Assignments
Class Participation – Class participation, in a variety of forms, is crucial to this course. In addition to leading or contributing to in-class discussions, I expect you to write regularly on your course weblog. I will on occasion ask you to write about specific topics or answer a specific question, but in general you are free to write about whatever you think is relevant, or will contribute, to the course. In addition to writing your own blog posts, I expect you to comment or link to the posts of your fellow classmates. Keep in mind that the audience for your blog is far broader than the instructor: Other students in class, and other interested individuals in the digital history field, will read your posts. Similarly, I expect regular participation on Twitter, in the the form of links relevant to readings or topics discussed in class, or conversation with people in and out of class. Participation is not about getting in a specific number of comments in class, or writing a specific number of blog posts or messages on Twitter. Its how well you contribute to the class, what others learn from you.
Readings – All readings assigned on a particular date should be read before class. Come prepared to discuss the readings in a thoughtful, critical manner. You can easily prepare for discussion by writing a post reacting to the readings on your weblog. Readings marked with an asterisk (*) are required readings for graduate students in the class, but undergraduates should, of course, feel free to read them as well. Additionally, if you know of, or find, other readings that are just as relevant to the course as what I have assigned, feel free to read and comment on those as well. The Web has made writing and publishing academic work extremely easy, and you can easily find dozens of other sources relevant to our topics.
Annotated Digital History Bibliography – In this assignment, you will choose a topic related to digital history, and contribute sources. Sources can be of any type—web sites or pages, blog posts, magazine or journal articles, or books. You should create a collection in the class Zotero group, and use child notes in Zotero for annotations. Undergraduate should contribute at least five sources; Graduate students should contribute at least ten sources. You should make sure the sources contain correct bibliographic information, and you should tag the sources with relevant keywords. Annotations should be at least 150 words (1/2 page).
Website Review – Write a 2-page review of a website, following the guidelines set in the Journal of American History. Ideally, the website would cover a similar area or approach that your Digital History Resource would cover, but this is not required.
Digital History Resource – Create a prototype for a web-based digital history resource consisting of roughly 5–10 HTML pages. This can take on many forms: A collecting site, an online archive, an educational resource, an online museum exhibit. The resource can be static HTML, or it can use a content management system (CMS). The only restriction is that the resource must be content-based, and must present some argument or rationale for its existence. I highly recommend you use previous research for this project, instead of starting something entirely from scratch. This assignment includes the following milestones:
- 1-page proposal, as a blog post, detailing the scope of the project, the topical focus, the technologies and resources you plan to use, and a timeline of steps for completion.
- A 1-page summary of the final project, reflecting on the process of creation, and including a URL to the project.
*Grant Proposal – Graduate students taking this course must complete a grant proposal of ~6 pages for the development of their digital history resource, using the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Digital Humanities Start-up Grants as the basis for the grant.
Grades
Grades represent an evaluation, not a reward. They will be assigned in the following manner:
- A—Outstanding work, complete mastery of the material presented, combined with some originality.
- B—A solid command of the material with some minor gaps or mistakes.
- C—Some knowledge of the material; Infrequent but significant confusions and errors present.
- D—An incomplete, minimal knowldge of the material; Frequent and/or major confusions and errors
- F—A complete lack of understanding of the course material.
- I—There are no incompletes given in this course except in cases of bona fide and documented instances in accordance with the regulations of the university.
- P—For a “pass” a “B” average is required.
In a class where collaboration and peer feedback are frequent, punctuality is absolutely necessary. Assignments not ready for presentation cannot benefit from class feedback; late blog posts, for example, result in fewer comments and less exchange among participants. Therefore, assignments are due on the date indicated on the syllabus; blog posts that reflect on readings, for example, should be posted at least a day before the class meets in order to give me and your fellow classmates a chance to comment.
If you receive a grade or criticism from me with which you do not agree, feel free to discuss it with me during my office hours or by appointment. I am open to changing a grade if given sufficient reason, but be very prepared to make your case. I will not discuss grades by email, phone, or instant messenger; only in person, by appointment.
A Word of Warning: I will not accept technology-related excuses for late or incomplete assignments. Computers, like many other things built by human beings, are imperfect. A computer or other technology-related problem can (and probably will) occur, so you should take steps to minimize these problems. Back up your work obsessively. Complete your assignments as early as possible. If your computer fails, your hard drive crashes, or your Internet service goes down, make sure you have access to other computer resources. There are several computer labs for students on campus, which are free to use.
Assignments in the course are weighted as follows:
Undergraduates:
- Class Participation – 50%
- Annotated Digital History Bibliography – 10%
- Website Review – 10%
- Digital History Resource – 30%
Graduates:
- Class Participation – 50%
- Annotated Digital History Bibliography – 10%
- Website Review – 10%
- Grant Proposal – 10%
- Digital History Resource – 20%
All assignments are required to receive a passing grade for the course.