Assignments and Grading

The GoogleDocs version of the syllabus can be found here.

Participation and Attendance (20% of total grade): You are expected to attend class regularly, having completed all assigned reading and homework. On days which a reading has been assigned, you are expected to contribute thoughtfully to the discussion. During in-class work time, you are expected to use technology responsibly and productively (i.e., do not surf the web for non-class-related reasons). There may be unannounced pop quizzes, which will count towards this portion of your course grade.

Digital Show-and-Tell  (15% of total grade, 5% each): Three times throughout the semester, you will make a brief, casual class presentation of 5-10 minutes, either “reverse engineering” an already-existing DH project, or demonstrating the usefulness of a digital tool/piece of software. You will also turn in a 3-page (double-spaced) written analysis of the site. You must make each style of presentation at least once. Sign-ups are found here.

• Reverse engineering is the analysis of the individual components of digital projects with the goal of adapting their functionality towards a unique project or solution. It is a fundamental exercise in the digital humanities. Using the criteria we developed in class, analyze the basic functionalities and technologies of a well-developed digital humanities project. You can find some suggestions for Digital Humanities projects here, but I encourage you to find your own using the powers of the Googles.
• Tool demo: Research a digital tool that may prove useful in the digital humanities and share it with the class. You should provide an overview of its functionality and how it has been used by others – Are there any DH projects that have already used it? Parameters: You cannot share a tool that has already been shared, or that we will learn together as a class later in the semester.

Module Assignments (30%): These assignments will typically take 1-3 weeks, and will contribute to your R.E.A.L. portfolio.

Midterm Project (15)%): You will use Sketchup to create a 3D model of a past Bethel University building, either hypothetical or actual. You will also complete a written analysis of the structure and how it fit into Bethel’s institutional history. You will share your model and analysis as a blog post.

Final Project (20%): You will complete a final project on a topic of your choosing. At least one major component of your project must be completed using a new tool not previously used in class. You may (and are in fact encouraged) to use tools your peers have presented in a Digital Show-and-Tell. Finally, you will present your project through your own website using Edublogs or a similar publishing platform. This project can be completed individually or working with a partner, and you will be graded accordingly (i.e., group projects are expected to be substantially more robust).