Syllabus: Introduction to Digital Humanities

Fall 2025: Classes meet M W F 10:10 – 11am in Lilley Library 006

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This contains a detailed explanation of course policies and the basis for grades.

This link jumps to the closest day to today's date. Review the schedule as we get started to get a sense of how this course will work on a daily basis.

Quick links to digital resources

Canvas: http://canvas.psu.edu To submit homework assignments and exams and read private course announcements
introDH-Hub: https://github.com/newtfire/introDH-Hub Class GitHub Repository and Issues Board
oXygen XML Editor: for coding of all kinds, used in multiple DIGIT courses for text archiving, analysis, and web projects
Wordpress (via PSU): Penn State resource for creating a website
TimeMapper: Web-based tool for plotting and visualizing events in time and space based on spreadsheet data.
ArcGIS StoryMaps: software supporting design of visual stories about places, combining text with data patterns, maps, and multimedia.
Google Sheets: Web-based spreadsheet software designed for interactive sharing.
Voyant Tools and Antconc Free concordance and indexing tools supporting distant reading analysis of texts.
Kumu.io: Concept mapping and network tool
itch.io: Source of indie games, a selection of which will be made available for critique.
Course Home Website: https://newtfire.org/courses/introDH/ Home of our syllabus and schedule.

Week 1	Class topics	Do before class
M 08-25	Welcome! Introduction to the course, and what we do in Digital Humanities (DH). Preview some professional and student DH projects: Map of Early Modern London Frankenstein Variorum Accessible VAR for Virtual Blockson project) Introduce first reading for next time. DH projects: Livingstone’s 1871 Field Diary Anna Julia Cooper survey Locke Anthology project for music encoding Piper Baron's poetry/art Olivia Rodrigo Project Ephemeral vs sustainable technologies: NativeGone Project	...
W 08-27	Investigating a manifesto about Digital Humanities Introduce Open Annotation and Hypothes.is Hypothes.is. Set up Hypothes.is accounts and join our private class Hypothes.is Group (invitation in Canvas) Launch first Annotation Assignment	Read The Digital Humanities Manifesto 2.0 and check out who wrote it.
F 08-29	Digging into the DH manifesto: contexts/commentary Introduce Livingstone Online exploration assignment	Set up Hypothes.is account and complete first annotation assignment. Re-read up close (text and image) and annotate with Hypothes.is (Detailed guidance posted on Canvas): The Digital Humanities Manifesto 2.0 Context/Metadata: ~2009.

Week 2	Class topics	Do before class
M 09-01	Labor Day Holiday: No classes.	...
W 09-03	Livingstone Online, spectral imaging, and the Field Diaries. Curating online data: historic journals Introduce tagging for Hypothes.is annotations	Livingstone Online exploration assignment
F 09-05	Discussion of Warsame and this essay’s importance for Digital Humanities: Lived experience and historic significance. Data visceralization. Explore Mimi Onuoha’s The Library of Missing Datasets Curating, mapping, visualization.	Read and annotate with tags: Khalid Warsame, “This Vast Conspiracy of Memory” Published in Spring 2019 Meanjin Quarterly

Week 3	Class topics	Do before class
M 09-08	In-class exercise on Dear Data. Launch the longer-range assignment on personal data collection and visualization	View videos and images of the Dear Data Project Discussion Exercise (Canvas) Before class, take three screen captures of three hand-crafted/humanized data visualizations from anywhere on the Dear Data site (including video content) that particularly struck you. In your discussion post post the images and comment on what is being shown and why does it seem memorable?
W 09-10	Recording worthwhile missing data in our tech systems: what matters to document? Exporting and surveying your entries from Hypothes.is	Art and Data assignment: Mimi Onuoha’s gallery Proposal for Dear Data assignment
F 09-12	Approval/Launch of class Dear Data Visualizations Preview/form teams for VARIA project next week.	Revise, if necessary, Dear Data proposal

Week 4	Class topics	Do before class
M 09-15	VARIA Lab activity Part 1: with Dr. Liebe and VARIA lab team Dr. B is attending the TEI Conference in Kraków this week.	Start recording: Dear Data: Your Week of Visualization
W 09-17	VARIA Lab activity Part 2: with Dr. Liebe and VARIA lab team	VARIA lab 3D scanning exercise
F 09-19	VARIA Lab activity Part 3: with Dr. Liebe and VARIA lab team	VARIA lab 3D modeling and annotation

Week 5	Class topics	Do before class
M 09-22	Introduce Frankenstein: A Digital Variorum Edition	Complete Dear Data: Your Week of Visualization
W 09-24	Tracking changes: Reading/visualizing variation Looking at markup data under the hoood of a digital humanities project	Frankenstein Variorum variant discovery exercise
F 09-26	Markup and data structures: the Electronic Verse Engineer Introduce the oXygen XML Editor	Install oXygen XML Editor, prepare for markup and code orientation Read and annotate The Power Chapter from Data Feminism VARIA 3D Annotation Assignment due

Week 6	Class topics	Do before class
M 09-29	Learning the code syntax of eXtensible Markup Language: elements and attributes. XML and HTML	XML Markup Exercise 1
W 10-01	XML: Markup of data and metadata structures	XML Markup Exercise 2: emphasis on nesting elements and adding attributes
F 10-03	Tracking changes! Orientation to git, GitHub, and version control	Annotate readings: Intro to Git and Version Control Systems

Week 7	Class topics	Do before class
M 10-06	Orientation to Command Line and Git Cloning a repo. Demonstration: Pushing and pulling files.	Git/GitHub assignments: Expose file extensions setting on your computer GitHub account setup, join class GitHub repo/organization
W 10-08	Mindful file management and upkeep with git/GitHub. Git at command line: getting git in your fingers: Terms and concepts: local vs. remote Where to use the `git` commands `git status` When you have to `git pull` Staging new local stuff with `git add` `git commit -m "You describe what's in here"` `git push`	Join DIGIT Coder's Slack for code assistance Watch, learn, apply: DIGIT student Caleb King’s Git Short Videos Git Command Basics and Navigation (Windows) Github Repository Setup and its Upkeep For Macs: Dr. B’s video: Git and GitHub: Basic Steps for Changing a Repo
F 10-10	Tech for publishing a website: content management systems, servers, GitHub Look at a website under the hood: HTML, CSS, image files in a folder XML vs HTML: Similar syntax, different purpose! Semantic vs. layout code. Structure of an HTML file. GitHub Pages with the `docs/` directory and `index.html`: Organizing files for a website in a git repository Introduce the Comparative Web Development Assignment and content for portfolio sites.	Read and annotate with Hypothes.is: keycdn’s “XML vs HTML: What's the Difference?” (2023): Do you recognize some of the technologies / applications mentioned here?

Week 8	Class topics	Do before class
M 10-13	Code an HTML file and view it a browser. HTML elements and attributes tutorial	HTML Exercise 1
W 10-15	HTML elements and attributes tutorial, continued How HTML points to files: absolute and relative file references: links images Where will you work on your website? Your computer, campus labs, maintaining the same folders multiple places. Organizing file directories for website development	HTML Exercise 2: a file directory of at least two HTML files with at least one image and two links, using relative file associations.
F 10-17	CSS for styling: Separation of concerns Storing a separate CSS file, and the `<link>` line to associate it on HTML pages	HTML Exercise 3: HTML and CSS

Week 9	Class topics	Do before class
M 10-20	HTML / CSS, mindful file management, and publishing a website	Start series of Command Line and Web Lore Quizzes on Canvas HTML / CSS / GitHub Exercise 4
W 10-22	Website Development Lab: Spotlight on CSS Reminder: Where to write your CSS: separation of concerns for styling and content Look at the CSS Zen Garden: same HTML content styled several different ways with different CSS Controlling image size display Controlling page layouts: HTML container elements with CSS flex containers	...
F 10-24	Web production work day: git/GitHub, HTML CSS	Website Development Milestone for Comparative Web Development Assignment

Week 10	Class topics	Do before class
M 10-27	Website debugging lab Resolving GitHub Pages issues Orientation to PSU Wordpress and Penn State web hosting services. How to transfer and edit content on the Wordpress site	Website development for Comparative Web Development Assignment
W 10-29	Reflective Essay page of Comparative Website Development Arranging for other pages to be added to your navigation menu Website Accessibility Readings and Workshop	Review the following readings: Apply two things you learn from them to your design of one of your websites (and comment in Canvas on what you are doing or want to do to apply them to your site): webAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind): Intro to Web Accessibility webAim: People with Disabilities on the Web WAVE: Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool Toptal Colorblind Web Page Filter
F 10-31	Wordpress and GitHub Pages site development	Wordpress Milestone assignment

Week 11	Class topics	Do before class
M 11-03	Complete website previews and final checks before submission	Comparative Web Development Assignment due: Check: Prepare the same website content on GitHub Pages and Wordpress The same reflective essay should be posted on each site The reflective essay on GitHub Pages links to the reflective essay on Wordpress (and vice versa).
W 11-05	Introduce the Text Analysis unit. Natural Language Processing (NLP): relation to AI (Large Language Models) technology of our time. Google NGram Viewer Testing Voyant Tools and Antconc	Clone our class’s introDH-Hub and/or pull in its contents. Read An Introduction to N-Grams: What are they and why do we need them? Exercise: Google Ngram Viewer Experiment Install Antconc on your computer. Complete Antconc orientation exercise.
F 11-07	NLP and AI: Discussion / Exercise: In Class Comparison Exercise with Large Language Models (LLMs)	Readings on NLP and AI: Ahmet Duzduran, “Ethics of Natural Language Processing” (2023) Mark Riedl, A Very Gentle Introduction to Large Language Models Without the Hype (2023) Timnit Gebru: [TBD]

Week 12	Class topics	Do before class
M 11-10	Text analysis lab workshop: ngram comparison data Blocking and layout of Corpus Analysis assignment on your website	Milestone for Corpus Analysis Project
W 11-12	Lab workshop day for Corpus Analysis project	Corpus Analysis Project due (end of day)
F 11-14	Dracula and the strange past and present of copyright Remixing, Copyright, and Creative Commons license for your website Space/Place Mapping 2: TimeMapper Visualization	Readings / Canvas discussion or annotation: Remix Culture and Amateur Creativity: A Copyright Dilemma Measuring Fair Use: The Four Factors Creative Commons: explore the site, look at Use & remix section

Week 13	Class topics	Do before class
M 11-17	Timemapper Debugging	Timemapper starter exercise from Dracula and/or Copyright readings
W 11-19	Finalizing / Embedding Timemap on website	Choose Creative Commons License for your portfolio website Work on Timemapper
F 11-21	Introduce final Game Analysis Project: Survey game options	Timemapper Exercise due

Week 14	Class topics	Do before class
Sun 11-23 – Sat 11-29	Thanksgiving Holiday	Have a peaceful and productive week!

Week 15	Class topics	Do before class
M 12-01	Introduce Network analysis with Palermo and Kumu.io	Play the Palermo game for at least one hour to follow it. Download and install a game from our list on itch.io
W 12-03	Network analysis: Kumu Networks and organization / visualization options. Game Analysis.	Starter Kumu network analysis exercise
F 12-05	Reviewing a game for user experience	Milestone: Game Review notes

Week 16	Class topics	Do before class
M 12-08	Organizing network visualizations: Network statistics and styles Including/Embedding your network visualization (and other visualizations this semester) on your website	Game Analysis Development
W 12-10	Web Portfolios and Game Reviews.	Game Analysis Development
F 12-12	Last Day! DIGIT Works event	...

Finals Week: 12/15 – 12/19	Due
T 12-16	Final assignment: Game Analysis Project due by 11:59pm

DIGIT 100: Introduction to the Digital Humanities

Read the Course Description

Quick links to digital resources

M 08-25

W 08-27

F 08-29

M 09-01

W 09-03

F 09-05

M 09-08

W 09-10

F 09-12

M 09-15

W 09-17

F 09-19

M 09-22

W 09-24

F 09-26

M 09-29

W 10-01

F 10-03

M 10-06

W 10-08

F 10-10

M 10-13

W 10-15

F 10-17

M 10-20

W 10-22

F 10-24

M 10-27

W 10-29

F 10-31

M 11-03

W 11-05

F 11-07

M 11-10

W 11-12

F 11-14

M 11-17

W 11-19

F 11-21

Sun 11-23 – Sat 11-29

M 12-01

W 12-03

F 12-05

M 12-08

W 12-10

F 12-12

T 12-16