HIST 630: Digital Methods for Historical Research
Semester: Fall 2019
Time: Thursday 2:15-5:05
Location: Glasscock 205
Instructor: Dr. Daniel L. Schwartz
Email: daniel.schwartz@tamu.edu
Office Location: LAAH 441 (not Glasscock!)
Office Hours: by appointment
Course Description
Introduction to formal methods of analysis in historical research using computers; and applying quantitative methods to research problems.
Course Goals
Digital History, and Digital Humanities more broadly, encompases a tremendously wide set of research methodologies and scholarly practices. No one course could possibly do justice to all of them. Moreover the theoretical issues underpinning these methodologies and practices only serve to compound problems of “coverage”.
This course unapologetically takes a skills-oriented approach to Digital History and indeed focuses on one method for doing Digital History: text encoding. Students will learn how to use the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) standard of Extensible Markup Language (XML) to encode textual material. They will also learn a range or coding skills important for producing, editing, documenting, presenting, and preserving a digital project.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course you will
- Understand text encoding as a digital research methodology for historical research.
- Know how to mark up texts using the TEI.
- Know several methods/technologies for documenting digital projects.
- Produce your own digital research.
- Know standard best-practices for collaborative digital research.
Prerequisites
Graduate classification and approval of instructor.
Course Materials
Students will all need to have access to a laptop to which they have permission to add software. You should bring that laptop to all class sessions. All readings and tutorials required for this seminar are available online. Your university credentials should provide access to all course materials. Please contact me if you encounter any problems.
Expectations
You will note in the class schedule that every class meeting has a heading for Ludi. This is a Latin word we’ll translate here as “play things.” I have chosen this term because I want us all to think of class time as an opportunity to experiment, collaborate, offer feedback, and troubleshoot difficulties. In short, you should come to class expecting to play around with the course material, topics, and skills you will begin learning outside of class. This approach means there is a high likelihood that sometimes things won’t work, or at least that they won’t work as intended. We should all expect this kind of “failure.” But failure can be productive. Let’s all come to class ready to play, have fun even, and learn as we go.
Acknowledgements
I read many course syllabi in designing this syllabus but drew most heavily on one by Michelle M. Taylor and David A. Michelson. They taught “Special Topics in the Digital Humanities: Encoding Culture,” at Vanderbilt University in spring 2019.