Since I am a newly minted blogger, I thought I would start my first post by recapping my experience at my first ever THATCamp in Orlando.
For those who don’t know, THATCamp (The Humanities and Technology Camp) is an un-conference open to all those interested in Digital Humanities. It is open to students, librarians, professionals, faculty and anyone with just an inkling of interest (even the young tyros like me). What is so interesting about it though, is that it has no formal program. All sessions are impromptu and anything can happen! The thrill of this is that you never know what you will get to participate in!
This year, there were so many great sessions to attend! I learned about using GIS to diversify digital projects, collaborated on ideas for creating a digital project incubator at FSU’s very own Office of Digital Research and Scholarship and discussed the differences in STEM and Humanities grant funding. We covered such an array of topics that I was able to gain little bits of knowledge about all sorts of digital humanities related academia.
I also decided to propose and facilitate my own session. So, for my first ever THATCamp I proposed a topic called “stop, Collaborate & listen“. The object of my discussion session was to delve into how people working in the realm of digital humanities collaborate across various knowledge bases. I wanted to gain insight on how reaching across borders helped them achieve successful digital projects. I also wanted to find out if anyone had successfully incorporated collaboration into their digital pedagogy.
My session ended up being well attended and productive. The conversation revolved around reaching out and creating relationships across disciplines and departments. We discussed many Promethean ideas about how to cultivate these relationships and sustain them. We also talked about the difficulties sometimes experienced when trying to connect and facilitate these types of relationships. At the end of the session, we came to the conclusion that we will continue onward with strength and spirit, always looking for ways to work with others and share knowledge!
Overall, THATCamp Florida was a great experience! I learned from so many different scholars about countless ideas and theories related to digital humanities. I also met many wonderful people who were encouraging and inspiring and truly instilled in me a true sense of librarianship. I have so much more to learn but I think I am off to a great start!
Until next time!
Additional notes/readings:
If you are interested in reading some more about collaboration in digital humanities, I highly suggest reading Dr. Amanda Visconti’s research blog. She is the Digital Humanities Specialist at Purdue University Libraries. She recently added a post that featured a job talk she gave about not only the importance of collaboration in digital humanities but the fact that it is a vital element of DH research and project building. While my experience and knowledge of digital humanities is nascent, Dr. Visconti’s is advanced and I would definitely recommend taking a look at her blog for more information.
