ADH 9.0 — HIST 428

Course Syllabus

THIS SYLLABUS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS

HIST 428: Adventures in Digital History

Go to Course Schedule

TR, 9:30-10:45
Spring 2024
HCC 327

Jeffrey McClurken
Office Hours: By appointment. I have two offices (GW 105 and one in the History & American Studies suite in Monroe), but generally I will be in GW Hall.  You can also contact me via Canvas message and Teams chat.

SM: @jmcclurken (Twitter/X, Bluesky, Instagram)   

Course Description

This seminar will focus on the process of creating digital history.  The course readings, workshops, and discussions will be aimed at exposing students to the philosophy and practice of the field of Digital History (sometimes called Digital Humanities or Digital Liberal Arts).  The course will be centered on four digital history projects, all of which are related to making local resources available online.  These projects will include: creating a site related to Mary Washington College experiences during World War II (WW2); a digital history of UMW in the Digital Age(DA); building out a digitized collection of scrapbooks from Mary Washington students, faculty, staff, and organizations over the years(SB); and crafting of place-based stories of campus history, brought to life through a variety of archival sources and modern video and audio tools(PB). This course counts in the History Major, the American Studies Major, the Museum Studies Minor, the Communication and Digital Studies Major, as a capstone course in the Digital Studies Minor, and for the Digital Intensive General Education Requirement.

Departmental Learning Objectives

  • Ability to utilize technological resources in research, data analysis, and presentation.
  • Appreciation of the diversity of methods and processes.
  • Ability to make discipline-specific oral presentations to groups.
  • Ability to communicate in a group setting.
  • Ability to conduct research in multiple sites.

Course Requirements

Every student and group will:

1) Complete a group project based on a contract made between the group and the professor

2) Post weekly progress reports on your own DoOO-based blog

3) Regularly present to the class about the status of your project

4) Participate in class discussions of readings, videos, and the process of creating digital history

5) Participate in class workshops related to specific programs

6) Create or refine a digital résumé or e-portfolio for yourself.

7) Make project data available in an easily downloadable form and consider accessibility throughout.

8) At end of the semester, complete a brief paper/blog post reflecting on the process and defending your project as contracted

9) Make any changes to the project required by the professor after the final version is completed.

Students are expected to attend all classes (be they virtual or in-person), review all assigned texts/media, and participate in class. Laptops are not required, but it will often be easier to have your own computer when in-person as you learn new skills, hear about various tools, explore particular web sites, and work on your own digital projects. [Projects are due at the start of class (9:30 AM) on the day they are due.]

 

A note about this semester and this class

This class is not the most important thing in your life.  It’s not the most important thing in mine. Don’t get me wrong, there’s much to learn here and I love and have so much fun exploring these topics with you and your classmates.  But take care of yourself.  Reach out to me if there are things in your life that end up taking precedence over this class.  Let’s talk about them.

 

Discussions

Students are expected to attend all classes having read the assigned material. Class participation includes actively participating in daily discussions and responding to class presentations. To that end, for each class for which there are readings/videos, students should also prepare a list of comments on the material (parallels, problems, factual questions, reminders of past readings, connections to ideas from other classes or from “real life”) so that they have those points in front of them for the discussion. Although I have no current plan to collect these comments, I reserve the right to do so at some point during the semester.

 

Blogging

Narrating the planning, research, and implementation processes via your blogs is a central part of the class and a way for me to measure your effort, your creativity, and your progress as digital scholars. Blog about your problems as well as your successes. Be sure to comment on each others’ blogs and help each other out. This is a community of people going through similar efforts that you can tap into, so do so. [As you comment, follow ProfHacker’s guidelines for commenting.]  Weekly posts & comments are a minimum expectation of the class.

 

Texts

Daniel J. Cohen & Roy Rosenzweig, Digital History: A Guide to Gathering, Preserving, and Presenting the Past on the Web (2006). Available at http://chnm.gmu.edu/digitalhistory/ .

Other texts for this semester are also available on-line.

 

Final Grades

Final grades will be determined based on class participation (including blogging, mini assignments, and regular presentations to the class) (35%), on performance on the group contract (5%) and group project (50%), and on the quality of the final formal presentations on the group projects (10%). [Unsatisfactory mid-semester reports will be reported for anyone with a grade of D or below at that time.]

Honor Code

I believe in the Honor Code as an essential, positive component of the Mary Washington experience. You should know that if you cheat or plagiarize in this class, you will fail, and I will take you to the Honor Council, so do not do it. On the other hand, I also believe that having friends or family read and comment on your writing can be extremely helpful and falls within the bounds of the Honor Code (assuming the writing itself remains yours). If you have questions about these issues, then you should talk to me sooner rather than later.

Generative AI Policy

Use of AI is approved and encouraged in this course; however, students should refer to individual course assignments for instructions regarding how to use and/or document use of AI, if applicable to the assignment.  Or ask me each time.  We are all learning how these tools can, and ethically, how should be used.  It will take us some trial and error to figure all of that out.  But in this class that should always take place in conversation with me.

Although AI use is permitted in this course, you should keep the following points in mind:

  • AI is a continuously developing tool. Keep track of how you use AI (e.g., original and revised prompts, where in your thinking process you used AI, different output over time). An electronic file with screenshots and notes or a written journal of your process documents your workflow and, as needed, supports appropriate attribution and citation.
  • Fact check all AI output. AI tools are built on systems and inputs with acknowledged biases. Early and current AI output has produced factual errors and the tools ‘hallucinate’ or fabricate information. This is especially true if the AI is prompted about something for which it has little or no information (including making up bibliography citations). Unless you know the answer with 100% certainty, check responses with trusted sources.  Please, please double check all sources.
  • AI is only as good as the prompts it receives. It may take practice and time to use AI for results meeting expectations and standards. As a result, AI may not be the best or easiest route for completing a task.
  • Different professors treat the use of AI tools differently. Double-check with individual professors if you are unsure about whether AI use is appropriate for a specific assignment.

 

Group Projects — See Project Outlines.

 

Group Contracts

Each group will create contracts with me about their projects. The contracts are due Friday, February 16 (BY NOON), though each will need to be approved by me & may need to be tweaked before that happens. Each contract must include:

  • Mission statement (describe project)
    • Include audience and advertising and project/data sustainability models
  • Tools planning on using
    • Include suggested location for project URL (“slug”) on umwhistory.org
  • Schedule of milestones (when critical pieces are completed and/or ready to present)
  • Basic division of labor and project roles
  • Other items to include somewhere
    • Accessibility plans
    • Who will be responsible for summary/legacy page for the project and what to include. [To be shared here: https://historylegacy.umwhistory.org/ ]
    • Ways in which the group is considering using generative AI in an ethical way in some part of the project.

NOTE: These contracts may be revised as the semester goes on, though only with good reasons and only after a meeting with me.

NOTE #2: Although each group will receive one shared grade for their contract, on the final project everyone will earn an individual and a group project grade, which will be averaged together to make each person’s project grade.

Digital Résumé/E-Portfolio  

During Week 9, we will discuss ways of showcasing your work (digital and otherwise) in an electronic portfolio.  Each student will be expected to create their own (or share an existing) digital résumé by Tuesday of that week.

Regular Presentations (Updates)

Starting in week 7, each group will be expected to make weekly status updates in class (typically) on Thursdays on its progress toward their projects.

End of the Semester (Public) Presentations

At the end of the semester each group will make a formal, public 8-10 minute presentation summarizing their project. More on this later in the semester.

Group Summary of Project

As part of the finish of the project, each group must create a summary of the project, key screenshots, a summary of the sources used, a description of the site’s key functionality, and anything else that might be necessary to understand what the site did, what it was based on, and where the sources came from.

Reflection post/defense of contract

In the last week of the semester, each person will be expected to write a brief blog post or paper (your choice). This paper (~1-2 pages/~500 words) should reflect on the process and defend your group’s project as contracted.

Format of class meetings

Although this is, for the most part, a traditional face-to-face class, some of our class sessions may take place virtually, including when we have inclement weather or other issues.  Sometimes that work will be asynchronous with groups or individuals working on their own, and sometimes the session will take place synchronously via Zoom videoconferencing.  More information about this before it happens.

Why are we reading a 18-year old book about Digital History?

Our “text” is Cohen and Rosenzweig’s Digital History, written in 2006. While it remains useful in bringing up key issues for those considering creating digital history projects, it is also a piece of digital history itself.  For each week that we read a chapter or two of Digital History, I’ll offer extra credit if you write a blog post in which you identify passages or concepts that need to be updated (be precise), find current sources (at least 2020 or newer), and summarize how the section should be updated. Tag these posts “DHUpdate2024”.

Accessibility

The Office of Disability Resources has been designated by the university as the primary office to guide, counsel, and assist students with disabilities. If you receive services through the Office of Disability Resources and require accommodations for this class, please provide me a copy of your accommodation letter via email or during a meeting. I encourage you to follow-up with me about your accommodations and needs within this class. I will hold any information you share with me in the strictest confidence unless you give me permission to do otherwise.

If you have not made contact with the Office of Disability Resources and have reasonable accommodation needs, their office is located in Seacobeck 005, phone number is (540) 654-1266 and email is odr@umw.edu.  The office will require appropriate documentation of disability.

Title IX Statement

University of Mary Washington faculty are committed to supporting students and upholding the University’s Policy on Sexual and Gender Based Harassment and Other Forms of Interpersonal Violence. Under Title IX and this Policy, discrimination based upon sex or gender is prohibited. If you experience an incident of sex or gender based discrimination, we encourage you to report it. While you may talk to me, understand that as a “Responsible Employee” of the University, I MUST report to UMW’s Title IX Coordinator what you share. If you wish to speak to someone confidentially, please contact the confidential resources found below. They can connect you with support services and help you explore your options. You may also seek assistance from UMW’s Title IX Coordinator, their contact information can be found below. Please visit http://diversity.umw.edu/title-ix/ to view UMW’s Policy on Sexual and Gender Based Harassment and Other Forms of Interpersonal Violence and to find further information on support and resources.

Ruth Davison, Ph.D., Title IX Coordinator
Lee Hall, Room 401
1301 College Avenue Fredericksburg, VA 22401
Phone: 540-654-5656
E-mail: rdavison@umw.edu
Website: http://diversity.umw.edu/title-ix/

Confidential Resources
On-Campus
Talley Center for Counseling Services Lee Hall, Room 106, 540-654-1053
Student Health Center Lee Hall, Room 112, 540-654-1040

Off-Campus
Empowerhouse 24-hr hotline: 540-373-9373
Rappahannock Council Against Sexual Assault (RCASA) 24-hr hotline: 540-371-1666

Recording Policy Statement

In this class, students may not make audio or video recordings of any course activity unless the student has an approved accommodation from the Office of Disability Resources permitting the recording class meetings. In such cases, the accommodation letter must be presented to the instructor in advance of any recording being done and all students in the course will be notified whenever recording will be taking place. Students who are permitted to record classes are not permitted to redistribute audio or video recordings of statements or comments from the course to individuals who are not students in the course without the express permission of the faculty member and of any students who are recorded. Distribution without permission is a violation of educational privacy law. This policy is consistent with UMW’s Policy on Recording Class and Distribution of Course Materials.

 

Basic Needs Security
Learning effectively and engaging wholly in class is dependent upon our basic security and having our fundamental needs met: having a safe place to sleep at night, regular access to nutritious food, and some assurance of safety. If you have difficulty affording groceries or accessing sufficient food to eat every day, or if you lack a safe and stable place to live, please contact Chris Porter, Assistant Dean of Students, at cjporter@umw.edu.  Additionally, the Gwen Hale Resource Center is a free resource on campus, providing food, toiletries and clothing to any member of our community. It is open Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 1pm-6pm, on the 5th floor (floor A for Attic) of Lee Hall, or resource@umw.edu . Finally, you are always welcome to talk with me about needs, if you are comfortable doing so. This will enable me to provide any resources I may possess.

 

Digital Knowledge Center

The Digital Knowledge Center (DKC), located in HCC 408, provides UMW students with peer tutoring on digital projects and assignments. Any student at the University can take advantage of the Center’s services by scheduling an appointment to work one-on-one or in a group with a student tutor. You can schedule a tutorial through http://dkc.umw.edu; while appointments are not required, they are recommended. Tutorials cover a wide range of topics related to common digital systems, technologies, new media, and tools used in courses at UMW. DKC tutors adhere to the UMW Honor Code during all appointments. They are available to provide guidance and advice, but they cannot create, produce, or edit work on a student’s behalf.

Help Desk (Computer Issues)

If you are having difficulties with Canvas or connecting to online University resources, seek assistance from the Help Desk:

Simpson Library

The Simpson Library provides access to important physical and online resources and spaces.  Computers, printers, scanners, and study rooms are available for students, faculty, and staff.  Research librarians are available to assist you via phone, email, chat, or face-to-face.

Online databases, research guides, and e-books are accessible off-campus by using your network ID and password.  An online interlibrary loan service is also available so that students can request books and articles not available at the Simpson Library.

Speaking and Writing Center

The Speaking and Writing Center supports oral and written communication skills development through one-on-one or group consultations that address every stage of the composing process from brainstorming to final presentation and editing including, but not limited to, speaking and writing anxiety, developing ideas, constructing visual aids and incorporating visuals into a paper, taking a project from paper to presentation, structure and organization, achieving unity and coherence, style and voice, and a variety of citation styles.

We are here to help at any stage in the process – visit us early and often for assistance with your speaking and writing projects. UMW students, staff, and faculty can schedule 30- or 60-minute appointments with a consultant individually or as a group.

We are committed to aiding development of written and oral skills aimed towards effectively communicating a diversity of views. The Speaking and Writing Center adheres strictly to the Honor Code: Consultants will not compose any portion of a paper or presentation for a student, nor will they do research for a student.

 

 

Course Schedule* 

Week 1 — Introduction and first set of digital tools

Jan. 16 — Introduction of Syllabus, Course, and Digital Tools – Teams (Class Teams Site), Domain of One’s Own/Sites @UMW, WordPress, Zotero, Hypothes.is

Reading: Read Cohen & Rosenzweig, Digital History, Introduction, Ch. 1; Stephen Robertson, “The Differences between Digital Humanities and Digital History“; How did they make that?   Skim also AHA Resources on Digital History (Specifically this on project roles and this glossary of Digital History terms); Wikipedia definitions of Digital History & Digital Humanities; Lauren Tilton et al., “Introduction: American Quarterly in the Digital Sphere,” American Quarterly 70, no. 3 (September 29, 2018): 361–70, https://doi.org/10.1353/aq.2018.0026.

Assignments due Thursday:

  • Join the Teams site for class, if you haven’t already, and the specific channel for your group.
  • Use your existing Twitter or Bluesky or Instagram accounts (or set up one–I have a few Bluesky invite codes) and follow me (@jmcclurken–Twitter/X, Bluesky, Instagram) and/or your classmates and/or at least three people using the #DigitalHistory or #DigitalHumanities or #dh tags on each platform (On Bluesky join the DH feed.  If you post about our class (and I encourage you to do so) use the hashtag #ADH2024.
  • Install a (new) WordPress blog on your Domain of One’s Own account or create a Sites@UMW installation just for this class. [If you’re using an existing blog, you’ll need to create a category for your posts for this class.]
    • Message me on Teams with the URL to the site.
    • Write and publish first blog post on 1) Why you’re taking the class and 2) What is Digital History? What is Digital Humanities? How are they different?
  • Don’t forget that if you are having trouble with digital tools, take advantage of the terrific Digital Knowledge Center where student tutors can help you!

Jan. 18 — Digital Workshop — Omeka (Led by Angie Kemp); Group meetings

Before Tuesday, January 23

For Additional Reference — Miriam Posner, “Up and Running with Omeka.net,”  and “Creating an Omeka.net Exhibit,” The Programming Historian, 2 [Note that this topic is for a hosted Omeka account.  You could also create an Omeka installation in your Domain of One’s Own account.]

 

Week 2 

Jan. 23 — Digital Workshop – Intro to Accessibility and Generative AI

Jan. 25 — Exploring Other Digital History Projects — Group Meeting

Reading for Tuesday: Cohen & Rosenzweig, Digital History, Chapter 2, Chapter 4; Moira Donovan, “How AI Is Helping Historians Better Understand Our Past | MIT Technology Review.” Technology Review, April 11, 2023. https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/04/11/1071104/ai-helping-historians-analyze-past/.

For Thursday, check out:

Blogging assignment for Thursday: Based on your review of the Digital History projects above: Think about what you like about these digital projects as a whole, and what you don’t.  What works and what doesn’t?  What elements would you want to incorporate and which do you want to avoid in your own project?  When was the site created and are there any signs of that time of creation?  What sources do they use and present and how?

During Thursday’s class, each group should post a summary of their discussions (to one group member’s class blog) about the other DH sites and how that impacts their own ideas about their projects.

 

Assignments for before Tuesday, January 30:  AI Assignment

Find an AI essay generator and an AI image generator to create a 2-page essay and picture related to a historical figure/event. Create a short blog post that reflects on the essay and image created as well as discussion of AI art and essay generation as a whole. The blog post should include all prompts used.

 

Week 3

Jan. 30 — Digital Workshop – KnightLab — Mapping, Timelines, and more free tools

Feb. 1 — Podcasting, Digital Archives and Issues of Digitization — Group Meeting

Reading for Tuesday:  Cohen & Rosenzweig, Digital History, Chapter 3, Chapter 6; Trevor Owens, “What do you mean by archive?”;   Liz Covart, “History Podcasts: An Overview of the Field,” Journal of American History, Volume 109, Issue 1, June 2022, Pages 220–29, https://doi.org/10.1093/jahist/jaac229 (access through Simpson Library).

By Thursday, check out at least five of the following digital projects: Hurricane Digital Memory Bank, September 11 Digital Archive, Footnote.com; JSTOR; Internet Archive; Famous Law trials;  Photogrammar; Lost & Found Archive Project, Searching for Residential Schools, American Archive of Public Broadcasting;  Mapping Projects: Map Scholar; The Spread of Slavery; Mapping the Republic of Letters; St. John’s Micro History Mapping Project;

Resources:

References:

For more on when and why historians began to focus on mapping and space, see Jo Guldi’s “The Spatial Turn in History.”

Lincoln Mullen, “Spatial History tools”

More generally, for advanced topics in digital history, check out the other lessons in the Programming Historian.

Assignments for Tuesday, February 6:
Build a basic map in StoryMapJS or any of the other mapping tools you’ve learned about AND a basic timeline in TimeLineJS or a similar tool with at least five events.  As an alternative assignment, complete one of the lessons in the Programming Historian and blog about your experience

 

 

Week 4 — (Hands-on week with DKC)

Feb. 6 — Digital Workshop – Media & Recording

Feb. 8 — Digital Workshop — Accessibility and Project Management

Link to DKC’s Accessibility Guide  — WAVE Accessibility Tool

Reading: Cohen & Rosenzweig, Digital History, Ch. 5 (we’ll discuss this next week, but it’s important to read before you complete your group contracts).

Also by Friday: Create a quick (less than two minute) video about some aspect of your group’s project.  Embed on each group members’ WordPress site in a blog post about the experience and about how you might use them in your project.

Group Contracts are due as shared Google Doc to Dr. McClurken (mcclurken@gmail.com) from each group on Friday, February 16 (BY NOON)

 

Week 5

Feb. 13 — Group Meeting and Planning — working on contract proposals

Feb. 15 — Thinking About and Building an Audience — Discuss C&R, Ch. 5 and finalize contracts

 

Week 6

Feb. 20 — Group Meeting and Planning

Feb. 22— Copyright and Wikipedia and Open Source: What’s the Big Deal?

Reading: Cohen & Rosenzweig, Digital History, Ch.7; http://creativecommons.org/; Stanford’s guide to fair use; Jimmy Wales (2005) How a Ragtag Band Created Wikipedia (watch at TED.com); Manuscript on “History Can Be Open Source,” under open review for the American Historical Review.

Other resources: Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video; 2007 documentary on copyright (and music and video remixing); 120+ places to find Creative Commons media.

Blog Assignment: 1) Look at the History and Discussion/Talk tabs of several Wikipedia history entries and write about what you see. 2) Consider what Creative Commons License you might use for your own site.  What role does copyright play in the resources you are working with this semester?

Revised Contracts are due by Noon on Friday, February 23.

 

Week 7

Feb. 27 — Group Meeting and Planning

Feb. 29 — 8 minute presentations by (WW2); (DA); 3-minute presentations by (SB); (PB) (plus Topic Modeling, Text Mining, and Network Analysis (and the Programming Historian))

Reading: Skim Rob Nelson, Mining the Dispatch; Megan Brett, “Topic Modeling: A Basic Introduction,” Journal of Digital Humanities, 2012; Topic Modeling and Mallet, The Programming Historian; Voyant Tools; Scott Weingart, “Demystifying Networks: Part 1 of n“; Review the draft introduction to Digital History Methods using R

 

SPRING BREAK!

Week 8

Mar. 12 — Group Meeting and Planning

Mar. 14 — 3-minute presentations by (WW2); (DA); 8-minute presentations by (SB); (PB)

Assignment: Via private message to me in Teams, write a paragraph summary of your group’s successes and problems so far.

 

Week 9

Mar. 19 —Building a Digital Résumé or E-portfolio; Digital Identity

Readings: Read/look at five of these and write a post on five lessons you learned from them about digital identity.

Assignment due by March 21: Create your own Digital Portfolio

Mar. 21 — Share Portfolios & Group Meeting/Planning

 

Week 10

Mar. 26 — 8 minute presentations by (WW2); (DA); 3-minute presentations by (SB); (PB)

Mar. 28 — Impact of Digital History on Historians and on the Practice of History

Thursday Reading and Assignment: Read Cameron Blevins and Sheila Brennan in the 2016 Debates in Digital Humanities. Read the Archives 2.0 article here.    Pick one article from this set in the AHA’s Perspectives (2007) or one article from Writing History in the Digital Age (2011/2013) or read Cameron Blevins and Christy Hyman’s new article on “Digital History and the Civil War Era.” The Journal of the Civil War Era 12, no. 1 (2022): 80-104.  Review interview with Sharon Leon on the Digital in the Humanities. Check out the AHA’s guidelines for the evaluation of Digital Scholarship. Look over the guidelines for reviewing Digital History projects for the Journal of American History. Blog about what you see as the key change(s) for historians in an increasingly digital world. 

See also, “Supporting the Changing Research Practices of Historians,” http://www.sr.ithaka.org/research-publications/supporting-changing-research-practices-historians.

 

Week 11

Apr. 2 — Annotating Digital History for 2024 — Using Hypothes.is and working in small groups, we will identify areas to be updated in the online text with suggested resources.  Group Meeting and Planning

Apr. 4 — All groups present 10-minute progress reports. [Treat this presentation as a first practice for the formal presentation on the 26th.]

 

Week 12

Apr. 9 — Group Meeting and Planning

Apr. 11 — Projects due — quick meeting to discuss process —

NOTE: Given that these are public projects, students will commit to fixing issues found by Professor McClurken during the final evaluation of projects.

Projects due April 11 at the start of class. Reflection paper/blog post due April 25.

 

 

Week 13

Apr. 16 — Meeting with each group to continue to discuss needed changes (if Professor McClurken has finished reviewing them by then)

Apr. 18 — All groups present their 1-page summaries/legacy versions of their sites & work on revisions.  [For next class iteration, create a template for this, with word count and needed content.]

 

Week 14

Apr. 23 — Final revisions due

Apr. 25 — Prep symposium presentations.

Apr. 26 — Formal presentations in Monroe as part of History & American Studies Symposium

Public presentations of projects will be at the History/AMST symposium on April 26 

Brief paper/blog post due April 26 (~1-2 pages/~500 words) reflecting on the process and defending your project as contracted.

 

Tuesday, April 30, 10-11 AM — Exam Period — A Summary Discussion of Digital History

 

* Many of my choices for readings here are indebted to the work and teaching of Bill Turkel, Dan Cohen, Ethan Watrall, Martha Burtis, Sharon Leon, Miriam Posner, Anelise Hanson Shrout, Erin Bush, Julian Chambliss, and Trevor Owens.