You can find the notes for our discussion(s) here:

docs.google.com/document/d/1TeOcHklzzgAtqJm8HPQD7JhpmX2v3ltKjW2AzZ3i-w0/edit?usp=sharing

I am interested in brainstorming ways to identify opportunities to use digital tools in historical research projects.  Projects like the The Roaring Twenties and the Republic of Letters are innovative and inspirational, however their particular approach doesn’t seem to apply to my own research.  While I realize that some topics are better suited to digital tools than others, I can’t help but feel I might be missing something in my work that could benefit from DH methods.  How can we harness the power of digital representations of historical information to generate new knowledge? Looking forward to a fruitful discussion tomorrow!

I propose a session on using wikis in the humanities.  It would have two parts.  First, I would present my personal wiki, which I have used for a number of years to manage my research as an historian.  The goal of this part of the session would be to help others learn about how they might use a wiki toward similar ends, while also gaining feedback on how I could get more out of my wiki for research purposes.  I would also provide a brief overview of the technical side of creating a personal wiki.

The second part of the session would deal with using wikis for teaching in the humanities.  This topic particularly interests me because I am considering an assignment in one of my courses next fall that would require students to create a wiki collaboratively over the course of the semester.  My hope is to use the wiki to replace what would otherwise be written reading responses that students would submit to me each week.  I hope that we might be able to have a discussion at THATCamp about how best to adapt a wiki to meet a teaching goal like this, and share other ideas on how wikis can be used for teaching more broadly.

Can attitudes be coded? Can change in attitude be quantified? Can change in behavior be quantified? If attitude and behavior can be (even arbitrarily) quantified, how can changes or shifts be measured? How can those measures be applied to analyze shifts over time? How can that analysis be applied in engagement and outreach efforts for public health or policy issues?

I propose a Talk Session discussing the issues surrounding how to map, quantify, and analyze attitudes toward meat consumption across ethnic cultures. What factors are at play between ethnic cultures surrounding attitudes toward meat consumption? What are the differences in quantity, quality, type of meat consumed? How do you quantify or code quality of food in America? How do you track changes over time in meat consumption in ethnic cultures? What factors determine that — age of a people as individuals, education on health, change in economic status, or a cultural shift?

Ideally if I were a programmer I would like somehow to apply these to a digitally interactive time-lapsing map of some kind to identify the most effective ways to engage various cultures about various public health and ethics issue, one being health quality and source of meat in America. In order to have data to input, though, the first step would be to identify all the possible issues at play with understanding why and how different cultures correlate to choices about meat, and then quantifying and coding those across time for a quantifiable content analysis.

I would love input from anyone, but especially those experienced with quantified content analysis, public health, cultural attitudes and behavior, and computer programmers (to discuss whether my later idea of applying these to a map of the United States that can highlight different cultural communities in different parts of the country, corresponding attitudes and/or behaviors, time lapses, and then somehow layering all these on, is even plausible).

Attention THATCampers: Breakfast and registration for THATCamp JHU will begin at 9AM this Saturday, April 12 in Gilman Hall, Room 132 (a.k.a. the Nolan Room) . See you there!

Homewood Campus Map

Campus Info and Directions

Professor Kim Gallon of the Black Press Research Collective will join us to talk about the history of DH in Africana Studies. According to their web site, “The Black Press Research Collective  (BPRC) is an interdisciplinary group of scholars committed to generating digital scholarship about the historical and contemporary role of Black newspapers within English-speaking African Diasporas.” Professor Gallon will also address some of the reasons Africana Studies is often ignored in a larger discussion of digital humanities. Join us to discuss your opinion on this issue and learn more about an award-winning, collaborative DH project.

Proposal: I have assigned digital projects for the first time this semester, including audiocasting and web exhibits. I’d like to talk to other people about guidelines they use for grading, how they tweak grading rubrics for different assignments, and what students do/don’t understand about these grading methods. I have a couple of ideas and have gotten input from a couple sources already.

From Brian Gharala:

(This session will be led by a real, live programmer analyst.) I will show you the basics of setting up a WordPress site and using plug-ins. Such sites can be used as blogs, informational sites, or almost anything. I will be available to answer other questions you may have about designing or creating web sites.

We are excited to announce THATCamp at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, to take place on Saturday, April 12th. As part of a broad discussion of digital humanities, we invite conversations on the use of these tools for the areas of Latin American and Africana Studies. Our THATCamp is free and open to all, but we especially welcome anyone who has interests in those areas. THATCamp JHU will follow the annual JHU Program in Latin American Studies Conference on Friday, April 11th.

Follow us on Twitter at @THATCampJHU and tweet about us using #THATCampJHU. We also have a flyer for publicity in Baltimore City and County Schools, should you wish to help us spread the word. We hope that this event will benefit educators from around the Baltimore area at universities, libraries, and high schools.