This year, the Digital Scholarship Group (DSG) is offering a learning series that focuses on how specific digital scholarship and digital humanities projects were created. We intend to give people a greater sense of what it takes to do this work, including what skills are needed and what technologies are used. There will be two talks this fall, with more to come in spring (learn more).

We are very excited to announce that Joanna Schroeder will join the DSG as a Data Services Librarian on October 21st. Joanna will work closely with Lester Carver and the rest of the team to expand our data research and teaching support services and endeavors. Welcome, Joanna!

We've launched a new Graduate Certificate in Digital Humanities website, which provides information about the program, has teaching and learning resources, and links to student projects. 

This summer, the DSG created informative videos that cover topics we are often asked about and teach: “Data in the Humanities,”  “A Quick Introduction to GIS,” and “A Quick Introduction to AI.” We intend to continue making videos as time allows.

Ashlyn Stewart talking about data in the humanities (left) and Lester Carver explaining GIS

The Digital Humanities capstone graduate course last spring led to the creation of some impressive projects. Of particular note is Munir Paviwala’s East India Company Trade Data Visualization (1660-1834), which highlights the flow of different commodities across Asia by the East India Company, and Khalil Sawan’s The Donkey Driver’s Map, which maps the locations of Mamluk equids, reflects the administrative geography of the region, and provides the locations of inns (khans) (see all of the projects).

The Donkey Driver's Map (left) East India Company Trade Data Visualization

The DSG has a lot of instruction sessions this semester! First up is the Digital Humanities graduate certificate introductory course, which is underway with renewed contributions from the whole Digital Scholarship team. In the course, students are developing a firm theoretical foundation alongside essential technical skills that will facilitate the creation of compelling digital humanities projects as they progress through the certificate program.

Lester is supporting two senior research courses this semester. For Professor Tara Pisani Gareau’s Environmental Studies Research Seminar, they are teaching workshops on GIS and finding spatial data, and for the Economics Honors Thesis course, they are co-teaching on finding secondary data sources with Sophie Leveque, library liaison to economics and political science. Lester’s support will extend outside the classroom as they take individual student consultations throughout the semester.

Ashlyn Stewart and Antonio LoPiano are working with Shannon Jacob, professor of AADS, on two courses, Music & Social Justice and Women & Blues. For the former, Ashlyn is taking the class through a midterm project that involves digitally annotating songs from social movements. For both courses, Ashlyn and Antonio will lead the students through a mapping-based final project. Ashlyn is also co-teaching a new graduate-level English course with Jess Pauszek, assistant professor of English, called Archives in Action, where she is bringing her expertise on digital archives to the fore.

DSG members are working on multiple projects this semester. Some highlights include Lester working with Robert Motley, Professor of Social Work, on a multi-university collaborative project that seeks to redefine and conceptualize mass shootings in the United States. For their part, Lester is conducting the spatial analysis, producing map visualizations, and contributing to writing a manuscript on the spatial patterns of mass shootings.

Antonio LoPiano is finishing processing the many 3D scans he did this summer of sculptures at the McMullen Museum. The scanning will continue, and Antonio will be working with McMullen to help them incorporate the models into their digital collections (see the models).

Models made for the McMullen Museum

Dave Thomas is plugging away building the backend of the Jesuit Catalogs Database. The complex system will contain data collected every three years from the 17th century until the present and allow users to search by name, biographical information, locations, and communities. They will also be able to see information displayed in maps, timelines, and other forms of visualization (learn more).

This summer, as part of the ongoing Catholic Almanacs project, Ashlyn and her team of BC students extracted and structured almanac data that covers the 1870 United States. They collected the names, locations, and associated people of over 7000 institutions, including churches, schools, hospitals, and more. Now, the team is working on compiling and visualizing the data while beginning the same data process for 1869.

Map showing the 1870 almanac data

The Digital Studio (O’Neill 205) now has a room devoted to gaming and immersive experiences. The space enables faculty to incorporate these media into instruction and students to use them in projects. The technologies include a PlayStation 5, two PS5 controllers, and a Meta Quest VR headset. Faculty can put in requests for games and experiences to be added (learn more).

For those wondering what it takes to create a digital research project, we have made this video featuring Antonio, who explains the process, starting with the research question.

Antonio talking about digital project planning

The DSG has a podcasting module available in Canvas. It introduces students to a range of storytelling and audio skills. Faculty can add the module to their class’ Canvas site by 1. going to Canvas, 2. clicking on "Commons" (in the left-hand navigation bar), 3. Searching for "Building Your Podcasting Skills," 4. clicking the "Import/Download" button (on the right), 5. Selecting the appropriate course(s). 

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