Section 1: Introduction and Context
The goal of this project is to assess the relationship between the field of history and the interdisciplinary area of Digital Humanities. This is the first required group project of DHM280 S22.
Section 2: Overview of Discipline
According to Britannica, history is a discipline that studies the chronological record of events, based on a critical examination of source materials and usually presenting an explanation of their causes. This academic discipline is divided into numerous subdivisions such as political history, social history, economic history, cultural history. The objects of study of history are events, processes, conditions, objects, persons. History is also understood as the methods, concepts, and theories historians use when they study the past. As a discipline, history requires a deliberative stance towards the past; the sophisticated use of information, evidence, and argumentation; and the ability to identify and explain continuity and change over time. Its professional ethics and standards demand peer review, citation, and acceptance of the provisional nature of knowledge.
Section 3: Digital Projects in History
“Colored Conventions Project” is a large database of information on early Black organizing and history. It has a variety of digital exhibits with historical images and documents from history, with a goal of educating the site’s visitors on these decades-long campaigns for human and civil rights known as the Colored Conventions Movement. As stated on the website, the project aims to mirror the principles and values of the Colored Conventions Movement and to “highlight and center Black lives,” including Black communities, scholarship, and intellect. There are stand-alone documents as well as collections of documents discussing vital events and figures in Black history.
Section 4: Digital Tools and Methods in History
Omeka is a free open-source content management system. Compatible with both Windows and Mac, this software makes it feasible for users to create digital collections. Omeka is primarily used for cultural heritage projects. The software allows multiple users to create web pages and then collaborate on these web pages, making it a hotspot for online curators seeking to start a digital collection. Initially, the program is free to use, with small fees required if a user wants to upgrade. Problems do come with free software like this, though. For example, it may not be as efficient as other software with similar capabilities, but the aspect of paying to upgrade opens the door for the user to be able to do much more with the software.
Section 5 & 6: Goals and Values from Discipline
The discipline of history has a main goal of helping others better understand the past. The goals of the discipline of history line up with the goals of the digital humanities of sharing human culture. The people working in the digital humanities field do this by publishing, providing access to, and sharing cultural data. These goals are aligned with the values shown by the discipline of history and the digital humanities. History has a strong value of collaboration which is needed for any new or current project. Digital humanities as a whole needs collaboration no matter what discipline is being discussed. Publishing, providing, and sharing cultural data all need collaboration through many groups of people to share the most accurate information with those trying to learn.
Section 7: Scholarship from the Discipline
De Vera, Samantha (2021) “The Colored Conventions Movement: Black Organizing in the Nineteenth Century,” Civil War Book Review: Vol. 23: Iss. 2.
DOI: 10.31390/cwbr.23.2.13
Abstract: A product of the groundbreaking, collaborative work of the Colored Convention Project (CCP), a series of essays edited by Gabrielle P. Foreman, Jim Casey, and Sarah Lynn Patterson, in concert with the book’s “digital components . . . is a unique and inventive contribution to the field of digital humanities and the current scholarship on the long nineteenth century.” The Colored Conventions Movement gives insight into how these conventions reflected and shaped Black political consciousness and illustrates the fact that emancipation activism was led by Black Americans while white allies followed.
Section 8: Evaluation and Conclusion
The tools and methods used in the digital humanities field connect to and enhance culture in the discipline of history. There is about 5,000 years of recorded history which can make it complicated for researchers and scholars to conceptualize everything without the help of tools. These tools help to visually show different timelines in history. Visual tools help to teach history to people who want to learn more about a specific time in the past in an easy and collaborative way.
Section 9: Meet Our Team
Hello! We are Team 4, consisting of Joe Tobia, Tara Brazel, Kayla Shemanski, and Erin Creamer. This is our website for Project 1 of our Spring 2022 Introduction to Digital Humanities class at West Chester University.
Kayla Shemanski: I worked on section 2, and helped with the powerpoint.
Erin Creamer: I worked on section 5, 6 & 8, made the website, and helped with the powerpoint.
Joe Tobia: I worked sections 1 and 3, as well as helped with the powerpoint.
Tara Brazel: I worked on the Google Slides, sections 1, 3, and 7, added some photos, and wrote the Project 1 Report.
