talk will critically appraise the digital humanities as well as examine models of collaboration and integration of research and teaching that can be applied across the liberal arts.

Will Thomas has been a voice of reason while leading the development of spatial history, first at University of Virginia, where he co-authored the award-winning “Valley of the Shadow” project, and now at University of Nebraska’s Center for Digital Research in the Humanities. Throughout his digital engagement, he has remained an archival scholar. His latest book, The Iron Way,  was a finalist for the prestigious Lincoln Prize.

William G. Thomas III is currently the Chair of the Department of History at the University of Nebraska, where he is a Faculty Fellow of the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities and the John and Catherine Angle Chair in the Humanities.

Lunch will be provided beginning at 12:00 P.M. The lecture will begin at 12:15 P.M.

Full text of this lecture can be found on Will Thomas’s blog, here. A recording of the lecture can also be viewed below.

Promotional poster for Will Thomas's talk

Digital Enhancement Fund: Call for Proposals

We are very happy to announce a new faculty funding opportunity available through the Digital Liberal Arts Initiative. The Digital Enhancement Fund is intended to support faculty projects, in research or teaching, based on digital methods. Unlike some other DLA programs, the Digital Enhancement Fund is available to all faculty, whatever their home department or program or disciplinary background. 
 
The general purpose of this funding program is to encourage faculty to try new methods, learn new skills, or master advanced skills that will enhance their teaching or research. Funding may support acquisition of software or hardware that the College does not already provide and that regular departmental and other sources of internal funding cannot cover in an expedited fashion; hiring a student research assistant for a digital project; research travel related to a digital project; travel to conferences focused on digital research or teaching; travel to a training opportunity, such as a workshop on digital methods; or expenses related to bringing to campus a speaker or workshop instructor whose expertise will contribute to awareness or training in an important digital tool or method.
 
Successful applicants will be required to submit a short report at the conclusion of the award that explains how the tool, workshop, conference, or lecture contributed to the applicant’s professional development.
 
The DLA Executive Committee will review proposed projects in consultation with appropriate technical specialists and faculty experts to ensure that each project can be supported. When projects intersect with one of the DLA Hubs, they will be reviewed by the appropriate Hub faculty and staff.
 
Proposals will be reviewed on two schedules.  Proposals for projects up to $3,000 will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Projects with larger budgets will be reviewed twice each semester. This year there will be three reviews of larger projects, with deadlines for applications on Dec. 1, March 15, and May 1. Applicants will be notified of decisions as soon as possible. Please be advised that DLA funding is limited; it is unlikely that we can consider funding requests of over $10,000.
 
The online proposal form lays out the specific information required in applications.  Applicants are advised to consult with Anne Knowles or Jason Mittell (faculty co-directors of DLA) or Alicia Peaker (DLA Postdoctoral Fellow) before submitting their application, to discuss the suitability of the proposal and budget. To request a consultation, email dla@middlebury.edu.

Scalar Sandbox

November 10, 2014, 2:00-5:00 P.M.
Wilson Media Lab (220 Davis Family Library)

The Scalar Sandbox is an extremely informal opportunity for people to bring in their Scalar books, projects, or assignments and work on them at their own pace. Alicia will be there to help with any technical questions that might come up and to consult on project structures, grading criteria for digital assignments, or any other matters related to Scalar. No need to attend for the entire time – feel free to drop in and out as your schedule allows.

Scalar is a free, open-source authoring and publishing platform that’s designed to make it easy for authors to assemble media from multiple sources and juxtapose them with their own writing in a variety of ways.

DLA Winter Term Workshops at the Digital Media Bootcamp 2015

Winter Term 2015
Wilson Media Lab (220 Davis Family Library)

Close-up photo of people typing on computers.DLA Post-doc Alicia Peaker will be leading two 90-minute workshops as part of the Digital Media Bootcamp in winter term 2015. The first, “Crafting Digital Narratives with Scalar,” will explore writing with and through the digital environment of Scalar.  From non-linear storytelling to rich, scholarly annotations, Scalar is a free, open-source authoring and publishing platform that’s designed to make it easy for authors to assemble media from multiple sources and juxtapose them with their own writing in a variety of ways.

The second workshop, “Building Digital Exhibits with Omeka,” will walk through how to create beautiful online exhibits of your art or archival materials with Omeka, an open-source archival platform. This workshop may also be of interest to faculty who would like to build digital archives or collections in their classes.

All Digital Media Bootcamp workshops are open to all students, faculty, and staff. To sign up for any of the free workshops, go to go/dmbootcamp.

NEH Award for Videographic Criticism Workshop

mittell_keathleyThe DLA is thrilled to announce that Professors Jason Mittell and Chris Keathley have been awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to host an intensive, two-week workshop called “Scholarship in Sound & Image.”  Professors Mittell and Keathley, both of the Film & Media Culture department at Middlebury, will lead workshop attendees to produce videographic criticism through the creation of video and sound.

The workshop is designed for 12 participants, ranging in rank from advanced graduate students to full professors, including scholars working outside traditional faculty positions, whose objects of study involve audio-visual media, especially film, radio, television, and other new digital media forms. It will be held from June 14-27, 2015 at Middlebury College. For more information, view the Scholarship in Sound & Image website

Teaching with Scalar

October 17th, 1:30 – 3:00 P.M.
Wilson Media Lab (220 Davis Family Library)

Screen shot of Scalar book project
Scalar is an open-access digital publishing technology that allows authors (whether scholars or students) to engage closely and critically with media through annotation, arrangement, and more. In this workshop, you will be introduced to the basics of writing in and with Scalar and to potential classroom uses. Because it is a digital publication platform, using Scalar in the classroom foregrounds issues of audience, tone, design, and argument. Together we will explore and assess how traditional assignments might be reimagined through Scalar.

No technical expertise required.

Registration for the workshop is free but required. Please sign up below or send an email to dla@middlebury.edu (put Scalar Workshop in the subject line). Wilson Media Lab has 16 Mac workstations. If you would prefer to work with a PC, please bring your own laptop.

Sample assignments for workshop:

  • Alicia Peaker’s “Beauty (Re)Discovers the Male Body” Writing Portfolio | pdf docx
  • Louisa Stein’s “Remix Culture” Assignment | pdf docx video

 

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DLA Brown Bag Lunches

Photo of edge of brown paper bag
Photo by Flickr user Lara604, cropped and used under Create Commons licensing.

Have questions about the digital liberal arts? Need help with a project? Seeking collaborators? Come meet other interested faculty, staff, and students in an informal setting on Thursdays, from 12:30-1:30 in the CTLR Lounge in the Davis Family Library.

Special Sessions

In spring 2015 the DLA is launching a special series called “Behind the Scenes: Demystifying Project Development in the Digital Liberal Arts” that will run every other week during the Brown Bag Lunches. During these sessions, Middlebury faculty and staff will share stories and tips from their experiences creating digital projects.

Feb. 19 – Daniel Houghton, (Arts Technology Specialist, DLA), “Collaborative Media Production”
March 5 – Holly Allen (American Studies), “Doing Digital Public History at Middlebury”
March 19 – Anne Knowles (Geography), “Dealing with Data”
April 2 – Christopher Andrews (Computer Science), “Bespoke Visualization”
April 16 – Carrie Anderson (HARC), “Planning and Documenting a Digital Project”
April 30 – Louisa Stein (Film & Media), “Digital Publishing and Rethinking Our Audience”

Stay in the loop for future DLA events by signing up for our mailing list in the right-hand column.

Introduction to Scalar for Open-Source Publishing and Digital Scholarship

Profile photo of Tara McPherson

September 18th, 12:30 – 2:00 P.M. Wilson Media Lab (220 DFL)

On Thursday, Sept. 18, Professor Tara McPherson (USC) will lead an introductory workshop on Scalar, a free, open source authoring and publishing platform that’s designed to make it easy for authors to write long-form, born-digital scholarship online. Scalar enables users to assemble media from multiple sources and juxtapose them with their own writing in a variety of ways, with minimal technical expertise required.

If you would like to learn about this semantic web authoring tool, please sign up below or send an email to dla@middlebury.edu (put Scalar Workshop in the subject line). Wilson Media Lab has 16 Mac workstations. If you would prefer to work with a PC, please bring your own laptop.

Tara McPherson, a keynote speaker in the 2014 Clifford Symposium, is Associate Professor of Critical Studies at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. She is a core faculty member of the IMAP program, USC’s innovative practice based-Ph.D., and an affiliated faculty member in the American Studies and Ethnicity Department. Her research engages the cultural dimensions of digital media, including the intersection of gender, race, affect, and place.

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Exploring the Digital Liberal Arts: Fall 2014 DLA Reading Group

Photo of Reading Group
Photo from Flickr user Shawn, used under Creative Commons Licensing.

The DLA will host a bi-monthly faculty reading group to explore themes and issues in the digital liberal arts by discussing peer-reviewed articles, short books, blog posts, digital projects, and websites. This fall, we will examine the complex, contentious landscapes of the digital and spatial humanities. Led by Alicia Peaker and Anne Knowles, the reading group is an open forum for learning about the plurality of approaches and critically assessing their applications in digital projects.

Faculty are welcome whenever they can come. Watch this space for session readings.

Logistics:

We will meet every other Friday from 1:30 – 3: 00 P.M. at Alicia’s house (email dla@middlebury.edu for address). Coffee, tea, and light refreshments will be offered.

Sept 26th – Intro to DH and digital liberal arts

Readings:

Oct 10th –  Network analysis & visualizations

Oct 24th – Spatial humanities

Nov 7th – Digital pedagogies

Nov 21st – Critiques of the Digital Humanities

Dec 5th – Reflections and Next Steps

  • No readings this week. Discussion questions will be circulated via email. Contact Alicia Peaker (apeaker[at]middlebury[dot]edu) for more information.

 

2014 Clifford Symposium: “Transforming the Academy in the Digital Era”

Clifford Symposium logo of man reading a digital book

**The Clifford Symposium was a great success. Read the News Room’s write-up of some of the major events, with video interviews of the organizers.** 

The DLA Initiative is sponsoring this year’s Clifford Symposium on September 18-19. Focused on how higher education is transforming in the wake of the digital, the symposium will feature three keynote lectures from Tara McPherson, John Palfrey, and Siva Vaidhyanathan, a keynote multimedia performance from Paul D. Miller (aka DJ Spooky), four panels on topics ranging from digital publishing to online privacy, and numerous demonstrations of faculty research and new digital tools. Click here for more information and the full schedule.

 

Announcing the new Digital Liberal Arts Initiative at Middlebury

Middlebury has been awarded an $800,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to assist faculty who want to expand their use of digital technology. The project, titled “Galvanizing Digital Liberal Arts at Middlebury College,” will train and support faculty to implement digital projects in their teaching and scholarship, while providing opportunities for students and faculty to develop new collaborative research models and course content. Read more about the Mellon Foundation grant here.