Community Networks and Narratives: Launching a Digital and Public Humanities Minor

FAIN: AKB-285752-22

Corporation of Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN 46556-5001)
Sarah Noonan (Project Director: September 2021 to present)
Christopher Wedrychowicz (Co Project Director: April 2022 to present)
Laura Williamson-Ambrose (Co Project Director: April 2022 to present)

The development of an interdisciplinary minor in digital and public humanities.

Through this grant, Saint Mary’s College will launch an integrated, 15-credit Digital and Public Humanities (DPH) minor that includes two required courses, six electives, and four elective modules. The minor will integrate project-based, experiential learning opportunities with internal and external partners, providing students with a hands-on model of how humanities research engages with and influences the world. The DPH minor will be the first at Saint Mary's College to integrate technology fields with the humanities in a formal curricular path. The minor also uses a new curricular format for interdisciplinary programs by creating module courses that enable students to develop competencies in data management, text mining, ethics, and project management in a focused, flexible format.

Associated Products

Digital and Public Humanities Program Website (Web Resource)
Title: Digital and Public Humanities Program Website
Author: Sarah Noonan
Abstract: This site provides Saint Mary's students, and others, with information about the program supported by our NEH grant.
Year: 2022
Primary URL: https://www.saintmarys.edu/academics/departments/digital-and-public-humanities
Primary URL Description: The web address for the Digital and Public Humanities program at Saint Mary's College.

Syllabus: Digital Humanities Project Lab (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Syllabus: Digital Humanities Project Lab
Author: Sarah Noonan
Abstract: The revised syllabus for Dr. Noonan's Digital Humanities Project Lab: Memory, Society, and the Stories We Preserve. The revision of this course was funding during the summer of 2022.
Year: 2022
Audience: Undergraduate

Syllabus: Introduction to the Digital and Public Humanities (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Syllabus: Introduction to the Digital and Public Humanities
Author: Laura Williamson
Abstract: This course was revised in the summer of 2022 with the support of this grant. This course is one of two required courses in for our minor, and it is offered every fall.
Year: 2022
Audience: Undergraduate

Syllabus: Oral and Public Histories (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Syllabus: Oral and Public Histories
Author: Jamie Wagman
Abstract: The revised syllabus for Dr. Wagman's Doing History: Oral and Public Histories. The revision of this course was funding during the summer of 2022.
Year: 2022
Audience: Undergraduate

Public Lecture: Building a Critical, Intersectional Undergraduate Public Digital Humanities Curriculum (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Public Lecture: Building a Critical, Intersectional Undergraduate Public Digital Humanities Curriculum
Abstract: This talk casts a vision for how a critical, intersectional approach to public digital humanities can shape undergraduate learning experiences. Integrating inclusive pedagogy and critical cultural frameworks, we will examine the ways in which digital technologies and data shape the world we live in, and how they can be used to perpetuate or challenge systems of power and oppression. Drawing on intersectional feminism and anti-racist praxis, the talk will explore how race, gender, sexuality, class, (dis)ability, etc. intersect with digital technologies, and how they can be leveraged to work towards justice. The talk will discuss the importance of centering diverse voices and experiences when developing student learning experiences, and how we can build an inclusive, empowering learning environment for students.
Author: Katherine Walden
Date: 05/04/2023
Location: Rice Commons, Saint Mary's College
Primary URL: https://sites.google.com/view/symposium-2023/schedule
Primary URL Description: Provides a schedule of events for the Research Symposium at which Dr. Walden gave her presentation.

Digital and Public Humanties Summer Workshop (Conference/Institute/Seminar)
Title: Digital and Public Humanties Summer Workshop
Author: David Pettegrew
Abstract: David Pettegrew led a two-day workshop in June 2023 regarding programmatic and curricular development in digital and public humanities programs.
Date Range: 06/27/2023-06/28/2023
Location: Cushwa-Leighton Library, Saint Mary's College

Syllabus: Project Management in the Humanities (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Syllabus: Project Management in the Humanities
Author: William Pratt
Author: Sarah Noonan
Abstract: Many humanities practitioners have great project ideas—but don’t know how to bring those ideas to fruition. This course addresses this problem by training students in the development, implementation, management, and assessment of digital and public-facing projects in the humanities. Informed by the best practices in project management, this class focuses on project management strategies that are adapted and tailored to the contexts in which project management takes place in libraries, archives, museums, and institutions of higher education. Readings in project management theory will be paired with hands-on project management work with local partners. By the end of the course, students will better understand how to: develop a feasible project plan, understand the process of securing project funding, write a grant proposal, and manage project workflows to successfully implement a project plan.
Year: 2023
Primary URL: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13GlSJkUTSx_dPgYV4FkO-kpYvc6dfRGp/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103778132974586292517&rtpof=true&sd=true
Audience: Undergraduate

Syllabus: Storytelling and the Public Humanities (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Syllabus: Storytelling and the Public Humanities
Author: Sarah Noonan
Author: Julia Dauer
Abstract: This course introduces students to public sphere theory and fosters critical thinking about the historical and contemporary role of the humanities in public life. What do we mean when we talk about “the public” and “the public sphere”? Who is included? Who gets to decide? How do publics and counterpublics structure contemporary life? And how do the “humanities,” literary studies, and digital methods fit in there? In this class, students will be introduced to key ways of conceptualizing the public sphere and examine a series of case studies focused on reading in public and the role of storytelling in public life. As we consider case studies in public writing and public humanities engagement, we will center the many practices of humanities learning that take place outside the formal structure of the academy, in activist circles, book clubs, public libraries, reading groups, and other communal spaces. Positioning these sites as essential loci of intellectual and social production, the class asks how we can bridge learning in the classroom with a humanities practice in the world. Students will also contribute to two public-facing projects, and this project-based work will allow you to apply your developing understanding of the public humanities in a real-world context.
Year: 2023
Primary URL: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_SpmIKVZQ_w6NtAjDEQg9ttvAm3x6_Gl/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103778132974586292517&rtpof=true&sd=true
Audience: Undergraduate

Syllabus: Philosophy in the Public Square (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Syllabus: Philosophy in the Public Square
Author: Megan Zwart
Abstract: Democracy is in trouble. As polarization increases, disinformation proliferates on social media, and dialogue across difference is rare, ordinary citizens lose confidence in the ideals that undergird liberal democracy–namely, self governance among equals, free exchange of ideas, and a moral arc that bends towards justice. Further, as confidence in these ideals erodes, and disconnection from a sense of the common good increases, the ground becomes fertile for extremist movements to take root. Such movements further hasten the decline of democratic norms, by doubling down on oppression of marginalized groups, villainizing those who think differently, and calling for violence to achieve their ends. Citizens could be tempted to despair under these circumstances, but philosophy offers us tools to recognize and respond to these crises of democracy–both by highlighting and addressing the structural issues that threaten democracy, and by building ourselves into hopeful citizens who can respond in our personal lives and our communities. Course readings will consist of classical philosophical texts as well as contemporary media articles drawn from a range of sources and viewpoints. Students will investigate their own core assumptions and beliefs about key issues and will listen to the views and experiences of others in the class. Students will also participate in practices that will help them build skills for participation in 21st century democracy, including reflecting on social media usage, writing op-eds, contacting legislators, and developing skills for listening and dialogue across difference. A final project will require students to choose an issue of pressing moral concern and prepare an action plan for public response, which may, for example, include writing a letter to the editor of a newspaper, contacting a legislator, or facilitating an open discussion on campus of the issue.
Year: 2023
Primary URL: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rQAnm_WVBIgCGaWg259nWw7SzL0arVDAXoMcwcKOgCY/edit?usp=sharing
Audience: Undergraduate

Public Lecture: Researching across the Digital-Methods Curriculum: Framing Teaching as a Site for DH Research (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Public Lecture: Researching across the Digital-Methods Curriculum: Framing Teaching as a Site for DH Research
Abstract: Kalani Craig is Associate Professor of History and Co-Director of the Institute for Digital Arts and Humanities. She designs digital tools and platforms that shape new historical methods, helps faculty and students alike undertake collaborative research with those methods, and models ways to engage the public using those tools. As part of that mission, she has developed expertise in computational text analysis, network analysis, user-driven approaches to digital-history and digital-humanities tool-building, and community-engaged digital public history. She will present on her social network analysis tool, Net.Create, and provide a demonstration based on archival materials from the 1920s held in the Saint Mary's College Archives.
Author: Kalani Craig
Date: 02/19/2024
Location: Cushwa-Leighton Library
Primary URL: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f1ufKyqFK0cHzzXCF1AM-zihfQsXcY9P/view?usp=sharing

Digital and Public Humanities Program Project Repository (Database/Archive/Digital Edition)
Title: Digital and Public Humanities Program Project Repository
Author: Sarah Noonan
Abstract: This site functions as a repository of recent DPH-affiliated project work. Some of these projects were inspirational to the DPH program's development. Some have been spearheaded by DPH faculty members and supported by external grants. Some were designed and organized by students within their DPH-affiliated coursework.
Year: 2024
Primary URL: https://press.palni.org/omeka-s/s/DPH-SMC/page/welcome
Primary URL Description: Digital and Public Humanities Program Project Repository
Access Model: Open Access

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