Syllabus

 HUMA 498

Introduction to Digital Humanities Independent Study

Instructor:

Dr. Lisa Spiro
lspiro@rice.edu
Fondren 354 (look for NX512-NX705 in the Brown Fine Arts Library stacks)
713-348-2480
Office Hours: Tuesdays 3:30-4:30, or by appointment

Course Description

“Introduction to Digital Humanities” explores the promise and pitfalls of emerging methods in the digital humanities, as well as the intellectual contexts surrounding them. Through discussions of key questions, visits with local digital humanities researchers, hands-on exercises, and a collaborative project, this two-credit gives participants independent study offers a basic grounding in the digital humanities.  Topics include text analysis, spatial humanities, information visualization, and digital publishing models. (Note: this was changed from a 3-credit, pass/fail course to a 2-credit independent study, so it has undergone significant revision.)

Objectives

  • Students will speak and write fluently about the broad scope of digital humanities, including current research, ongoing debates  and their own engagement in the field.
  • Students will demonstrate basic familiarity with core digital humanities methods and practices, such as creating digital collections and editions; text analysis; text mining; geohumanities; 3D reconstructions; humanities design practices; and scholarly communications.
  • Students will understand the theories and concepts informing digital humanities approaches.
  • Students will explore the implications of digital approaches for the humanities.
  • Students will critically evaluate digital humanities work.
  • Students will demonstrate their understanding of project planning and management by creating a project proposal in which they explain the scholarly rationale for a digital humanities project, conduct a landscape review, describe the technical approach, and lay out a clear project plan and budget

Requirements

  • Participate actively. The success of this class and your learning depend on your active participation. (30%)
    • Complete assigned readings and project explorations: In order to contribute to class conversations, it’s important for you to be familiar with the material. Come to class with questions and observations to share. Most readings are freely available online; a few will be made available through OwlSpace.
    • Complete in-class activities. You will regularly work on labs in which you learn how to use basic DH methods to explore humanities questions. Brief in-class quizzes and writing assignments may be given to assess learning and encourage completion of reading assignments.
  • Write at least five 300-400 word responses to the week’s readings and exercises on the class blog. If you prefer, you can use a pseudonym or just your first name, as long as it’s clear to me and your classmates who you are. (15%)
  • Project: Digital humanities project, to be decided jointly by student and instructor. (55%)

Attendance Policy

You may miss two classes without penalty; any beyond two will require advanced notice and instructor approval. Any more than two unapproved subsequent missed classes or partially missed classes will significantly lower the class participation portion of your grade. When you miss a class, the assignments are still due at the class start time unless we have made prior arrangements.

Labs

This course will include regular in-class labs in which you will both develop technical skills and reflect on the implications of applying these skills to the study of the humanities.  You are welcome (even encouraged) to partner with others during these labs. We will conclude each lab with a discussion of the questions and observations emerging from it.

Rice Honor Code

In this course, all students will be held to the standards of the Rice Honor Code, a code that you pledged to honor when you matriculated at this institution. If you are unfamiliar with the details of this code and how it is administered, you should consult the Honor System Handbook at http://honor.rice.edu/honor-system-handbook/. This handbook outlines the University’s expectations for the integrity of your academic work, the procedures for resolving alleged violations of those expectations, and the rights and responsibilities of students and faculty members throughout the process.

Disability Support Services

If you have a documented disability or other condition that may affect academic performance you should: 1) make sure this documentation is on file with Disability Support Services (Allen Center, Room 111 / adarice@rice.edu / x5841) to determine the accommodations you need; and 2) talk with me to discuss your accommodation needs.

Changes to the Syllabus

The syllabus will change (with advanced notice) as the instructor deems appropriate, particularly to address student interests and incorporate input from guest instructors. Changes will not result in a significantly increased workload.

 Acknowledgements

This syllabus was inspired by a number of digital humanities syllabi, particularly those by Tanya Clements; Ryan Cordell; Brian Croxall; Fred Gibbs; Kevin Kee; Matt Kirschenbaum; Alan Liu; Steven Lubar, Massimo Riva and Jean Bauer; Miriam Posner; Todd Presner; Jeffrey Schnapp and Dennis Tennen; and Jentery Sayers.