This course introduces students to major new directions in the practice of history on the web and the growing distinction between digital history as method and digital history as medium. Students will gain skills in web publishing, identifying avenues for public engagement, and using digital tools for historical analysis. Through a series of case studies on social networks, mapping, text analysis, and narrative, students will build a collaborative, publicly engaged historical project. Previous experience with building websites and home/outside of class use of a computer with ability to install software is welcomed but not required.
Open to Master’s and Doctoral students
No previous web/computer skills or experience are necessary. Outside-of-class use of a computer which you can install software on would be helpful, but is not required. All tools and software that we’ll be using for analysis and publishing are free and opensource–great if you find yourself working with a small institution or a limited research budget. There will be no required physical texts to purchase, but I will ask students to pay $25 for their own web hosting through an educational provider. This gives you ownership of your portfolio even after you leave the university, as well as experience with installing through a hosting service.