The increasing importance
assumed by digital technologies in contemporary culture has given rise to new
forms of scholarly inquiry, new ways to assess and to organize humanistic
knowledge, and new forms of cultural communication. The very questions that the
humanities disciplines ask have changed. How have reading and writing changed
in the digital era? What new forms of cultural expression emerge with the
advent of the digital age and how do they build upon or break with the old? How
should we assess the ethical and political implications of digital
technologies? What kinds of tools
do we have or do we need to develop in order to make sense of and/or to take
advantage of these new technologies?
In response to faculty and
student interests in this emerging field, the Interdisciplinary Major in
Humanities is offering a new concentration in Digital Humanities.
REQUIREMENTS:
The requirements for this
concentration depart somewhat from the literary/philosophical/ historical
template of the other concentrations, requiring some course work in Computer
Science but also requiring a substantial core of courses from the humanities:
-
A statement of purpose outlining a narrowly defined
field of study and approved by a digital humanities adviser (see list below).
- HUMNTIES 198 as one of the core seminars for the
Humanities honors program.
- CS 105, Introduction to Computers, or CS 106A,
Programming Methodology, or equivalent.
- Seven humanities courses relevant to the student's
focus as articulated in the statement of purpose.
- Three computer science or technology courses
relevant to the student's focus; one course should have a technical focus
(e.g., CS 193I, "Internet Technologies") and one should deal with societal
issues (e.g., STS 176, "Technology and Politics")
- HUMNTIES 201, Digital Humanities Practicum, in
preparation for the student's honors project.
COURSES:
The following
is a list of courses to be offered in 2004-05 that may be appropriate for
students developing concentrations in digital humanities. This is not intended to be an
exhaustive list, but rather to illustrate the types of courses that might be
fruitfully incorporated into the digital humanities concentration. Selection of courses should also
include foundational courses in humanities disciplines, such as courses in
intellectual history, philosophy and language, or literary theory.
The list is
divided into "humanities" and "technology" courses, but these are not rigid
categories. In some cases a
"humanities" course might fulfill the "technology" requirement and vice
versa. The overall balance of the
student's program will be determined in consultation with his/her adviser and
must also have the approval of the Director or Associate Director of the
Humanities Honors Program.
Courses to
Consider for the 7-course Humanities Component:
(*=not
offered in 2004-05)
ARTHIST
161-Cinematic Spectacle
*ARTHIST
162-Cyborgs and Synthetic Humans
ARTHIST
234B-What was Conceptualism and Why Has It Not Gone Away?
ARTSTUDI
178-Electronic Art I
ARTSTUDI
179-Digital Media I
*CLASSART
280-Creative Computing and the Humanities
ENGLISH
153G-Technology, Ecology, and the Imagination of the Future
*HISTORY
33A-The Rise of Scientific Medicine
*HISTORY
262S-Science and High Technology in the Silicon Valley
JAPANGEN
115-History of Japanese Popular Culture
MUSIC
120-Auditory Remapping of Bioinformatics
MUSIC
151-Psychophysics and Cognitive Psychology for Musicians
PHIL
80-Mind, Matter and Meaning
PHIL
190-Introduction to Cognitive Science
Courses to
consider for the 3-course Computer Science/Technology Component:
(*=not
offered in 2004-05)
COMM
117-Digital Journalism
COMM
120-Digital Media in Society
COMM
166-Virtual People
COMM
169-Computers and Interfaces
CS
147-Introduction to Human-Computer Interaction Design
CS 193I-Internet Technologies
CS
201-Computers, Ethics and Social Responsibility
PUBPOL
194-Technology Policy
STS
145-History of Computer Game Design
STS
176-Technology and Politics
ADVISING:
The following
faculty and academic staff have teaching and/or research interests dealing with
digital humanities and have agreed to be available for consultation to students
interested in developing a Humanities major with a concentration in Digital
Humanities:
Jonathan Berger
(Music)
Scott Bukatman (Art)
Larry
Friedlander (English)
Ursula Heise
(English)
Matt Jockers
(English)
Henry Lowood
(STS)
Jeffrey Schnapp
(French & Ital/Comp Lit/SHL)
Michael Shanks
(Classics and Anthropology)
Fred Turner
(Communication)