Introduction to Digital Humanities
Module title | Introduction to Digital Humanities |
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Module code | HISM040 |
Academic year | 2023/4 |
Credits | 30 |
Module staff | Dr Richard Ward (Convenor) |
Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
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Duration: Weeks | 11 |
Number students taking module (anticipated) | 12 |
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Module description
This module provides an introduction to the ways in which digital technologies are being used in historical research, and to the recent emergence of the “Digital Humanities” as a field of academic practice. We will consider what the digital humanities is/are, before being introduced to different digital technologies (such as text encoding) and then looking at how those technologies have been used to study specific historical subjects (such as Victorian letter-writing).
The module does not require any specialist technical skills, nor will it provide training in how to create electronic resources. Rather, the focus is on developing the knowledge and skills required to use existing electronic resources.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The aim of this module is to introduce you to the concept of digital humanities and to its application in practice. Digital resources are now used extensively in humanities research (including history), but often uncritically and without an understanding of the possibilities and problems that they pose. Likewise, digital humanities is one of the fastest-growing fields in the humanities; widely seen as central to the future direction of humanities research. Yet there is much uncertainty about what the digital humanities involves and what it can achieve. This module will develop your understanding of these issues. You will learn about the range of digital methodologies currently available, and how to evaluate them critically. The module will also develop your digital research skills, including your ability to exploit the full potential of electronic resources. This will be invaluable for your research more broadly. You will develop an understanding of the theory and methodologies of digital humanities in general, and an appreciation of how such methodologies and approaches have been applied to the study of the past in particular.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Demonstrate an informed understanding of the key themes, debates and approaches in the digital humanities
- 2. Identify and critically assess different forms of digital technologies that are used in historical research and public engagement
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Demonstrate the ability to evaluate digital resources that relate to historical research
- 4. Identify and understand the intersection between original sources and digital technologies
- 5. Demonstrate a critical understanding of how digital theory and methods have been applied to historical research
- 6. Research and present independent accounts and interpretations of different digital humanities issues
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 7. Develop the capacity for independent critical study and thought
- 8. Develop key digital research skills (such as keyword searching, text-mining and data visualisation)
- 9. Construct and defend a sustained argument, both in written form and orally
- 10. Work as an individual and with a tutor and peers in an independent, constructive and responsive way (e.g. lead a group discussion or task)
Syllabus plan
Whilst the content may vary from year to year, it is envisioned that it will cover some or all of the following topics:
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Defining Digital Humanities
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Opportunities, Challenges and Controversies in Digital Humanities
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Encoded text resources (such as Hardy and Heritage; Old Bailey Proceedings Online)
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Non-encoded and metadata text resources (such as Early English Books Online)
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Structured Databases (such as the Digital Panopticon)
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Spatial Humanities (including Hidden Florence)
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Networks Analysis
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Material Culture and Virtual Worlds projects (such as Architecture and Asceticism)
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Crowdsourcing and Digital Archives (such as The Grecian Archive)
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Digital Dissemination of Historical Research
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DH Futures
The module will utilise the expertise of lecturers from across the College of Humanities as guest speakers, where applicable.
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
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20 | 280 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
Category | Hours of study time | Description |
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Scheduled Learning and Teaching | 20 | Seminars (10 x 2 hours) |
Guided independent study | 280 | Preparation for seminars, essays and presentations |
Formative assessment
Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
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Seminar discussion | Ongoing throughout module | 1-10 | Oral through discussion with peers and tutor |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
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80 | 0 | 20 |
Details of summative assessment
Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
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Essay | 40 | 2000 words | 1-10 | Oral and written |
Demonstration of an existing digital resource | 20 | 15 minutes | 1-10 | Oral and written |
Written review of the demonstrated digital resource | 40 | 2000 words | 1-10 | Oral and written |
OR | 0 | |||
Essay | 40 | 2000 words | 1-10 | Oral and written |
Written guide to, and review of, digital resource | 60 | 4000 words | 1-10 | Oral and written |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
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Essay | Essay - 2000 words | 1-10 | Referral/deferral period |
Demonstration of an existing digital resource | Script as for 20 minute presentation | 1-10 | Referral/deferral period |
Written review of the chosen digital resource | Written review of the chosen digital resource - 2000 words | 1-10 | Referral/deferral period |
OR | |||
Essay | Essay 2000 words | 1-10 | Referral/deferral period |
Written guide to, and review of, digital resource | Written guide to, and review of, digital resource 4000 words | 1-10 | Referral/deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
(If Demonstration assessment available)
- The re-assessment consists of a 2,000 word essay and a 2,000 word digital resource review, as in the original assessment, but replaces the digital resource demonstration with a written script and accompanying screenshots that could be delivered in such a demonstration and which is the equivalent of 20 minutes of speech.
(If Demonstration assessment not available)
The re-assessment consists of a 2,000 word essay and a 4,000 word written guide to, and review of, a digital resource, as in the original assessment.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
Introductory reading on digital humanities:
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Fitzpatrick, Kathleen, ‘The Humanities, Done Digitally’, Debates in the Digital Humanities (Minnesota, 2012).
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Liu, Alan, ‘The Meaning of the Digital Humanities’, PMLA 128 (2013), pp. 409–423.
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Prescott, Andrew, ‘An Electric Current of the Imagination: What the Digital Humanities Are and What They Might Become’, Journal of Digital Humanities 1 (2012).
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Schreibman, S., Siemens, R., and Unsworth, J. (eds), A New Companion to Digital Humanities (Chichester, 2016).
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Warwick, Claire, Terra, Melissa, and Nyhan, Julianne (eds), Digital Humanities in Practice (London, 2012).
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Weller, Martin, The Digital Scholar: How Technology is Transforming Scholarly Practice (London, 2011).
On controversies and challenges in digital humanities:
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Bailey, Moya Z, ‘All the Digital Humanists Are White, All the Nerds Are Men, but Some of Us Are Brave’, Journal of Digital Humanities 1 (2011).
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Hitchcock, Tim, ‘Confronting the Digital: or How Academic History Writing Lost the Plot’, Cultural and Social History 10 (2013), pp. 9–23.
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Allington, David, Brouillette, Sarah, and David Golumbia, ‘Neoliberal Tools (and Archives): A Political History of Digital Humanities’, Los Angeles Review of Books (2016).
On digital methodologies and resources:
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Bingham, Adrian, ‘The Digitization of Newspaper Archives: Opportunities and Challenges for the Historian’, Twentieth-Century British History 21 (2010), pp. 225–231.
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Causer, Tim, and Wallace, Valerie, ‘Building A Volunteer Community: Results and Findings from Transcribe Bentham’, Digital Humanities Quarterly 6 (2012).
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Cummings, James, ‘The Text Encoding Initiative and the Study of Literature’, in Susan Schreibman and Ray Siemens (eds), A Companion to Digital Literary Studies (Oxford, 2008).
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Terras, Melissa, ‘Digitization and digital resources in the humanities’, in Claire Warwick, Melissa Terras and Julianne Nyhan (eds), Digital Humanities in Practice (London, 2012), pp. 47-70.
On the impact of digital approaches in historical research:
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Hitchcock, Tim, and Shoemaker, Robert, ‘Digitising History from Below: The Old Bailey Proceedings Online, 1674–1834’, History Compass 4 (2009), pp. 193–202.
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Howard, Sharon, ‘Tales of the Unexpected: or, what can happen when you let a bunch of criminals loose on the Internet’ (2013) http://goo.gl/1skoHu
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Terras, Melissa, ‘The Impact of Social Media on the Dissemination of Research: Results of an Experiment,’ Journal of Digital Humanities 1 (2012).
Some digital humanities projects examined in the module:
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Architecture and Asceticism, http://architectureandasceticism.exeter.ac.uk/
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Digital Panopticon: Tracing London Convicts in Britain and Australia, 1780-1925, https://www.digitalpanopticon.org/
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Early English Books Online, https://eebo.chadwyck.com/home
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Famine and Dearth in India and Britain, 1550–1800, http://famineanddearth.exeter.ac.uk/index.html
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The Grecian Archive, http://grecianarchive.exeter.ac.uk/
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Hardy and Heritage: Digitising Letters to Thomas Hardy, http://hardycorrespondents.exeter.ac.uk/
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Hidden Florence, https://hiddenflorence.org/
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Old Bailey Proceedings Online, https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/
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Touching the Past: Engaging Ways with Archaeology in Orkney, https://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/news/college/title_317955_en.html
Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources
ELE: https://vle.exeter.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=12017
Credit value | 30 |
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Module ECTS | 15 |
Module pre-requisites | None |
Module co-requisites | None |
NQF level (module) | 7 |
Available as distance learning? | No |
Origin date | 22/01/2018 |
Last revision date | 28/11/2022 |