Write and post online two research blog posts (1,000-1,500 words each) or, alternatively one longer research blog post (about 2,000-3,000 words). The focus of the post(s) should be on a student’s specific professional field in its relation to the digital humanities—i.e., posts that (varying by field) address the kind of question asked in the panel at the American Studies Association convention in 2012 on “What Can Digital Humanities Bring to American Studies? And Vice Versa?” (see transcript notes of the session). For example, if a student works on the Early Modern period or postcolonialism, then posts might be about such topics as “how DH has made a difference in Early Modern studies”; “what the history of early books contributes to understanding text analysis today”; “limitations of DH in studying non-Western societies and cultures”; or “critical review of two major DH projects in India.” (The posts can also be directly about the digital humanities field if that is a student’s intended professional field.)

Rationale for assignment: Digital humanities scholars often augment established formats of publication by writing blogs and web pages, posting in-progress works, creating websites, participating in collaborative projects or writings, and contributing other alternative research products. The effect is both to expand the ecosystem of research dissemination and to make visible the full curve of normal research activity (not just a “final” print article, for example, but the online blog posts, conversations, projects, talks, etc. that incubate an article). This expanded ecosystem of research dissemination offers opportunities for graduate students and other early-career scholars that did not exist in a prior age of scholarship. For example, some graduate students, postdocs, and beginning faculty in the digital humanities field have created online sites or published blog posts that make them highly visible in their field.

Timeline: One blog post by Class 4; second blog post (or single longer post) by Class 8. Posts will be linked from the Student Work page for this course.

Advice on research blog posts

Students who already keep a blog can, if appropriate, publish the required blog posts on their own blog or create a category on their blog titled something like “[Name of My Field] and Critical Infrastructure Studies.” Students new to blogging will need to start a blog. A widely-used and free blogging platform (which can also be used as a full-fledged “content management system” to build other kinds of sites) is WordPress.com. (You may want to consider establishing at low cost a personal domain and site for yourself at an educator-oriented provider like Reclaim Hosting. For example, alanyliu.org is a WordPress site hosted at Reclaim Hosting. This will allow you to evolve a full-fledged professional and research/teaching site identified with you that you will not need to migrate from institution to institution as you progress in your career.)

Good academic research blog posts commonly present or report on research in the field; discuss the context, method, implications, and problems of that research; relate the issues to other academic or world issues (where relevant and useful); and include some links or references (plus, as appropriate, images). By contrast with publications in journals and other venues of final record, research blog posts are more free to present partial or in-progress reports, to use personal voice, to supply only the necessary links without a complete bibliography, and at times to be avowedly exploratory, speculative, or controversial. For posts, advice, and resources on academic blogging, see for example: Tim Hitchcock, “Doing It In Public: Impact, Blogging, Social Media and the Academy”(2014); Rohan Maitzen, “Blogging: Accept No Substitutes!” (2013); and Alice Fleerackers, “Blogging Your Research: Tips for Getting Started”(2020). See also Jenny Davis on pros and cons of citing blogs in academic research (2013).

Option B: Research or Critical Essay

Write a short research or critical essay (2,500-3,000 words) that covers the same kinds of topic as described under the blog post option above.

Timeline: The essay is due by Class 8.  Please submit as a digital document (in word processor format). You do not have to post your essay online, but optionally you can do so and have it linked on the course Student Works page.

Option C: Research Bibliography with Commentary

Create in Zotero a public bibliography of publications, websites,  projects, conferences, or other materials representing a sampler or snapshot of DH in your research field, or in some area in that field (e.g., a bibliography of “DH and Postcolonial Studies” or “DH in American Studies” or “DH and Science Technology Studies”). While the bibliography can in part include resources focused on a specific topic—and thus contribute to the “environmental scan” for the project proposal due at the end of the course or for a dissertation prospectus—its coverage should be field-oriented in a way that is wider than a tightly focused topic.

Depending on what is available in a field, aim for a bibliography of at least 70-100 works (or consult with Alan if this seems an impractical number). Citations should include abstracts and use “tags” to provide some logical structure. In Zotero, the bibliography should be kept as a “group library” that can be shared online with “public, closed membership” permissions, meaning that others may view the bibliography but not join it as editing members.  (However, membership may be opened more widely after the course for shared editing if desired.)

Along with the bibliography, please provide in the form of a document (or an online post) a short overview or commentary—descriptive, theoretical, or critical—on what you found (about 300-600 words). Also include as part of this document or post a structured menu of tags for your bibliography designed to help an end-user gain a mental map of what you have assembled. The menu can be in the form of an outline such as follows:

Rationale for Assignment: Curating a public bibliography with “tags” (effectively a partial classification “ontology”) is an excellent way to develop a conceptual map of an area.  And publishing the bibliography online helps establish students publicly as early-career scholars in their field.

Timeline: The bibliography and overview or commentary is due by Class 8. The bibliography should be accessible in Zotero online. The commentary can be submitted either as a document or as an online post (for example, as a blog post that also includes a link to the online Zotero bibliography).

Zotero Instructions & Help: Create a free Zotero account for yourself if you do not already have one. Also, from the Zotero site download and install on your computer the Zotero desktop app and the Zotero “connector” (the plugin for browsers, Word, and Google Docs). Turn on syncing between your online Zotero account and your local-computer Zotero libraries by configuring the preferences in the desktop app (see help on Preferences and Sync).