Teaching Scholarly Teaching Scholarly Agency in a Digital Agency in a Digital Humanities ContextHumanities Context

UW Libraries Praxis Lecture Series UW Libraries Praxis Lecture Series

February 12, 2013February 12, 2013

Paige Morgan Paige Morgan

@paigecmorgan @paigecmorgan paigecm@uw.edupaigecm@uw.edu

Sarah Kremen-Sarah Kremen-HicksHicks

@rhetoricaltrope@rhetoricaltropesarahkh@uw.edusarahkh@uw.edu

What is agency?What is agency?

What is scholarly agency?What is scholarly agency?

What is scholarly agency What is scholarly agency in a digital humanities in a digital humanities

context?context?

Agency vs. Impostor Agency vs. Impostor SyndromeSyndrome““Impostor syndrome describes a situation where Impostor syndrome describes a situation where

someone feels like an impostor or fraud because they someone feels like an impostor or fraud because they think that their accomplishments are nowhere near as think that their accomplishments are nowhere near as good as those of the people around them. Usually, good as those of the people around them. Usually, their accomplishments are just as good, and the their accomplishments are just as good, and the person is being needlessly insecure. It's especially person is being needlessly insecure. It's especially common in fields where people's work is constantly common in fields where people's work is constantly under review by talented peers, such as academia or under review by talented peers, such as academia or Open Source Software.Open Source Software.””

--Geek Feminism Wiki--Geek Feminism Wikihttp://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Impostor_syndrome

Agency vs. AuthorityAgency vs. Authority

Agency is internally developed, while Agency is internally developed, while authority is externally conferred.authority is externally conferred.

Agency is not just internal knowledge of Agency is not just internal knowledge of authority, but internal confidence of the authority, but internal confidence of the possibilitypossibility of authority. of authority.

Scholarly AgencyScholarly Agency• → → the ability to encounter information (in our the ability to encounter information (in our

case, textual information), and feel competent & case, textual information), and feel competent & confident enough to do something with it confident enough to do something with it

• → → ““do something:do something:”” use the information as the use the information as the basis of a question or assertion in an academic basis of a question or assertion in an academic production (traditionally a conference paper, production (traditionally a conference paper, article for publication, dissertation or book.) article for publication, dissertation or book.)

• → → possess sufficient social integration to be able possess sufficient social integration to be able to communicate with others to seek help if to communicate with others to seek help if neededneeded

Digital Scholarly Digital Scholarly AgencyAgency

• → → ability to recognize the variety in the possibilities of ability to recognize the variety in the possibilities of ““do[ing] somethingdo[ing] something””

• → → having the confidence to defend and explain a highly-having the confidence to defend and explain a highly-varied definition of varied definition of ““doing somethingdoing something”” as digital humanities as digital humanities practicepractice

• → → having an awareness of the field(s) of digital humanities having an awareness of the field(s) of digital humanities as greater than the sum of particular skills which allows as greater than the sum of particular skills which allows individuals to make decisions about the type of training that individuals to make decisions about the type of training that they needthey need

• → → the ability to interact with others to think critically and the ability to interact with others to think critically and discuss project sustainability and long-term purposediscuss project sustainability and long-term purpose

What does this mean for What does this mean for teaching digital teaching digital

humanities at UW?humanities at UW?

Would more Would more classes in digital classes in digital humanities-humanities-oriented skills oriented skills successfully successfully confer more confer more agency?agency?

Image Source: I Can Has CheezburgerImage Source: I Can Has Cheezburgerhttp://www.icanhascheezburger.com

Two possibilities regarding Two possibilities regarding agency agency

Is there a fundamental difference between Is there a fundamental difference between DH content and traditional humanities DH content and traditional humanities content, such that agency content, such that agency cancan’’tt be attained be attained through coursework?through coursework?

Or is the problem the lack of an Or is the problem the lack of an institutionalized timeline that measures the institutionalized timeline that measures the development of digital humanities agency development of digital humanities agency with benchmarks? with benchmarks?

Digital Humanities Digital Humanities ValuesValues

Image: Monty PythonImage: Monty Python’’s Flying Circuss Flying CircusAltered via http://www.roflbot.comAltered via http://www.roflbot.com

Demystifying Digital Humanities is Demystifying Digital Humanities is not a programming classnot a programming class

Programming courses and workshops are Programming courses and workshops are already readily available on the UW campus.already readily available on the UW campus.

Learning a particular programming language Learning a particular programming language (HTML, CSS, Javascript) does not necessarily (HTML, CSS, Javascript) does not necessarily promote the development of agency.promote the development of agency.

Like many digital humanists, neither of us are Like many digital humanists, neither of us are professional programmers.professional programmers.

What we wanted to do...What we wanted to do...

crack open the black box of the internetcrack open the black box of the internet

encourage participants to become comfortable encourage participants to become comfortable with screwing aroundwith screwing around

Screwing around?Screwing around?I will not screw around with the digital I will not screw around with the digital humanities.humanities.I will not screw around with the digital I will not screw around with the digital humanities.humanities.I will not screw around with the digital I will not screw around with the digital humanities.humanities.I will not screw around with the digital I will not screw around with the digital humanities.humanities.I will not screw around with the digital I will not screw around with the digital humanities.humanities.I will not screw around with the digital I will not screw around with the digital humanities.humanities.I will not screw around with the digital I will not screw around with the digital humanities.humanities.I will not screw around with the digital I will not screw around with the digital humanities.humanities.I will not screw around with the digital I will not screw around with the digital humanities.humanities.I will not screw around with the digital I will not screw around with the digital humanities.humanities.

Programmatic AccessProgrammatic Access

Ability to understand the overarching structure Ability to understand the overarching structure of a platform or systemof a platform or system

Not full Not full ““programmingprogramming”” competency competency

Comparable to being able to effectively Comparable to being able to effectively navigate an online catalog entry for an item; or navigate an online catalog entry for an item; or understanding what can be discovered via understanding what can be discovered via keyword/subject searchingkeyword/subject searching

Programmatic access for Programmatic access for codecode

coding languages have grammar and coding languages have grammar and syntaxsyntax

objects, pages, & applications built with objects, pages, & applications built with code have building blockscode have building blocks

the grammar & syntax that you work with the grammar & syntax that you work with are the top level of a more complex are the top level of a more complex infrastructureinfrastructure

““...once you have ...once you have programmatic access to the programmatic access to the

content of the library, content of the library, screwing around suddenly screwing around suddenly

becomes a far more becomes a far more illuminating and useful illuminating and useful

activity.activity.””-- Steve Ramsay,-- Steve Ramsay,

The Hermeneutics of Screwing AroundThe Hermeneutics of Screwing Around

Cracking open the black Cracking open the black boxbox

The spectrum of our participants, from more to less The spectrum of our participants, from more to less experience with programming.experience with programming.

Cracking open the black Cracking open the black boxbox

!=!=

Cracking open the black Cracking open the black boxbox

ItIt’’s libraries all the way down...s libraries all the way down...

““We might say that all [web-based We might say that all [web-based knowledge-retrieval] systems rely on an knowledge-retrieval] systems rely on an act of faith, but itact of faith, but it’’s not so much trust in s not so much trust in the search engine (or the book, or the the search engine (or the book, or the

professor) as it is willingness to suspend professor) as it is willingness to suspend disbelief about the yellow wood after disbelief about the yellow wood after

having taken a particular road.having taken a particular road.””

--Steve Ramsay, The Hermeneutics of Screwing Around--Steve Ramsay, The Hermeneutics of Screwing Around

Cracking open the black Cracking open the black boxbox

When metaphors attackWhen metaphors attack

XKCD #762, Randall MunroeXKCD #762, Randall Munroe

Digital texts and other aspects of Digital texts and other aspects of computing are acts of computing are acts of transmediation. transmediation.

But they rely on a set of metaphors But they rely on a set of metaphors that come from the predigital, and that come from the predigital, and specifically, in scholarly editing, specifically, in scholarly editing, the predigital book.the predigital book.

Image: Zombie Apocalypse -- Des Moines. (2011). Jason MrachinaImage: Zombie Apocalypse -- Des Moines. (2011). Jason Mrachinahttp://www.flickr.com/photos/w4nd3rl0st/6084086433/

ItIt’’s difficult to make the s difficult to make the connections that seem obvious in connections that seem obvious in retrospect when the content of the retrospect when the content of the metaphor has been changed, but metaphor has been changed, but

the language (the container) the language (the container) remains the same. remains the same.

Curriculum design that fosters Curriculum design that fosters agencyagency

Transparent valuesTransparent values

Encouraging Encouraging screwing aroundscrewing around

Promoting Promoting suspension of suspension of disbeliefdisbelief

CAN BECOME A DIGITAL HUMANISTCAN BECOME A DIGITAL HUMANIST

Questions? Comments?Questions? Comments?Let us know, or visit www.dmdh.orgLet us know, or visit www.dmdh.org

Paige Morgan Paige Morgan

@paigecmorgan @paigecmorgan paigecm@uw.edupaigecm@uw.edu

Sarah Kremen-Sarah Kremen-HicksHicks

@rhetoricaltrope@rhetoricaltropesarahkh@uw.edusarahkh@uw.edu

We are grateful for the support of the Simpson Center for the Humanities and We are grateful for the support of the Simpson Center for the Humanities and the UW Textual Studies Program in making the DMDH series possible.the UW Textual Studies Program in making the DMDH series possible.