Before the class

  1. Please sign on to the Discord server for the course (invitations are in your email.)
  2. Please sign up for a free account on Miro, the virutal whiteboard system that we will be using extensively during the course. (Invite links to our Miro space are in your email.)
  3. Please follow the instructions to install OpenRefine on your own computer.
  4. We have a relatively short reading for each day of the course - as with all classes, it’ll be most helpful for you to do the reading prior to our discussion!
  5. If you are interested, sign up for one of our limited 1-on-1 data consultation slot.

Technology

I’ve tried hard to make sure that this class uses the least amount of tech possible. Almost all of our work will happen in apps that are in your internet browser; only OpenRefine needs to be installed beforehand.

However, Palladio and OpenRefine are not designed to work on a tablet. I strongly recommend that you use a desktop or laptop computer to get the most useful experience with those exercises. You may also find it much easier to use them, and the Miro whiteboard app, if you use a computer mouse (but this isn’t required.)

On-Zoom vs. Off-Zoom participation

I know it’s been a year+ of far too much Zoom, and this course will only be adding more. However, I’m trying to keep many of our practical exercises flexible enough that you can either work through them with a breakout group over Zoom, or do them solo at your own pace. I’ve marked those sections as (group work or solo). The other sections where I walk through data tidying concepts or where we discuss the readings would best be attended live on Zoom. However, we will use Miro to keep a list of notes and reading reactions collectively, so do not worry if you aren’t able to participate live in a particular discussion - you will always be able to look at our collective notes and add your own independently.

What else do you want to talk about?

We’ve left flex time on Thursday to talk through issues or questions that aren’t covered in the other modules. At any time Monday through Wednesday, use the Open Questions Board to drop notes about concepts or questions you’d like to learn more about, and then based on community voting we’ll hold some informal discussions or tutorials on Thursday.

Software Suggestions

Miro board to collect software suggestions for data tidying, management, and visualization

OPTIONAL Dream Lab coffee breaks

Each day, the Dream Lab leaders will be hosting short “coffee breaks” on the Water Cooler voice channel on Discord (sometimes these overlap with our course breaks, other times not):

Daily Coffee Break Times
8am-9am
3:00pm-3:30pm

There are also scheduled “happy hour” virtual gatherings on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, which I’ve marked on the schedule below.

These virtual gatherings are a chance to meet participants in the other classes. Think of these like the coffee breaks or receptions at a conference: on some days I am excited and energized to participate, and on others I decide that I need some personal quiet time instead. You should feel the freedom to do either!

All times EDT (UTC-4)

Monday, June 14

Reading

Rawson, Katie, and Trevor Muñoz. “Against Cleaning.” In Debates in the Digital Humanities 2019, edited by Matthew K. Gold and Lauren F. Klein, 279–92. University of Minnesota Press, 2019. DOI: 10.5749/j.ctvg251hk.26.

Schedule

Time Activity
9:00am-10:00am Dream Lab Welcome (Zoom link sent by email and on Discord)
10:00am-10:15am Break
10:15am-10:45am Tidy Data Orientation
10:45am-12:00pm Data Commonalities Icebreaker
12:00pm-1:00pm Break
1:00pm-1:20pm Palladio introduction
1:20pm-2:40pm Palladio exercise (group work or solo)
2:40pm-3:00pm Break
3:00pm-4:00pm Rawson & Muñoz 2019 discussion
4:00pm-5:00pm OPTIONAL 1-on-1 consults
5:00pm-6:30pm Dream Lab Keynote: Marisa Parham (Zoom link sent by email and on Discord - You do NOT need to sign up via EventBrite to attend if you’re already a student)

Tuesday, June 15

Reading

Merry, Mark. Designing Databases for Historical Research. London: Institute of Historical Research, University of London, 2015. http://port.sas.ac.uk/mod/book/view.php?id=75. (Section C1-C4, Section D & E)

Schedule

Time Activity
9:00am-10:00am OPTIONAL 1-on-1 consults
10:00am-11:00am Data types (text, numbers, dates, categories, missing & uncertain info)
11:00am-11:15am Break
11:15am-12:00pm Relational Data Design Intro (reviewing Merry 2015)
12:00pm-1:00pm Break
1:00pm-2:30pm Data design breakout group exercise (group work [recommended] or solo)
2:30-3:00 Break
3:00pm-4:00pm Data design share-out & comparison
4:00pm-5:00pm OPTIONAL 1-on-1 consults
5:00pm-6:00pm OPTIONAL Dream Lab Discord Happy Hour

Wednesday, June 16

Reading

Posner, Miriam. “What’s Next: The Radical, Unrealized Potential of Digital Humanities.” Miriam Posner’s Blog (blog), July 27, 2015. https://miriamposner.com/blog/whats-next-the-radical-unrealized-potential-of-digital-humanities/.

Schedule

Time Activity
9:00am-10:00am OPTIONAL 1-on-1 consults
10:00-11:00am Posner 2015 discussion
11:00am-11:15am Break
11:15am-12:00pm Identifying data messes
12:00pm-1:00pm Break
1:00pm-1:20pm Intro to Open Refine
1:20pm-2:40pm OpenRefine Exercise (group work or solo)
2:40pm-3:00pm Break
3:00pm-3:30pm OpenRefine reactions and tips
3:30pm-4:00pm Thursday open session planning
4:00pm-5:00pm OPTIONAL 1-on-1 consults
5:00pm-6:00pm OPTIONAL Dream Lab Discord Happy Hour

Thursday, June 17

Reading

Langmead, Alison, and David Newbury. “Pointers and Proxies: Thoughts on the Computational Modeling of the Phenomenal World.” In The Routledge Companion to Digital Humanities and Art History, edited by Kathryn Brown, 358–73. Routledge Art History and Visual Studies Companions. New York: Routledge, 2020. DOI: 10.4324/9780429505188-31.

Schedule

Time Activity
9:00am-10:00am OPTIONAL 1-on-1 consults
10:00am-11:00am Langmead & Newbury 2020 discussion
11:00am-11:15am Break
11:15am-12:00pm Research talk by S.E. Hackney
12:00pm-1:00pm Break
1:00pm-2:30pm Data documentation
2:30pm-3:30pm Break
3:30-5:00pm Dream Lab Show and Tell and Closing (Zoom link sent by email and on Discord)