HMN 201—Introduction to the Digital Humanities

This course introduces digital methods and tools that are enabling new approaches to critical problems within humanities fields such as languages and literature, history, and the arts, as well as many of the social sciences. Students will explore multiple areas of interdisciplinary digital humanities research through a combination of critical readings, class discussion, and hands-on experience gained through a 6-week practicum to be completed in conjunction with digital humanities projects currently underway on campus. Students will design their individual practicum projects for a given semester in consultation with the course instructor and will regularly report on their practicum work in discussion board posts and in a final report paper submitted as part of their digital portfolio for the course. Grading and evaluation will be based on contributions to class activities and discussion, regular discussion board posts, and a cumulative digital portfolio of all work completed during the term. The course will be of particular value for students focusing on the humanities or the social sciences who have an interest in the use of digital tools to explore these areas and for students focusing on science or engineering who want to understand better how methods developed within these disciplines can be used in ways that are responsive to humanistic issues and concerns. All majors welcome, no previous skills or technical experience required. There are no prerequisites for this course.