Course Details

Course Name: Digital History
Course Number: HIST 5152
Course Semester: Fall 2021
Delivery Format: On Campus – Gladfelter Hall 659
Schedule: Mondays, 5:00 – 7:20PM

Course Description

The use of digital methods to enhance and streamline the study, interpretation, and presentation of historical topics (the so-called “digital turn”) has gained a good bit of traction within the discipline in the recent past. This class will explore digital history methodologies, tools, and practices including digital mapping, data visualization, textual and social network analysis, interactive exhibitions, augmented and virtual reality, digital editions/publications, podcasts and oral history, the incorporation of digital pedagogy in the classroom, and more. In addition to gaining familiarity with various tools and technologies, students will discuss major issues in the field, including questions of narrative, audience, shared authority, ethics, accessibility, preservation, data integrity, and other considerations pertinent to the historical method. This course is eligible for credit toward the Graduate Certificate in Cultural Analytics.

Course goals include:

Examine evolving theory and major debates within digital humanities and digital history, including issues of transparency, ethics, accessibility, authority, and legitimacy
Discover how to use digital projects to engage with multiple stakeholders and audiences and encourage conversations and collaborations
Evaluate and critically assess digital methodologies and tools through hands-on technical experimentation and skillbuilding
Determine how methods of digital history might contribute to the advancement of research interests, scholarship, and professional goals

Key Questions:

What is digital history? How do methods of the so-called digital turn intersect with the work of doing history?
What are some of the pros and cons of using digital tools in the production of historical scholarship?
How can I do cool things with digital tools and resources? Who else in the field is currently doing cool things?
Where can I go for help if I have questions or need guidance, instructions, or inspiration for my projects? How do I keep updated on developments in the field?

Instructor Information

Instructor: Cynthia Heider
Email: cynthia.heider@temple.edu
Communication policy: I will respond to your email within 24 hours of receiving it (48 hours on weekends).
Office hours: Mondays, 4-4:45PM via Zoom (or by appointment)

Course Texts + Materials

All course materials are available free-of-cost online, or otherwise will be provided to students by the instructor. Class readings are accessible through the course’s Canvas site in each weekly module. An overview of the various assignment categories can be found in Canvas under “Assignments General Overview.”

Credits

To give credit where credit is due: I am indebted to the expertise of many scholars who came before me. This and previous iterations of the syllabus borrows ideas from other DH practitioners including Abby Mullen, Fred Gibbs, Trevor Owens, Shannon Mattern, and Ben Schmidt.

You make redistribute, remix, reuse, or borrow from this syllabus under a Creative Commons 4.0 license (CC-BY-4.0)

Grading

Note: Dates, assignments, readings, or lab tutorials are subject to change throughout the semester. I will make every effort to contact you by email at least a week prior to the affected class if I make a change in the syllabus. Realistically, although I’ve tried to prepare for the unexpected, the class may change shape and form over the course of the semester due to a number of unpredictable factors. I understand that this might be exasperating for everyone involved; please be patient with your classmates and myself. We’re all trying to do our best.

Grading Scale

A Range	B Range	C Range	D Range	F Range
A 94 – 100	B+ 87 – 89	C+ 77 – 79	D+ 67 – 69	F 0 – 59
A- 90 – 93	B 84 – 86	C 74 – 76	D 64 – 66
	B- 80 – 83	C- 70 – 73	D- 60 – 63

Weighting

Collegiality + Care: 5%
Class preparation assignments: 30%
Skillbuilding + Practica: 30%
Group project: 15%
Reflections: 20%

Rubrics may be utilized throughout the semester for your assignments. You will be able to access the rubrics from any assignment that will be scored with one.

Assignments

Time required to complete activities related to and required for this course is estimated at 129 total hours over the course of the fall 2021 semester (or, roughly 9 hours per week). This includes:

24 hours of class time (2 hours per week x 12 weeks)
60 hours engaging with course readings and materials (4 hours per week x 15 weeks)
45 hours completing other course work (3 hours per week x 15 weeks)

Collegiality + Care (5% of final grade)

There are so many reasons why this semester will likely be tough on any and all of us. You, me, or any of your classmates may be struggling with uncertainty, precarity, grief or anxiety at any given moment. So: what I am asking of you is that you do your best to show yourselves, and each other, kindness, understanding, and generosity for the next few months. Help somebody out with a technical issue if you can. Do something nice for yourself. This is an assignment, and I’m giving you an A+ up front trusting that you’ll try your best to complete it. I promise to do my best, too.

Class Preparation Assignments (30% of final grade)

These assignments are intended to fulfill the course goal:

Examine evolving theory and major debates within digital humanities and digital history, including issues of transparency, ethics, accessibility, authority, and legitimacy

Readings, Annotations, and Discussion

Readings are assigned weekly and should be completed before each class. We won’t have an extensive discussion of the assigned material during class time; instead, the class will work to collaboratively annotate the readings through Canvas using the Hypothes.is tool. We will discuss more about Hypothes.is on the first week of class. Readings and annotations will help you prepare for class, understand the stakes and possibilities of various methods and tools in digital scholarship, and deeply engage in dialogues with your classmates. For this reason, they are worth 30% of your grade (or, 2% each week). Occasionally you might be assigned material that is not possible to annotate (like videos, an entire book, etc.) and in these cases you will be asked to contribute to a discussion board prompt on Canvas.

Grading Rubric

I would like every student to have the opportunity to participate and share their reactions to a reading or discussion. Quality is more important than quantity. While an individual’s participation will naturally vary from class to class, students are encouraged to improve their participation each class and contribute to class discussion every week. Class preparation will be assessed each class, according to the following rubric:

A – Prepared for every class and familiar with readings and sites for review, contributes questions and discussion points that are not simple reiterations of statements from the readings, makes connections between readings for this class and previous classes, responds to other students’ comments and extends the analysis, analyzes and challenges readings and class discussion in a respectful, evidence-based manner.

B – Prepared for most classes, engaged listener who contributes but requires occasional prompting, analyzes readings but comments may focus more on restating author’s opinions rather than building upon them with unique statements, respectfully listens to other student comments but does not respond directly to issues they raise.

C – Minimally prepared for classes, does not volunteer comments or questions, provides comments indirectly or not at all connected to the topic when called upon, inattentive listener.

D – No evidence of preparation, cannot provide comments on the subject matter when called upon, disrespectful to other students’ comments, inattentive listener.

Skillbuilding + Practica Assignments (30% of final grade)

These assignments are intended to fulfill the course goal:

Evaluate and critically assess digital methodologies and tools through hands-on technical experimentation and skillbuilding

I want you to gain practical DH experience in this class. I also recognize that you may be more interested in some topics than others. We’ll walk through some methods and tools together in class, during our “lab.” If a topic interests you, you can choose to demonstrate your understanding beyond the classroom with a practicum assignment. You will complete 2 practica assignments, each worth 15% of your grade, for a total of 30%.

Grading Rubric

A – Successful achievement/creation of (all of the) intended end-product(s) of an assignment OR a critical assessment of why it didn’t turn out the way you intended. Substantive reflection on the process, tools used, data/sources involved, and result. Insight into how this experience can be applied in the future. Sought guidance from classmates and instructor if difficulties or confusion arose while working on the assignment.

B – Successful achievement/creation of only part of the intended end-product(s) of an assignment, little assessment of why it didn’t turn out the way you intended. Substantive reflection on the process, tools used, data/sources involved, and result. Insight into how this experience can be applied in the future. Sought some guidance from classmates and instructor if difficulties or confusion arose while working on the assignment, but did not follow through.

C – Successful achievement/creation of only part of the intended end-product(s) of an assignment, no critical assessment of why it didn’t turn out the way you intended. Surface-level reflection on either the process, tools used, data/sources involved, or result. Minimal insight into how this experience can be applied in the future. Did not seek guidance from classmates and instructor if difficulties or confusion arose while working on the assignment.

Revise & Resubmit–No evidence of any of the above criteria. I will ask you to revise and resubmit the assignment.

Group Project Assignments (15% of final grade)

These assignments are intended to fulfill the course goal:

Discover how to use digital projects to engage with multiple stakeholders and audiences and encourage conversations and collaborations

Collaboration is key to work in digital history. This semester, we will contribute to a campus memory project created in conjunction with colleagues in the Temple Public History program. Stay tuned for more details and a rubric for grading.

Reflection Assignments (20% of final grade)

These assignments are intended to fulfill the course goal:

Determine how methods of digital history might contribute to the advancement of research interests, scholarship, and professional goals

Every student in this class has different educational interests, needs, and priorities to fulfill. I’d like you to have the freedom to tailor this class to your own, as much as is possible. Choose what works for you. Additionally, the assignment list here is not exhaustive. You are welcome to come up with your own idea for an assignment that involves reflection on how work in the field might relate to you and pitch it to me. You will complete one assignment in this category. Please submit your work via the links to their Canvas assignments; this makes grading more straightforward for everyone!

DH Article Pitch
Conference or Poster Session Proposal
Skills Workshop Attendance
Digital History Interview
“Transparent” Tutorial or Walkthrough
Digital Project Review
Your Idea Here

Grading Rubric

Assessment of assignment content (10 points)
Assignment critically assesses an aspect of digital scholarship praxis in relation to student’s own interests, competencies, skills, or professional contacts. End product represents substantive reflection upon future applications of a tool, methodology, theory, practice, or skill.

Assessment of assignment form (10 points)
Student’s process and outcome reflect professionalism, innovation, collegiality, and adherence to given guidelines regarding medium, organization, length, and other factors.

Policies + Services

General Policies

All Temple University Academic Policies will be upheld.

Temple + COVID-19

Several sections of this syllabus contain language specifically pertaining to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that is mandated by the university. Those sections are demarcated with a pushpin symbol and accompanying COVID-19 text label, like so: 📌 COVID-19

Temple University’s motto is Perseverance Conquers, and we will continue to meet the changing circumstances of the COVID pandemic with flexibility and resilience. Working together as a community to deliver a meaningful learning experience is a responsibility we all share.

Student Support

Your success in this class is important to me. If there are circumstances that may affect your performance in this class – including personal, health-related, family-related, or any other type of difficulty – please let me know as soon as possible so that we can work together to develop strategies for adapting assignments to meet both your needs and the requirements of the course. You don’t need to disclose or discuss anything that you don’t feel comfortable with. Additionally, I care about your well-being. Students experience any number of challenging circumstances that make it hard to make learning a first priority. Temple University has financial, medical, and technological resources that may help and which you are entitled and encouraged to use when or if you need them. Please reach out to me, or the kind folks on the CARE Team, if you need support or guidance connecting to these resources or others. See the Resources for Well-Being page for more information.

Accommodations + Disability Disclosure Statement

📌 COVID-19 | Please bear in mind that COVID-19 may result in a need for new or additional accommodations.
Any student who may have a need for accommodation based on the impact of a documented disability has the right to guidance and resources made available free-of-cost by Temple University Disability Resources and Services. For example, DRS can arrange for use of assistive technology, provide alternate format materials, and help determine appropriate and reasonable classroom accommodations. If applicable, please get in touch with DRS to initiate the formal accommodation process. DRS is located in 100 Ritter Annex and can be reached at 215-204-1280 or 215-204-1786 (TTY) or online at https://disabilityresources.temple.edu/contact and drs@temple.edu. Students requesting accommodations should meet with the instructor as soon as possible after the start of classes to discuss their needs and to provide documentation from DRS. Accommodations are not retroactive.

How This Course Will Be Taught

We will meet in person (for the foreseeable future) on Mondays from 5:00 – 7:20PM in Gladfelter Hall, room 659. Our class meetings, with few exceptions, will be interactive “lab” sessions building on the week’s themes, readings, and other at-home assignments.
In the event that we need to transition to a fully-online or hybrid format during the semester, we will convene at the regular class time using Zoom. Links to these meetings will be accessible from the course’s Canvas instance.

Continuity of Instruction in Event of Emergency

Students are to register for the TUAlert System to be made aware of University closures due to weather or other emergency situations and follow all additional university-wide emergency instruction. Students can register for this system on the Campus Safety Services website. In the event of an emergency, class materials/instructions will be provided in a web-based format via Canvas or Zoom. Students registered for the class will be alerted to any alternate testing procedures and submission of assignment requirements from the instructor via email.

Privacy Considerations in the Event of Fully-Online Instruction

📌 COVID-19 | A major theme embedded in this class is the duty to be wary of the tech-positivism ubiquitous in our society. New tools don’t always make our lives better. In many circumstances, our livelihoods are dependent upon hardware and software that collect data about us for commercial gain. It is very difficult to “opt out” of this data collection because it is built into infrastructures and systems we are required to use in all aspects of our lives, including those used for this course. You should be aware that Canvas will track your activity, specifically how and when you use the site. Zoom is not a secured system, although I have put safeguards into place to prevent intrusion. Any number of other web applications and sites that you use may also track your data, sometimes in ways that you are unaware of.

I greatly respect your right to privacy (and my own), and for that reason I pledge the following:

I will not snoop on your Canvas activity. If you are having a technical issue and ask me to, I will look into your viewing permissions and/or history, but under no other circumstances.
I will not record any synchronous class sessions in Zoom, and I will not require you to use video for these meetings. If you have concerns anyway, I will arrange asynchronous instruction options for you, no questions asked.
The internet can be a dangerous space, particularly for marginalized peoples. It is possible that you don’t feel safe or comfortable sharing personal information within our communal or public-facing systems. Examples may include but are not limited to: your real name, physical likeness, pronouns, biographical and/or identifying information. That concern is entirely valid, and I won’t expect you to make an exception for this class.

Attendance + Tardiness

📌 COVID-19 | To achieve course learning goals, students must attend and participate in classes, according to your instructors’ requirements. However, if you feel unwell or if you are under quarantine or in isolation because you have been exposed to the virus or tested positive for it, you should not come to campus or attend in-person classes or activities. It is the student’s responsibility to contact their instructors to create a plan for participation and engagement in the course as soon as they are able to do so, and to make a plan to complete all assignments in a timely fashion, when illness delays their completion.

Instructors are required to record attendance for each in-person or synchronous remote meeting using an online attendance system designated by the university. This will help facilitate contact tracing if a student or instructor tests positive for COVID-19. Recording of attendance will also provide an opportunity for outreach from student services and academic support units to support students should they become ill.

Due Dates + Late Policy for Assignments

Due dates for all assignments are listed in the syllabus and on the course Canvas website.

Incompletes

A student will be eligible for a grade of “Incomplete” only if they: 1) has/have completed at least 51% of the work at a passing level, 2) are unable to complete the work for a serious reason beyond his or her control, and 3) file a signed agreement with the instructor outlining the work to be completed and the time-frame in which that work will be completed. The student is responsible for initiating this process and all incomplete forms must be sent to the Senior Vice Dean for Academic Affairs prior to the start of study days in that semester. Please refer to the following for further details: Temple University’s Incomplete Policy (Policy #02.10.13).

Withdrawal from the Course

If a student wishes to withdraw from a course, it is the student’s responsibility to meet the deadline for the last day to withdraw from the current semester. See Temple University’s Academic Calendar for withdrawing deadlines and consult the University policy on withdrawals (Policy # 02.10.14).

Class Conduct Expectations

📌 COVID-19 | The best way to maintain a safe and focused learning environment is for everyone to get vaccinated. Masks must be worn by vaccinated and unvaccinated people in all indoor or in enclosed spaces (including classrooms, the Library, the TECH Center, the Student Center, shuttles/buses, administrative spaces, common areas in residence halls, etc.). For your general health and well-being, hand washing and monitoring your health is still highly recommended.

It is also important to foster a respectful and productive learning environment that includes all students in our diverse community of learners. Our differences, some of which are outlined in the University’s nondiscrimination statement, will add richness to this learning experience. Therefore, all opinions and experiences, no matter how different or controversial they may be perceived, must be respected in the tolerant spirit of academic discourse. [My note: Please don’t create or contribute to a hostile educational environment. Pursuant to the Student Conduct Code and the Temple Policy on Preventing and Addressing Discrimination and Harassment, behavior and communications that intimidate, threaten, harass, or unlawfully discriminate will not be tolerated in my classroom or the surrounding online learning environment. -CH]

Netiquette

📌 COVID-19 | Treat your classmates and instructor with respect in all communication, class activities, and meetings. You are encouraged to comment, question, or critique an idea but you are not to attack an individual. Please consider that sarcasm, humor and slang can be misconstrued in online interactions and generate unintended disruptions. Profanity should be avoided as should the use of all capital letters when composing responses in discussion threads, which can be construed as “shouting” online. Remember to be careful with your own and others’ privacy. In general, have your behavior mirror how you would like to be treated by others.

Statement on Academic Rights & Responsibilities

Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of academic freedom. The University has a policy on Student and Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibilities (Policy #03.70.02).

Academic Honesty/Plagiarism

According to the University Student Code of Conduct, students must not commit, attempt to commit, aid, encourage, facilitate, or solicit the commission of academic dishonesty and impropriety including plagiarism, academic cheating, and selling lecture notes or other information provided by an instructor without the instructor’s authorization. Violations may result in failing the assignment and/or failing the course, and/or other sanctions as enumerated in the University Code of Conduct.

Suspected instances may be referred to the University Disciplinary Committee; I also reserve the right to assign a grade of “F” for the given assignment.

Technical Support

For a listing of technical support services available to Temple University students, see the Tech Support page. You may also wish to consult the Tech Help page for quick troubleshooting solutions.

Technology Usage Policy

Since technology is a focus in this class, we’ll be using computers each week for the lab portion of that class. If it’s an option for you, you may bring your own computer to class, or I can arrange for the use of university-issued laptops. Please note that consistent access to a computer and an internet connection is necessary for the completion of assignments for this course. More information about responsibilities related to use of Temple University’s technological networks and equipment can be found in the Technology Usage policy (Policy #04.71.11).

📌 COVID-19 | Limited resources are available for students who do not have the technology they need for class. Students with educational technology needs, including no computer or camera or insufficient Wifi-access, should submit a Student Technology Assistance Application located in TUPortal and linked from the Dean of Students Support and Resources webpage. The university will endeavor to meet needs, such as with a long-term loan of a laptop or Mifi device, a refurbished computer, or subsidized internet access. Internet Essentials from Comcast provides the option to purchase a computer for $150 and high-speed Internet service for $9.95 a month, plus tax. The Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) is available to purchase Xfinity, Verizon, T-Mobile, and other internet services. Qualified households can receive a temporary monthly credit of up to $50/month toward their Internet service and leased Internet equipment until the program’s funding runs out. On-campus computer labs have resumed normal operations and are available for student use. Note that there are technology resources available for students, including some software that is available for free download and other specialty software that may be available for remote access through ITS.