This portfolio was developed to fulfill the requirements for the Digital Humanities Graduate Certificate at Michigan State University.
Reflection
I may have been admitted to Michigan State University for the English PhD program, but a big factor in my decision to attend graduate school at MSU was to pursue the Digital Humanities Graduate Certificate. Prior to pursuing my PhD, I worked as a project manager and researcher for the IRIS Digital Humanities Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. In fact, I was first introduced to the DH@MSU community by attending the Global Digital Humanities Symposium to showcase the work I was doing at SIUE. Despite my time in the Center, I never had the opportunity to explore my own digital humanities research interests or participate in coursework related to DH. Since I had previous experience working on projects and even teaching DH undergraduate students, when completing the certificate program I decided that I wanted to take the path that primarily involved primarily completing courses. Through this coursework, I did not only learn about the practicalities of working within the field of the digital humanities as a university employee. I also discovered how to engage with a community that is both socially responsible and deeply invested in imagining ethical approaches to research and teaching against the backdrop of an ever-evolving digital landscape.
While working on the requirements for the Digital Humanities Graduate Certificate, I have of course learned about digital tools and methods, but perhaps what I have learned most is about the “why” of digital humanities. Whether through my research or my pedagogy, I am now more thoughtful about putting values first, and I consider goals and outcomes before forging ahead with a digital tool. As an unexpected side-effect of my enrollment in the certificate, I have been fortunate enough to become even more embedded in the DH@MSU community at large, which has provided me with more opportunities outside of coursework that have fostered my professionalization in DH. I have served on multiple planning committees for THATcamp, as well as on the planning committee for the Global Digital Humanities Symposium. I have also participated in both the Engagement and Outreach Committee and the Advisory Committee. I have also had the opportunity to meet other graduate students outside of my home department, and these friendships and collaborations have lasted for the four and a half years I have been at MSU. I have participated in the Text Analysis Learning group and attended many DH@MSU events, from Locus to the end of semester parties. I have had the opportunity to meet a variety of prominent DH scholars from across the country due to distinguished lecture series and subsequent opportunities for graduate students to meet the speaker. As I am currently on the job market, I have been reflecting quite a bit on my career as a graduate student while I work on cover letters, teaching philosophies, and research statements, and I can truly say that the DH Graduate Certificate has shaped not only who I am as a graduate student, but the whole trajectory of my scholarship and career.
Read the full reflection here.
Digital Humanities Seminar
Requirement met via DH865 with Kathleen Fitzpatrick and Sharon Leon in Spring 2021.
This seminar focused on learning digital methods through the lens of tools, ethics, and project development. For this course, I developed my digital presence and wrote weekly blog posts. For the final project, I created a grant proposal based on the criteria for the National Endowment for the Humanities’s Digital Humanities Advancement Grant.
Digital Humanities Pedagogy
Requirement met via DH861 with Kristen Mapes and Matt Handelman in Spring 2022.
The project I completed as part of DH861 became the second iteration of my IAH 207 course, “Redefining Renaissance,” which ran in Summer 2022. I presented this project at the Digital Humanities Summer Institute aligned Open/Social/Digital Humanities Pedagogy, Training, and Mentorship Conference. A revised version of this paper is currently under review with the journal Interdisciplinary Digital Engagement in Arts & Humanities (IDEAH).
IAH 207: Redefining Renaissance Syllabus
IAH 207: Redefining Renaissance Assignment Sheet
Digital Humanities Research
Requirement met via ENG890 (Independent Study) with Kathleen Fitzpatrick in Fall 2020.
I designed this independent study in order to more deeply explore the relationship between affect, cultural heritage, and the digital humanities. I presented the final paper from this independent study at Rice University’s Making Sense: A Humanities Symposium in Spring 2021. This research inspired my 2021-2022 Cultural Heritage Informatics (CHI) Fellowship project, which eventually evolved into a digital project to accompany my dissertation.
Final Paper – presented at Rice University’s Making Sense: A Humanities Symposium in Spring 2021