Requirements and Grading

The course will be centered on the creation of a digital project that will take the form of an online exhibition on a topic of the student’s choosing. This semester-long project is an opportunity to experiment with new methodologies and can take many shapes. The specifics of it will greatly depend on the students’ own research interests. Various project possibilities will be discussed in detail during one of the early meetings. The project itself may be a component of a larger piece of work such as a paper or thesis.

Work towards this final goal will be realized throughout the semester as a series of three core essays, each contributing elements to the main research project. All of these will take the form of multimedia Omeka exhibitions. The final output, the online exhibition, will bring together these elements and present the results. During the last week of the term, students will also present their project to the class.

Essay 1: Project Outline and Background (15% of grade)

Short multimedia essay (roughly 2,500 words) posted to the course’s Omeka site. Essay 1 should outline the aims and scope of the project. It should explain its research goals, sketch a prospective dataset, and propose a series of stages to accomplish said goals. The essay should also provide historical and disciplinary context for the project and explain how it intersects with existing scholarship on the subject and provide a preliminary bibliography.

Essay 2: Dataset (15% of grade)

Short multimedia essay (roughly 2,500 words) posted to the course’s Omeka site. This is a more technical essay describing the nature of the dataset being used for the project. It must describe the types of data being used and how they are structured. It should also mention sources for the data, available or generated metadata, and any specific issues inherent to the dataset.

Essay 3: Methodology (15% of grade)

Short multimedia essay (roughly 2,500 words) posted to the course’s Omeka site. This essay should outline the methodology and then describe the specific stages of the project and the tools used in each.

Project Presentation (10% of grade)

These presentations are not intended to showcase the final results of the project, but rather to give everyone an opportunity to bring up their ideas and unresolved problems, and get help and feedback from peers before the final submission.

Final Project (25% of grade)

This will consist of a multimedia essay posted to the course’s Omeka site that presents the analysis of the data and its results and brings together the other components of the project into a coherent whole.

Class Attendance and Participation (20% of grade)

The class experience is based on seminar discussion and hands-on practice, so class participation is an essential requirement of this course. In order to contribute to class conversations and take full advantage of the discussion, it is important to carefully read the texts assigned each week in advance of our meetings, as these will inform our approach to the more practical aspects of the course.