Because concepts like teamwork, collaboration, editing, and creativity form some of the core values of the Digital Humanities, I will trace how I saw some of these concepts come to life during my time in Digital Humanities History and Methods (ENGL 480) with Professor Dan Anderson and my classmates in Spring 2020.
Portfolio Video//Revisions
I created my portfolio video with the premise that someone who had heard of this class or had seen the course listing could gain insight from listening to my experiences. By beginning with a short framing section, I constructed a narrative that a wide audience could connect with. The video focused on the initial challenges and excitements of the first Digital Humanities (DH) Project and about the revision process I underwent with the Pinterest video. When I approached the composition of my Pinterest video, I purposefully tried to speak more off-the cuff to see if it would sound less scripted. It allowed me to have more moments of humor, but the narration was more choppy and less logical.I rewrote and re-recorded several sections before I uploaded it again. The revised video can be found under the Pinterest section.
Digital Humanities Project and Video//Resourcefulness
Once I had a better understand of what the Digital Humanities encompasses, I thought about a humanities project that could benefit from the tools and methods of this field. I settled upon the Geneva Bible, because of its importance to freedom of speech in Western culture. While I had prior experience writing essays and creating videos, this was one of the first times I converted a linguistic concept into an audio and visual construction. Because of limited time, equipment, budget, and access for the project, I used resourcefulness to gather footage to incorporate into my storyboard. The academic nature of the project allowed me to use creative materials in new ways while staying within ethical bounds.
My team members acted as a helpful resource as I thought about organizing my essay and video. I thought the group work model our class employed worked well. I was able to ideate and make decisions on my own, but I could discuss my ideas with my group members to get input and feedback. One of my group members had a great insight that helped me better organize my content. By getting to hear more in-depth about how my team members came up with their focus for the project, I observed how they worked through the creative process in a way that might have different from my approaches. Their creativity was inspiring.
DH Video
DH Video Transcript
DH Report
Podcast//Rapport
My initial idea for a podcast topic specifically narrowed in on chronic pain and the DH, but a lack of primary research or content that fit with the project's guidelines steered me toward another topic within the same interest area. I practiced flexibility a second time when my second project idea, DH and disabilities, was merged with digital divides. I had to revise my expectations, but the end product provided a satisfying corpus of material that I wouldn't have thought of on my own. Both the study of disabilities and of digital divides work to address the barriers that prevent particular groups from full technological access.
Perhaps more so than for any other project this semester, the ability to build rapport with my team members would greatly affect the outcome. Having the chance to practice in a more relaxed, small group setting in the library helped our team get more comfortable before performing the podcast in front of the class. We sought to work our individual perspectives, research, and experiences into a cohesive podcast that logically progressed while still leaving room for natural conversation. My team member's anecdote about how the relationship between authorities and students impacted what resources students could access helped me form new insights about how the dynamics of trust and mistrust factor into the digital divide.
The technical problems I experienced with uploading the podcast makes me grateful for the adaptability and empathy of others. After spending days editing and composing an edited version of my podcast, an error occurred within the Audacity project that prevented the program from accessing the individual files I had asked it to use. Unfortunately, this screen capture of my project files is all I am able to share at this moment. Proof remains that I did work on this project because my group and I recorded a version of our podcast in front of our classmate in a live format in late Februrary.
Pinterest Project//Resourcefulness and Reflection
Pinterest is a great platform, one that has stood the test of time when others have lost users or lost revenue methods. It can give people a way to explore and practice creating a self-identity. Like any social media, the way information is presented, collected, and shared impacts the flow of content between users and perpetuates certain messages and ideologies. As a casual user and a former avid user, how I interacted with Pinterest as a high school student influenced my identity-shaping process. Because of what the platform meant to me, this was the project I felt I got the most out of and was able to reflect most deeply upon.
By the time I started the project, people across the world were dealing with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. While other people who underwent a job loss, sickness, or a loss in the family certainly were hit harder than I was, everyone was experiencing at least some challenges from the lockdown orders. While I was happy to practice social distancing in order to keep others safe, the transition out of normal college life was and still is frustrating. These unusual circumstances would require even more resourcefulness as I worked through my technical difficulties in a remote setting. Thankfully, my professor and I were able to use software like Zoom to address my issues with the data mining program created for our project.
Pinterest Draft
Pinterest Revised