Project 1 asks you to identify a discipline that uses digital tools and methods and research that discipline, its tools/methods, its projects, and its scholarship. It’s a team based project, with teams ranging from 3-7 persons. Individual work is possible but discouraged due to the size and scope. Visit the Project Assignment page on our website for details. This document might help you get started on this project.
Step 0. Build or Join a team. You should first work to build or join a team. In our shared folder on Google Drive, there’s a spreadsheet “Forming a Team.” That spreadsheet has two sheets (bottom of window):Students in Class and Teams. For “students in class,” find your name and ensure your email address are correct. Add a mobile number if you’re textable (highly recommended). Use the information shared by other students to reach out to form a team.
Once you have a team, put a big “X” next to your name in the students sheet (showing you have a team) and then head to the Teams sub-sheet. On that sheet, begin by finding an empty Team listing and make it yours by naming your team (first of all). Fill in your information in the team member spot, includig name, email and text.
If you don’t have a team, (a) you can form one by cold emailing/texting folks, or (b) you can reach out to me and I’ll form a team for you. I encourage you to look for folks without a team (no X on students list) and message them. You have until end of the day on 9/10 to join/build a team, so don’t fret. But DO reach out to others and DO NOT let the process of building a team keep you from meeting any of the project’s earliest deadlines.
Step 1. Identify a Discipline In order to begin, your team first must select a discipline to review. There are lots of humanities disciplines listed on the Supplement page, but feel free to select any discipline that you’re willing to (a) connect with the digital tools and methods of DH, (b) find digital projects that use those tools and methods, and (c) use research that examines this area. English, History, Philosophy, Anthropology, Languages & Literatures, Art, Music, Theatre: the list goes on. If it is something done by humans and it impacts culture, it works. You can also investigate humanities-adjacent fields like Economics, Sociology, or Geography. When you have your discipline selected, list it on the Teams document.
Step 2. Familiarize yourself with a project. You should also get a project identified pretty quickly. Google is your friend, but you should also avail yourself of the resources on the Supplement page. I encourage DH Awards as a tool to identify useful and interesting projects. I can help if you need it, but I’d strongly prefer you find a great project on your own; your grade will thank you.
Step 3. Meet as a team and define roles. Someone on your team needs to take a leadership role and become your team’s coordinator. That individual takes on a key role: ensuring that everyone has a role/job to do in the project and checking in with the team to make sure nobody falls through the cracks. I encourage group meeting f2f or over Zoom, with follow ups via text.
Step 4. Prepare to meet the deadlines. Your first deadline is 9/12, and it includes identifying discipline, tool, and each project member’s role. Your next deadline is 9/15, where a draft is required and a conference is held to get feedback on the draft. The project coordinator should ensure that the team starts a folder in the shared folder on drive for Project 1, and all of the team’s documents are within that folder. Use the Meet me site to book meetings. Conferences should be 30 minutes for a team, 15 minutes for an individual. At least half the team must be present, and credit will accrue to the whole team. DON’T PUT OFF MAKING A MEETING! I have lots of times, and I’ll try to be flexible, but if it’s the last minute and you waited to make a booking I’ll be sad but there may be no choice left..
