HMN 307—Digital Humanities Intro Workshop: Humanities Data Visualization

HMN 307 teaches students how to create and to analyze arguments based on visual representations of quantitative and qualitative data drawn from humanities disciplines such as literature and history, as well as related fields such as linguistics and anthropology. Digital humanists use visualization tools to explore many areas of research, from force-directed graphs showing how a social media network looks from the perspective of a particular node to immersive 3d models of ancient buildings. Class discussion and exercises will focus on identifying and comparing the types of claims that can be supported and communicated effectively by various forms of graphs, charts, and other visualizations, while also attending closely to the ways that visualizations can also simplify or distort information. This workshop will require preparatory reading, in-class participation, independent research, and the submission of a workshop assignment and reflection as part of each student’s submitted final digital portfolio. Open lab hours following the workshops will offer students additional support in completing their assignments, reflections, and portfolios. HMN 30X workshops are designed as basic or introductory and require no previous skills or knowledge. Students must have passed HMN 201 with a grade of C or higher prior to enrolling in this course.