Slides from a conversation I had with graduate students and faculty members in Boston College's English Department about "Getting Started In The Digital Humanities" (April 11, 2014). Most images contain hyperlinks, so please click around!

1. Getting Started in
the Digital Humanities
by Jim McGrath, Northeastern University
Notes from discussion at Boston College
April 11, 2014
Twitter: @JimMc_Grath

2. What is The Digital Humanities?

3. Day of DH (#DayofDH)
http://dayofdh2014.matrix.msu.edu/

4. Day of DH (#DayofDH)

5. Day of DH (#DayofDH)
“DH is an umbrella term that refers to scholarship, projects,
and teaching methods in the humanities that acknowledge
the ways that digital media and online culture have
transformed our ways of seeing and interacting with the
world.”

6. Data Visualizations
Ben Schmidt (Northeastern)

7. Archival Work
Digital Dos Passos (Amanda Visconti, University of Maryland)

8. Mapping
Boston Maps Project (NULab: Abby Mullen et al)

9. “Big Data” Analytics
Google Ngram Viewer

10. Digital Humanities Work
• Not every Digital Humanist does the same thing!
• Not every Digital Humanist does EVERYTHING.
• DH work is collaborative, but in different ways.
• You may already be doing DH work!

11. My DH Work

12. My DH Work

13. My DH Work

14. My DH Work
Jerome McGann (Image via Google)

15. My DH Work

16. My DH Work
John Ashbery: “The Skaters”

17. My DH Work

18. My DH Work

19. My DH Work

20. My DH Work

21. My DH Work

22. My DH Work
Ben Schmidt, Prochronisms (Downton Crabbey)

23. My DH Work
• DH work should be in the service of research
questions.
• Don’t ask “What tools / programs should I learn?”
first.
• A DH project does not have to have a “digital”
product.
• Discuss the tangible value of DH dissertation work
(degree requirements) with your department.

24. My DH Work (NULab)

25. My DH Work (NULab)

26. My DH Work (NULab)

27. My DH Work (NULab)

28. My DH Work (NULab)
• Project Management
• Interdisciplinary Project (English, History)
• Archival / Library Science Work
• Collaborations with Media Partners
• Collaborations with Academic Institutions
• Conference Papers / Panels
• Experience with Omeka, Neatline, HTML, XML, Web Design
• Public Outreach
• Social Media
• Impact on Dissertation

29. My DH Work (NULab)
Digital Humanities Quarterly

30. My DH Work (NULab)
• Text Encoding (TEI)
• Bibliographic Development
• Metacognitive Archival Work
• Collaborations with leading DH Scholars
• Conference Papers

31. “Getting In” to DH

32. “Getting In” to DH

33. “Getting In” to DH

34. “Getting In” to DH

35. “Getting In” to DH
• You Don’t Have To Build Something From Scratch!
• You Can Start Small (Volunteer Opportunities,
Conferences)
• That Being Said, Be Pro-Active!
• Identify Department / Institutional Resources
• Talk With Collaborators Beyond BC
• Be Vocal About Interest In DH at BC
• Students Need Faculty / Department / College
Support
• DH work is often public / “work in progress”

36. Thanks!
• Slides Will Be Online Soon (with Links):
@JimMc_Grath
• nulab.neu.edu
• northeastern.edu/marathon
• digitalhumanities.org/dhq
mcgrath.ja@husky.neu.edu