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Maintained by: Elisa E. Beshero-Bondar (eeb4 at psu.edu) Creative Commons License Last modified: Friday, 05-Apr-2024 06:53:17 UTC. Powered by firebellies.

Spring 2024: Classes meet M W F 11:15 - 12:05pm in Burke 153

Read the Course Description

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

Jump Down to the Schedule

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

Week 1 Class topics Do before class

M 1-08

 Welcome! Introduction to the course, and what we do in Digital Humanities. Preview some DH projects: (Map of Early Modern London, Frankenstein Variorum, Anna Julia Cooper survey, Piper Baron's poetry/art, Accessible VAR for Virtual Blockson project) ...

W 1-10

 Read The Digital Humanities Manifesto 2.0 and check out who wrote it

F 1-12
  • Digging in to the DH manifesto: contexts/commentary
  • Introduce Slow Computing and Dear Data
 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 1-15

 Martin Luther King Day: No classes. ...

W 1-17
  • How to do slow computing at university?
  • Introduce videos and images of the Dear Data Project
  • Introduce Dear Data collection and visualization assignment.
 Read and annotate with Hypothes.is:

F 1-19

 Discussion / hands-on 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?
Week 3 Class topics Do before class

M 1-22
  • Data collection and visualization for Dear Data: paper and digital approaches
  • Discussion of Warsame reading/annotations, time, space, data

W 1-24
  • Matrix of Technological Domination exercise continued
  • Markup and data structures: the Electronic Verse Engineer
  • Introduce the oXygen XML Editor
  • Install oXygen XML Editor, prepare for markup and code orientation
  • Work on "Dear Data: Your Week of Visualization" assignment

F 1-26
  • Discuss Library of Missing Datasets.
  • Discussion: data non-neutrality / data ethics / data justice / data visceralization.
  • Hands-on Matrix of Technological Domination exercise
Week 4 Class topics Do before class

M 1-29

 Learning the code syntax of eXtensible Markup Language: elements and attributes
  • XML Markup Exercise 1
  • Complete the Penn State Academic Integrity Tutorial and upload your certificate (in Canvas)

W 1-31

 Markup of data and metadata structures XML Markup Exercise 2: emphasis on nesting elements and adding attributes.

F 2-02
  • XML vs. HTML: Semantic vs. layout code. Structure of an HTML file.
  • Code an HTML file and view it a browser.
  • HTML elements tutorial
  • XML Markup Exercise 3
  • Work on "Dear Data: Your Week of Visualization" assignment (due Friday by 11:59pm)
Week 5 Class topics Do before class

M 2-05
  • Where will you work on your website? Your computer, campus labs, maintaining the same folders multiple places.
  • Organizing file directories for website development
  • How HTML points to files: absolute and relative file references:
    • links
    • images
 HTML Exercise 1

W 2-07
  • Discuss the Comparative Web Development Assignment and content for your sites.
  • Orientation to CSS for styling
 HTML Exercise 2: a folder of at least two HTML files with at least one image and two links, using relative file associations.

F 2-09
  • Tech for publishing a website: content management systems, servers, GitHub
  • Introduction to the Command Line: Exploring your computer and connecting to the cloud
  • Organizing files for a website in a git repository
  • Read / do: Command Line orientation materials
  • HTML Exercise 3: HTML and CSS
  • Work on "Dear Data: Your Week of Visualization" assignment (due Friday by 11:59pm)
Week 6 Class topics Do before class

M 2-12

 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
  • Start series of Command Line and Web Lore Quizzes on Canvas
  • HTML Exercise 4: Prepare a GitHub repository for your website

W 2-14

 Website Development Lab: Git/GitHub Intensive Practice: Spotlight on Navigation Menus and relative filepaths Website development

F 2-16

 Website Development Lab: Spotlight on CSS
  • 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
  • Complete/submit visualizations for Dear Data assignment
  • Include Dear Data vis on your website?
Week 7 Class topics Do before class

M 2-19

 CSS Spotlight Workshop, continued
  • Comparative Website Development Milestone for GitHub Pages : website with multiple linked pages, images, CSS styling.
  • Reflection (in Canvas text box): What have you been learning about files, directories, and code in building a website?

W 2-21

 Orientation to PSU Wordpress and Penn State web hosting services. How to transfer and edit content on the Wordpress site Website development

F 2-23

 Website debugging lab Wordpress site: set up styling and pages, image content from your GitHub Pages site.
Week 8 Class topics Do before class

M 2-26

 Website Accessibility Readings and Workshop Website development

W 2-28

 Introduce the Text Analysis unit. Natural Language Processing (NLP): central to the AI (Large Language Models) technology of our time

F 3-01

 Website project checklist / review. Voyant Tools exercise Comparative Website Assignment due: Prepare the same website content on GitHub Pages and Wordpress

Sun 3-03 - Sat 3-09

 Spring Break Enjoy this week!
Week 9 Class topics Do before class

M 3-11
  • Voyant Tools exercise: orientation to distant reading with texts posted in introDH-Hub.
  • Cleaning the text data: preparing plain text files to remove material not meant for analysis.
  • Exploring Keyword in Context (KWIC) with Voyant and ngrams. Finding patterns and exploring them. What kinds of comparisons can we make?
 ...

W 3-13
  • Introduce text corpus and corpora, and the Corpus Analysis Assignment
  • Introduce n-gram analysis with Antconc.
  • Explore corpus concordances with Voyant and AntConc.
 ...

F 3-15

 Large corpus text sampling: how do we read and understand data from a distance? Strategies for identifying patterns. Corpus analysis exercise
Week 10 Class topics Do before class

M 3-18

 Artificial Intelligence with Large Language Models: Exploring GPT and/or other models with NLP tools ...

W 3-20

 AI with Large Language Models, continued. Discussion: AI applications and ethics. AI with LLMs exercise

F 3-22

 Comparative analysis with NLP tools: Exploring bases for comparison ...
Week 11 Class topics Do before class

M 3-25

 Peer Review/consultation workshop on Corpus Analysis drafts. Milestone: Rough draft installment of Corpus Analysis assignment. Screenshots: images with figure and figcaption

W 3-27

 [Special guest speaker?] / Corpus Analysis workshop ...

F 3-29

 Introducing Time/Space Mapping unit: View and discuss Europe Time Machine project Corpus Analysis Assignment due
Week 12 Class topics Do before class

M 4-01

 Orientation to TimeMapper or Arc StoryMaps. GIS and web technologies Starter exercise for time/space mapping

W 4-03

 Mapping and telling history: Discussion / Workshop with Land-Grab Universities maps and data. ...

F 4-05

 Workshopping Time/Space mapping projects. Including Time/Space map on your website Milestone: partial draft of Time/Space Mapping assignment
Week 13 Class topics Do before class

M 4-08

 Solar eclipse: No class meeting today! time lapse of a total eclipse of the sun
  • Safely view the eclipse with proper viewing glasses!
  • Work on Timemapper assignment

W 4-10

 Timemapper topic decided + 5 Timemapper Entries

F 4-12
  • Discussion of Leaf by Niggle. Tolkien, Secondary Worlds, digital media, and game culture.
  • Introduce network analysis: Networking the story with Kumu.io: Google sheets templates, Kumu import.
  • Tolkien Hypothes.is Annotations Exercise: Read and annotate (w/ Hypothes.is in our class group) J. R. R. Tolkien, Leaf by Niggle
  • Complete TimeMapper Assignment: post to your website (by the end of the day).
Week 14 Class topics Do before class

M 4-15

 Discussion of Kumu Networks and organization / visualization options. Game Analysis.
  • Starter Kumu network analysis exercise with Leaf by Niggle
  • Choose a game from itch.io to play, network, and review.

W 4-17
  • Organizing network visualizations: Spotlight on network statistics and styles
  • Including your network visualization on your website
 Game Analysis Milestone:
  • Complete phase 1 (note-taking stage) on your game, and post a copy of your notes on Canvas. Take descriptive notes on game setting, characters, themes
  • Collect, file, and organize screen captures from your game.

F 4-19

 Reviewing a game for user experience Game Analysis Milestone: Network visualization exercise
Week 15 Class topics Do before class

M 4-22

 Remixing, Copyright, and Creative Commons. . Readings / Canvas discussion or annotation:

W 4-24

 Workshop Game Analysis Review drafts / networks
  • Choose a Creative Commons license for resources you are sharing on your website. Cite and credit resources that are not yours.
  • Prepare draft of Game Analysis Assignment: Embed your network on the review and include details on gameplay and direct links to the game resources you are reviewing on itch.io.

F 4-26

 Last day! DIGIT Works ...
Finals Week (April 29 - May 3) Due

T 4-30

Final assignment: Game Analysis due by 11:59pm