April 20, 2013
Big Project, Small Project:
Steps in Ideation and Development
Multimodal Scholarship:
scholarship that takes place in more
than one medium (mode), and
addresses subjects which it argues
cannot be accurately conveyed in a
single mode.
Digital Humanities:
(strenuously resists being defined!)
(see slides from Workshop #1)
Alt. def.: using computers to do
things which would be difficult for
scholars to do, which allows scholars
to do things that computers can’t do.
"If We (Profs) Can Be Replaced by a Computer Screen, We Should
Be!”
--Cathy Davidson
One perspective:
Digital Humanities: using digital tools to produce
scholarship
Multimodal scholarship: using tools to display
and disseminate traditional scholarship
What is the difference
between digital
humanities and
multimodal
scholarship?
(“produce” vs. “display and disseminate”?)
Why does the
distinction between
digital humanities and
multimodal
scholarship matter?
• Individuals and bodies whom you
encounter or work with may have
opposing perspectives on the
definitions.
• Whether you present your project as
DH or as multimodal scholarship may
be significant in terms of funding.
• You may want to adapt a fluid selfpresentation that allows you to cast
yourself as either, depending on the
context.
How does your
understanding of your work
differ from the way that
others understand it?
What do you work
with?
• texts
• narratives
• images
• archives
• maps
• ephemera
• physical objects • performances
• languages
What are the components
of the objects you work
with?
•
•
Book: words, pages, author(s), editor(s),
publisher(s), reader(s), physical edition(s), digital
editions, reader responses
Performance: sound/video file, performer, venue,
date/time, program
What could a digital project
be?
• concordance
• conference
•
edition
•
•
exhibit
•
•
archive
•
twitter feed
•
database
•
discussion group
•
blog
•
podcast
•
dissertation
game
targeted use of an existing
application, such as Google
Maps or LibraryThing
Ultimately, you define
what form your
project takes.
Components of
digital/multimodal projects
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
an objective (a goal or a question)
data
audience
platform
labor
training
schedule/timeline
benefit (for you? for others?)
concrete outcome
“Developing research
ideas is more about
communication than
creativity.”
--DevDH.org
Ideation Questions (Round
One):
• what part of yourStarting
work do you
• Out
what do you need for your own
love the most?
•
•
•
who do you communicate with
about your subject?
what does the field need and
not have?
if you could do anything you
wanted with your field, and
money were no object, what
would it be?
research?
•
•
•
what is an unintended result of
your research?
what parts of your research
are most accessible to other
people? (academics and nonacademics)
how does your area of interest
intersect with others’ work?
How else might I find
a project?
Almost anything you care about
can become a project, if you
commit to it.
Ideation Questions (Round
Two):
Diligence
• Are there Due
any existing
projects that do
anything similar to what you want to do?
•
•
•
What is the legal status of the material that
you work with?
What kind of access do you have to these
materials?
What would be the smallest version of this
project possible? (i.e., proof of concept)
Ideation Questions (Round Three):
What will it take to make this
happen?
• What skills are involved?
• What are my real strengths, and where
might it be better to collaborate with
others?
• Who will you need to work with?
• How long do you anticipate this project
lasting?
Ideation Questions (Round Four):
Publishing
your
practice
• Could you produce your project in a more
traditional format for your discipline? (e.g., an
essay?) How would your project provide
different coverage than a traditional argument?
•
•
•
How does your planned project intersect with
what other people are doing?
How can I share my process? To what extent
and for what reasons do I want to do so?
What makes this a DH -- or multimodal -project?
The life of your
project is in the way
that (other) people
use it.
In digital humanities, you may
need to build your audience
before you build your project.
GRADUATE
STUDENT
LABOR
The scope of graduate student labor is
ill-defined. You will need to define what
is required, and articulate that to others.
How does my project fit
into my graduate
program?
Balancing a DH project with a
graduate degree program
• Consider how and whether
you want to position your
project within the boundaries
dictated by your program and
its degree requirements.
Balancing a DH project with a
graduate degree program
•Identify the people who are overseeing
and evaluating the work you do on your
project.
•Meet with those people to discuss the
practical aspects of your project’s
running and marketing.
(adapted from Amanda Visconti’s “Five Tips For Getting Started On A Digital Humanities
Dissertation”)
Project management
• creating and maintaining a schedule
• knowing your own skills
• being aware of and making use of
resources
• having a realistic conception of all of the
above.
Scheduling tips
• Develop granular goals.
• Make your schedule for increments of
time that work for you.
• Assess how well the schedule is
working, and adapt it as needed.
Know yourself
• What types of work do you have the
most energy/patience for?
• What types of work do you find
frustrating?
• What aspects of collaboration do you
embrace? What aspects do you
struggle with?
BE HONEST ABOUT YOUR ABILITIES.
Investigate available
resources
• UW Libraries Digital Initiatives
• The Simpson Center
• UW Information Technology (UW-IT)
• Other departments
Asking is the key to
developing a cohort.
Your project may be more
transferable than your
dissertation.
Where else can I ask?
• DH Commons
• Twitter
• Local UnConferences
Be mindful of the return on
investment (ROI) for each activity.
Why would you want a
project, given how much work
it is?
When managed mindfully,
a DH project can provide
a sense of agency that
complements and
enhances traditional
academic work.
But do you have to
have a project to do
DH?
Stay tuned for our next
workshop!
Saturday, May 4, 9:30a.m.Available Tools: Free, Cheap, and Premium
1:00p.m.
• PivotalTracker
• Scalar
• ManyEyes
• Finding tools, and deciding when they’re worth buying.
Thanks to our sponsors!
UW Textual
Studies
Program