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Tuesdays from 7:00pm - 9:30pm in Campbell Hall 158.

This is a course about information and data visualization. We live in a world rich with information. This course teaches visual and spatial thinking coupled with data analysis tools and custom web-enabled programming to construct and envision information. To find and even invent approaches toward seeing into complex problems, we will study, and make, useful, compelling and beautiful tools to see.

Mondays from 1:00pm - 3:30pm in Campbell 108.

Digital tools have completely transformed the questions humanists ask, how they view the world and how they disseminate their scholarship. These new possibilities both open and close possible avenues of investigation. This course will introduce students to tools relevant to the analysis of visual culture and architecture as well as the process of how to learn to use digital tools – critical given the constantly changing array of options-  as well as how to develop a digital project. Together we will critically assess the role of digital humanities in art and architectural history through an analysis of selected digital projects as well as specific tools.  We will consider questions such as: What are the tools that have made this work possible? How have these same tools imposed limits on the project under examination? How can these tools advance on our own work and the dissemination of our scholarship? We will analyze what  these tools make possible in terms of our own research and learn how to apply them. We will work through the process of digital project development from selecting objects of study, to recording those objects, constructing a database to visualizing the data and finally representing it through a digital project. These will include 3-d scanning visualization, GIS mapping tools, project management techniques, and data collection. This course is open to graduate students from any discipline.

Mondays from 1:00pm - 3:30pm in Campbell 108.

Digital tools have completely transformed the questions humanists ask, how they view the world and how they disseminate their scholarship. These new possibilities both open and close possible avenues of investigation. This course will introduce students to tools relevant to the analysis of visual culture and architecture as well as the process of how to learn to use digital tools – critical given the constantly changing array of options-  as well as how to develop a digital project. Together we will critically assess the role of digital humanities in art and architectural history through an analysis of selected digital projects as well as specific tools.  We will consider questions such as: What are the tools that have made this work possible? How have these same tools imposed limits on the project under examination? How can these tools advance on our own work and the dissemination of our scholarship? We will analyze what  these tools make possible in terms of our own research and learn how to apply them. We will work through the process of digital project development from selecting objects of study, to recording those objects, constructing a database to visualizing the data and finally representing it through a digital project. These will include 3-d scanning visualization, GIS mapping tools, project management techniques, and data collection. This course is open to graduate students from any discipline.

The purpose of this graduate seminar is to introduce students to the key concepts, methods, theories, and emerging practices in the "Digital Humanities." The seminar will provide a historical overview of the field from its beginnings in the post-World War II era to the present, highlighting the major intellectual problems, disciplinary paradigms, and institutional challenges that are posed by Digital Humanities. While we will proceed from a trans-disciplinary perspective and focus on the transformation of disciplines such as literature, history, geography, archaeology, among others, the seminar will ultimately consider "Digital Humanities" as a group of "knowledge problems" that affect what we know, how we know, and what we consider to be knowledge. We will examine the major epistemological, methodological, technological, and institutional challenges posed by the Digital Humanities through a number of specific projects that address fundamental problems in creating, interpreting, preserving, and transmitting the human cultural record. At the same time, we will examine how digital technologies and tools—ranging from mark-up languages and map visualizations to database structures and interface design—are themselves arguments that make certain assumptions about, and even transform, our objects of study. This is not a course in studying new media or the impact of digital technology on culture per se, but rather is focused on those areas where the Humanities intersect with digital tools for analysis and interpretation, and how we can bridge the gap between the traditions of critical theory and the practice-based approaches of the Digital Humanities.

The goals of this course are to:

● explore a broad spectrum of perspectives on the digital humanities
● engage with a variety of digital humanities tools in order to choose the most appropriate technology to facilitate different work in different situations
● develop familiarity with a range of digital humanities projects, as well as the ability to evaluate the tools and methods involved in creating those projects
● become more thoughtful, critical, and reflective users of digital tools, technologies, and spaces by understanding that all technologies are complex, socially situated, and political tools through which humans make meaning

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

● identify resources for digital humanities community and assistance at MSU and beyond
● critically discuss digital humanities projects in light of current methods and theoretical approaches to the field
● explain how digital humanities methods and practices are applied in different disciplines
● plan, develop, and evaluate a digital humanities research project

In many ways, the humanities are already digital: whether you’re working on The Odyssey or Only Revolutions, most of us do our research, writing, and sometimes reading at a computer. In these situations, the computer replaces the index, the pen, and the printed book. In a sense, then, the computer has simply sped up processes with which humanists were already familiar. But what might we gain if we begin to use the computer to do something that only it can do? How would it change our understanding of a novel if we laid it out in geographical space? What would it mean to look at every frame of a film at once? What could we discover if we read everything a prolific author wrote, in just two weeks? And what would we learn if we turned the tables and decided to look at digital objects the same way we typically look at novels or films? In this course, we will consider these questions as we explore the field of digital humanities (DH). Through readings and various projects, we will familiarize ourselves with the concepts, tools, and debates of and within DH.

Introduction to the theoretical and practical aspects of the Digital Humanities, including the historical and ongoing debates over its boundaries, methodologies, objectives and values.

This course provides students with an introduction to the digital humanities. It builds a firm foundation of technical skills and introduces students to the basic questions in the field. Although we will engage with theoretical work on the digital humanities and read secondary materials, this is primarily a methods course. While a basic familiarity with computers is recommended, students will not need to have any prior programming or command line experience. All of the tools used in this course are open-source or freely available on the internet. We will be using Anaconda (a scientific computing distribution of the Python programming language), Processing, and other open source software. In this course, students will learn to identify and acquire useful materials, program ad-hoc tools, and use digital analytical techniques where appropriate. The course will culminate in a 2,000 to 3,000 word research paper and a short ten-minute presentation. This paper must contain at least two figures. Alternatively, students can develop an online project (with a similar amount of content) in consultation with me. Students should meet with me by October 31st to discuss ideas for final papers/projects. Course materials will be distributed through GitHub and Blackboard. Over the course of the semester, I will provide students with assignments that will help guide you through the important concepts. Each assignment will require the student to write a short program that implements techniques from previous sessions and an essay describing the program and its purpose. Students should complete the assignment on her/his/their own. You are encouraged to search the internet for help in finishing the assignments. If you find a solution to the problem somewhere online, you can use it but post the source and explain in detail why the solution works.