Digital Humanities I
English 4888/6888, Spring 2014
Dr. Sara Steger
307 Park Hall
ssteger@uga.edu
Office Ho urs:
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays 11-12
(and by appoint ment )
Co urse Descriptio n and Objectives:
The second semest er in t he sequence of Digit al Humanit ies classes goes beyond an int roduct ion t o
t he field t o challenge st udent s t o engage wit h t he ways t hat t hinking about t ext s as "dat a"
changes, enhances, and complicat es humanist ic enquiry. We will be part icularly concerned wit h
digit izat ion of art ifact s in t his course.
While t he Int roduct ion t o Humanit ies Comput ing (ENGL 4885/6885) int roduced st udent s t o t he basic
met hodologies, t ools, and skills t hat scholars in t he digit al humanit ies employ in t heir research, t his
course is designed t o offer more comprehensive inst ruct ion and pract ice wit h some of t hese
met hodologies. St udent s will work bot h in and out of class on a series of project s designed t o give
t hem hands-on and in-dept h experience wit h elect ronic t ext creat ion and markup. In addit ion t o
pract ical skills, we will spend some t ime reading about and considering some of t he more prescient
debat es in digit al humanit ies, including how t he field-in-creat ion cont inues t o define and redefine
it self.
Required T exts:
No t ext s required – all of our readings will be online or will be available on Emma.
Many readings will be drawn from Debat es in t he Digit al Humanit ies
It would be ext remely beneficial for you t o have access t o a comput er upon which you can inst all
open source programs (free). If you have quest ions about t his, please let me know.
Prerequisites:
While t here is no pre-requisit e for t his course, st udent s must have st rong t echnical and
comput at ional skills. St udent s will need t o eit her be familiar wit h t he basics of markup or be willing t o
do some independent st udy beginning t o learn t hese basics.
Late Wo rk:
For each 24-hour period t hat a project is lat e, I will deduct 5 point s (one let t er grade). If a pressing
emergency arises, cont act me prior t o t he due dat e t o make arrangement s.
Plus/Minus Grading:
Plus and minus grades are assigned only t o a st udent 's final average for t he course. For t he course
grade, t he grade-point average and t he numerical range for each plus/minus grade is as follows:
A 4.0 (93-100)
A- 3.7 (90-92)
B+ 3.3 (88-89)
B 3.0 (82-87)
B- 2.7 (80-81)
C+ 2.3 (78-79)
C 2.0 (70-77)
C- 1.7 (68-69)
D 1.0 (60-67)
F 0.0 (<60)
End o f term co urse evaluatio ns:
At t he end of t he semest er, you'll be asked t o complet e an online evaluat ion of t his course. Please
do t ake t he opport unit y t o respond t o t he course and it s cont ent . The English depart ment now
part icipat es in t he online syst em. At t he end of t he semest er, you'll be asked t o
visit ht t ps://ssl.franklin.uga.edu/evaluat ion/login.php t o record your evaluat ion.
Impo rtant Reminders:
As a Universit y of Georgia st udent , you have agreed t o abide by t he Universit y’s
academic honest y policy, “A Cult ure of Honest y,” and t he St udent Honor Code. All
academic work must meet t he st andards described in “A Cult ure of Honest y” found at :
ht t ps://ovpi.uga.edu/academic-honest y/academic-honest y-policy. Lack of knowledge of t he
academic honest y policy is not a reasonable explanat ion for a violat ion. Quest ions relat ed
t o course assignment s and t he academic honest y policy should be direct ed t o t he
inst ruct or.
St udent s wit h a disabilit y or healt h-relat ed issue who need a class accommodat ion should
make an appoint ment t o speak wit h t he inst ruct or as soon as possible.
The course syllabus is a general plan for t he course; deviat ions announced t o t he class
by t he inst ruct or may be necessary.