TeachingPublicHistory Enrica Salvatori - Laboratorio di Cultura Digitale - Pisa

Public History and the Media - EUI - 11/2/2015

Digital History at Infouma

• Since 2010 course of Digital History at the Master Degree course in Digital Humanities (Informatica Umanistica form here IU) in Pisa

• At the beginning Students not expert or educated in History (only one course during Bachelor)

• Students more expert in digital "stuff" (tools, software, scripts...) but now also in Humanities

• Digital History ≠ Public History but

PH NEED DH A Digital Public History Course

• 50% Theory (home made texts and slides)

• 50% Lab building the conceptual structure of the App

• EXTRA but NOT OPTIONAL free course on App organised by IU Degree Course

First year: building an App (about History)

Second year: Epigraphies

• 50% theory

• aims:

• telling the “story” of an epigraphy (from ancient to contemporary era) using TEXTS, IMAGES, AUDIO, VIDEO

• make citizenship aware of their history by “reading again” this “phantoms” of the town

• 50% Lab in digital video production (external aid)

• municipality’s collaboration requested but not achieved

• collaboration with schools: not yet activated but still possible

Third and Fourth year: e-book History of Pisa

• 50% theory

• aims:

• thinking at the ebook as a real multimedia device;

• reasoning about the best way to explain and tell history to people

• 50% Lab in writing, recording and ebook production (with external aid)

next year: building a revival

• Revival a witches’ trial during XVII century in a rural village in Val di Vara (La Spezia)

• looking at primary sources, building the characters, recording voices, thinking how to build an event into and out of the web

• interacting with local people by recording interview

• reasoning about logistic and economic issues

• municipality’s interest and help achieved

• HOW to do it ? I really don’t know yet maybe with magic!

What I’d like but I fear

• Personal experience in a FB group dedicated to my town’s XX century history

• collecting and organising experience and data from and with this group OR

• promoting a collection of local fascist buildings, epigraphies, pictures, mosaics and statues

• conducting (?) the discussion (argument? fight?)

A Balance about teaching..

• I’m not able to be a FULL digital public historian (nobody is) because

• a Digital Public History Course needs of a technical external aid (if you don’t want to deal with the same subjects/projects)

• it cannot be focused on a specific period of time (it could be but you have to sharing content with people nowadays and then the diachronic point of view is compulsory)

• it needs both of theory and practice: you HAVE work on projects as in a Renaissance workshop

• then a Teacher is not enough and one Course neither!

A Balance about Public..

• Given that IMHO Public History means participation of the people to the interpretation of history guided by one historian (at least):

• it’s a lot easier sharing historical contents than building a real public history project

• you need the municipality’s/associations’/ parties’ or local organizations’ help: this is DIFFICULT and NEEDS an EXTRA and HEAVVY WORK (not payed in any meaning)

• if you are dealing with risky topics you need also the academic acceptance and sustain.. (no comment)