NewtFire logo: a mosaic rendering of a firebelly newt
newtFire {dh}
Maintained by: Elisa E. Beshero-Bondar (eeb4 at psu.edu) Creative Commons License Last modified: Sunday, 26-Jan-2025 14:02:22 UTC. Powered by firebellies.

Spring 2025: Classes meet M W F 2:30 - 3:20pm in Lilley Library 201A

Read the Course Description

This contains a detailed explanation of course policies and the basis for grades.

Jump Down to the Schedule

This link jumps to the closest day to today's date. Review the schedule as we get started to get a sense of how this course will work on a daily basis.

Quick links to digital resources

Week 1 Class topics Do before class

M 01-13

W 01-15

 Read The Digital Humanities Manifesto 2.0 and check out who wrote it.

F 01-17
  • Digging in to the DH manifesto: contexts/commentary
  • Introduce Slow Computing and Dear Data
 Set up Hypothes.is account and complete first annotation assignment. Re-read up close (text and image) and annotate with Hypothes.is (Detailed guidance posted on Canvas): The Digital Humanities Manifesto 2.0 Context/Metadata: ~2009.
Week 2 Class topics Do before class

M 01-20

 Martin Luther King Day: No classes. ...

W 01-22
  • How to do slow computing at university?
  • Introduce videos and images of the Dear Data Project
  • Introduce Dear Data collection and visualization assignment.
 Read and annotate with Hypothes.is:

F 01-24

 Discussion / hands-on exercise on Dear Data. Launch the longer-range assignment on personal data collection and visualization
  • View videos and images of the Dear Data Project
  • Discussion Exercise (Canvas) Before class, take three screen captures of three hand-crafted/humanized data visualizations from anywhere on the Dear Data site (including video content) that particularly struck you. In your discussion post post the images and comment on what is being shown and why does it seem memorable?
Week 3 Class topics Do before class

M 01-27
  • Data collection and visualization for Dear Data: paper and digital approaches
  • Data visceralization. Library of Missing Datasets
  • Discussion of Warsame reading/annotations, time, space, data

W 01-29
  • Install oXygen XML Editor, prepare for markup and code orientation
  • Read and annotate The Power Chapter from Data Feminism
  • Work on "Dear Data: Your Week of Visualization" assignment

F 01-31

 Learning the code syntax of eXtensible Markup Language: elements and attributes. XML and HTML XML Markup Exercise 1
Week 4 Class topics Do before class

M 02-03

 XML: Markup of data and metadata structures XML Markup Exercise 2: emphasis on nesting elements and adding attributes

W 02-05
  • XML vs HTML: Similar syntax, different purpose! Semantic vs. layout code. Structure of an HTML file.
  • Code an HTML file and view it a browser.
  • HTML elements and attributes tutorial

F 02-07
  • HTML elements and attributes tutorial, continued
  • How HTML points to files: absolute and relative file references:
    • links
    • images
  • Where will you work on your website? Your computer, campus labs, maintaining the same folders multiple places.
  • Organizing file directories for website development
  • HTML elements and attributes tutorial, continued
  • HTML Exercise 1
  • Work on "Dear Data: Your Week of Visualization" assignment
Week 5 Class topics Do before class

M 02-10
  • Tech for publishing a website: content management systems, servers, GitHub
  • Introduction to the Command Line: Exploring your computer and connecting to the cloud
  • Organizing files for a website in a git repository
  • HTML Exercise 2: a file directory of at least two HTML files with at least one image and two links, using relative file associations.
  • GitHub Exercise 1

W 02-12

 Git at command line: getting git in your fingers: Terms and concepts: local vs. remote
  • Where to use the git commands
  • git status
  • When you have to git pull
  • Staging new local stuff with git add
  • git commit -m "You describe what's in here"
  • git push
 GitHub Exercise 2: launch the website and GitHub Pages on your repo!

F 02-14

 CSS for styling:
  • Separation of concerns
  • Storing a separate CSS file, and the <link> line to associate it on HTML pages
  • HTML Exercise 3: HTML and CSS
  • Finish "Dear Data: Your Week of Visualization" project (due Friday by 11:59pm)
Week 6 Class topics Do before class

M 02-17

 HTML / CSS, mindful file management, and publishing a website
  • Start series of Command Line and Web Lore Quizzes on Canvas
  • HTML / CSS / GitHub Exercise 4

W 02-19

 Website Development Lab: Spotlight on CSS
  • Reminder: Where to write your CSS: separation of concerns for styling and content
  • Look at the CSS Zen Garden: same HTML content styled several different ways with different CSS
  • Controlling image size display
  • Controlling page layouts: HTML container elements with CSS flex containers
 Website development for Comparative Web Development Assignment

F 02-21

 Web production work day: git/GitHub, HTML CSS Web Development milestone. Option: Include Dear Data Visualization on your website?
Week 7 Class topics Do before class

M 02-24
  • Website debugging lab
  • Resolving GitHub Pages issues
  • Orientation to PSU Wordpress and Penn State web hosting services. How to transfer and edit content on the Wordpress site
 Website development for Comparative Web Development Assignment

W 02-26
  • Reflective Essay page of Comparative Website Development
  • Arranging for other pages to be added to your navigation menu
  • Website Accessibility Readings and Workshop
 Review the following readings: Apply two things you learn from them to your design of one of your websites (and comment in Canvas on what you are doing or want to do to apply them to your site):

F 02-28

 [TBD]: VARIA activity / User experience workshop Comparative Web Development Assignment Milestone: Wordpress site: set up styling and pages, image content from your GitHub Pages site
Week 8 Class topics Do before class

M 03-03

 [TBD]: VARIA activity / User experience workshop Part 2 Dr. B is attending a Symposium in Tokyo this week. UX Worskhop or VARIA lab 3D scanning assignment

W 03-05

 [TBD]: Web Development Workshop with Guest Instructor Wordpress and GitHub Pages site development

F 03-07

 [TBD]: Web Development Workshop with Guest Instructor Comparative Web Development Assignment due: Check:
  • Prepare the same website content on GitHub Pages and Wordpress
  • The same reflective essay should be posted on each site
  • The reflective essay on GitHub Pages links to the reflective essay on Wordpress (and vice versa).

Sun 3-09 - Sat 3-15

 Spring Break Enjoy this week!
Week 10 Class topics Do before class

M 03-17

 Introduce the Text Analysis unit. Natural Language Processing (NLP): central to the AI (Large Language Models) technology of our time. Testing Voyant Tools and Antconc.

W 03-19

 Voyant Tools exercise
  • Voyant Tools exercise: orientation to distant reading with texts posted in introDH-Hub.
  • Exploring Keyword in Context (KWIC) with Voyant. Finding patterns and exploring them. What kinds of observations and comparisons can we make?
 Mystery text exercise

F 03-21
  • Introduce text corpus and corpora, and the Corpus Analysis Project
  • Introduce n-gram analysis with Antconc.
  • Explore corpus concordances with Voyant and AntConc.
  • Cleaning the text data: preparing plain text files to remove material not meant for analysis.
 Corpus analysis exercise
Week 11 Class topics Do before class

M 03-24

 Comparative analysis with natural language processing (NLP) tools: Exploring bases for comparison

W 03-26

 Natural Language Processing and AI: discussion of ethics readings Ethics in Natural Language Processing and AI: (Read and annotate with Hypothes.is):

F 03-28

 In Class Comparison Exercise with Large Language Models (LLMs) ...
Week 12 Class topics Do before class

M 03-31
  • Blocking and layout of Corpus Analysis assignment on your website
  • Review / consultation workshop of Corpus Analysis Project drafts/findings

W 04-02

 Review / consultation workshop of Corpus Analysis Project drafts/findings Rough draft installment of Corpus Analysis Project. Screenshots: images with figure and figcaption

F 04-04

 Introduce Space/Time Mapping unit: Archiving and Visualizing: Time/Space Mapping and Zotero Library Investigation [TBD] ...
Week 13 Class topics Do before class

M 04-07

 Orientation to Zotero and/or TimeMapper Corpus Analysis Project due

W 04-09

 Workshopping Timeline / Timemapper projects. Starter exercise for time/space mapping

F 04-11

 Mapping and telling history: Discussion / Workshop with Land-Grab Universities maps and data.
Week 14 Class topics Do before class

M 04-14

 Workshopping Time/Space mapping projects. Including Time/Space map on your website Milestone: partial draft of Time/Space Mapping project

W 04-16

 Complete TimeMapper project OR Zotero project post to your website (by the end of the day)

F 04-18
  • Discussion of Leaf by Niggle. Tolkien, Secondary Worlds, digital media, and game culture.
  • Introduce network analysis: Networking the story with Kumu.io: Google sheets templates, Kumu import.
Tolkien Hypothes.is Annotations Exercise: Read and annotate (w/ Hypothes.is in our class group) J. R. R. Tolkien, Leaf by Niggle
Week 15 Class topics Do before class

M 04-21

 Network analysis: Kumu Networks and organization / visualization options. Game Analysis.
  • Starter Kumu network analysis exercise with Leaf by Niggle
  • Game Analysis Project: Choose a game from itch.io to play, network, and review.

W 04-23
  • Organizing network visualizations: Spotlight on network statistics and styles
  • Including your network visualization on your website
 ...

F 04-25
  • Organizing network visualizations: Spotlight on network statistics and styles
  • Including your network visualization on your website
Week 16 Class topics Do before class

M 04-28
  • Improving legibility of Kumu network graphs with network statistics, styling
  • Reviewing a game for user experience

W 04-30
  • Dracula and the strange past and present of copyright
  • Remixing, Copyright, and Creative Commons license for your website
 Readings / Canvas discussion or annotation:

F 05-02

 Last day! DIGIT Works event ...
Finals Week: May 5 - 9 To Complete

T 5-06

 Final assignment: Game Analysis Project due by 11:59pm