September DH Project Scoping Panel and Mixer

Members of UVA's DH community gathered in Makerspace on September 5 for a DH panel and Grad Mixer. Kicking off the 2019-2020 academic year, the afternoon began with a project scoping panel featuring Ronda Grizzle and Brandon Walsh of Scholar's Lab, Spanish PhD student Catherine Addington, and Architecture professor Lisa Reilly. 

Citing the fact that DH Certificate students will often have as little as one semester to work on a DH project, Ms. Grizzle prescribed "being kind to yourselves" in addition to crafting a project completion timeline divided into small, manageable chunks. Bringing to bear her deep expertise in DH project management, she emphasized that "scoping is hard."  Brandon Walsh, Head of Student Programs in Scholars' Lab, advised against viewing DH projects as "make-or-break" for what may ultimately be a multi-decade academic career.

Lisa Reilly offered framing questions for those embarking on a DH project. "Is this something that could be done without using digital tools? If not why do you want to use digital tools?" Reilly also encouraged students in attendance to consider accessibility issues. Considering issues of project design, Reilly posed a set of questions to guide and provoke thought: "Is there a platform already in place to accomplish the goal or do we need to start from scratch? How will you prioritize and present your information?"

Closing things out, Catherine Addington chronicled her successes and failures working on a DH project in a department with an "emerging DH culture." Her primary prescription for those working on their first DH projects: start with a well-established platform. 

Then, sandwiches. 

The mixer drew DH regulars and DH-curious students and staff alike. "I was invited to a mixer by a friend of mine in Archaeology," said Vergil Parson, a fifth-year PhD student in the Classics department. "She and others in my field work with DH@UVA, so I knew that even staunchly textual and traditional fields like Classics are benefiting from digital humanities expertise. The mixer seemed like a low-stakes way of seeing what it was all about."

"I personally know and am fond of the DH community at UVA, and I often come to these events simply to meet and talk to them," said Shalmi Barman, a second year English PhD student who intends to apply for the DH Graduate Certificate. 

The panel and mixer drew approximately 25 attendees and is part of an on-going series meant to stimulate conversation, strengthen ties between DH practitioners across disciplines, and keep the DH community informed of events across Grounds.