Program Overview

Exploration of Digital Humanities (HIST*4170)

Course Details

This course will focus on the role of digital methods in historical and cultural research. The tools and interfaces introduced in class, as well as those investigated as part of assignments, will help students ground a topic of their choice in its historical or social context. This will enhance understanding of the chosen topic and demonstrate how digital tools can help organize, investigate, and interpret sources, develop an argument based on findings, and theorize and/or prototype a digital humanities project.

Method of Delivery

The course will be conducted in a remote synchronous format, with classes meeting on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:00-11:20 am for discussion and hands-on activity on Microsoft Teams.

Course Synopsis

Students will learn to use digital methods to research historical and cultural topics, analyzing the advantages of different methodologies and learning to collect, manage, and manipulate digital data from various sources.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will:

• Increase their digital literacy skills and gain awareness of a wide variety of digital tools for historical research
• Comprehend and use language appropriate to digital humanities research
• Understand and analyze the advantages of different methodologies of digital humanities inquiry
• Learn to collect, manage, and manipulate digital data from various sources
• Formulate, direct, and complete a digital humanities project, and explain its significance to academic and lay audiences
• Situate critically some of the larger debates within digital humanities and their relationship to traditional humanities disciplines

Prerequisites

None.

Method of Evaluation and Weights

• Participation - 20%
• Reading Reflections - 15%
• Digital tool critique - 15%
• Proposal/Annotated Bibliography - 15%
• Final Assignment - 35%
• Total - 100%

Texts Required

There are no required textbooks for this course.

Department and College Information

The course is part of the College of Arts, which includes various departments and schools such as the School of Theatre, English, and Creative Writing, the School of Fine Art and Music, the School of Languages and Literatures, the Department of History, the Department of Philosophy, and Interdisciplinary Programs. The college also features several centres, institutes, and labs, including the Centre for Scottish Studies, the Grounded and Engaged Theory Lab (GET), and the Humanities Interdisciplinary Collaboration Lab (THINC).