Digital History / Public History (American Historical Association: Getting Started in Digital History Workshop)
Getting Started in Digital History Workshop
Jason M. Kelly
Date: Thursday, January 7, 2016
Time: 9:00 AM-1:00 PM
Location: Salon B (Hilton Atlanta, Second Floor)
Abstract
How does the practice of public history change when digital components are involved? How do we shape the digital sphere into a public commons, and expand the practice of public history outward from its physical institutions into virtual spaces? Where do we draw the line between digital public history and digital history in public? We’ll tackle these questions in both theoretical and practical form in this short introductory session.
Links
The Valley of the Shadow
The Valley of the Shadow is a digital archive of primary sources that document the lives of people in Augusta County, Virginia, and Franklin County, Pennsylvania, during the era of the American Civil War. Here you may explore thousands of original documents that allow you to see what life was like during the Civil War for the men and women of Augusta and Franklin. The Valley of the Shadow is different than many other history websites. It is more like a library than a single book. There is no "one" story in the Valley Project. Rather, what you'll find are thousands of letters and diaries, census and government records, newspapers and speeches, all of which record different aspects of daily life in these two counties at the time of the Civil War.
Soweto Historical GIS Project
The primary objective of the Soweto Historical GIS Project (SHGIS) is to build a multi-layered historical geographic information system that explores the social, economic and political dimensions of urban development under South African apartheid regimes (1904/1948-1994) in Johannesburg’s all-black township of Soweto. Soweto (an acronym for the South Western Townships), a creation of state power, was developed to house low-wage workers and to segregate black South Africans from white. The application of geographic methodologies to the study of the anti-apartheid movement reveals the complex spatial dimensions of violence, resistance, and freedom.
United States of AIDS
The United States of AIDS (USOA) is a student-led digital humanities project tied to the Humanities Action Lab of The New School for Public Engagement. We are invested in making the oral history narratives of AIDS activists accessible and heard. Open source applications have allowed us to index and enhance interviews by applying keywords, outlining thematic segments, and embedding additional archival evidence. The interviews used are from the ACT UP Oral History Project and the African American AIDS Activist Oral History Project.
History Harvest
The History Harvest is an open, digital archive of historical artifacts gathered from communities across the United States. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Department of History partners with institutions and individuals within highlighted communities to collect, preserve, and share their rich histories.
Morris Justice Project
The Morris Justice Project (MJP) was a critical participatory project in the Morris Avenue section of the Bronx. MJP participants documented community member experiences with the police through a survey of over 1000 people. After the survey was completed and studied, the group collaborated with the Illuminator—a cargo van equipped with video and audio projection tools, born out of the Occupy Wall Street movement— to share data on an open wall of a Morris-area apartment building. This digital data share served as an open letter to the NYPD and as a space for community discussion and data analysis.
Bibliography
Introduction to Public History
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Burns, Andrea. From Storefront to Monument: Tracing the Public History of the Black Museum Movement. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2013.
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Public Scholarship
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