Q. What is/are the Digital Humanities?
A. There are almost as many answers to this question as there are DH practitioners. The Digital Humanities is a rapidly developing field that combines scholarship in the Humanities with digital resources in order to re-imagine Humanities scholarship by investigating old questions in a new way. Through DH, we can create new methods of research and synthesis of information or develop new ways of viewing our findings through technology. Digital Humanities draws on a wide variety of fields and is an inter-disciplinary approach to Humanities work. For more information (and to see some examples of DH work), visit http://digitalhumanitiesnow.org.
Q. What role does DH play at Carleton College?
A. Our role as DH Associates is to work to develop and complete faculty projects, as well as to build our skill sets to anticipate upcoming projects. We support faculty bringing digital tools into the classroom and act as TAs for classes in which DH work plays a large role. For an in-depth look at DH at Carleton, visit the Carleton Digital Humanities page.
Q. How does the Carleton DH program interact with other institutions?
The Carleton DH program began as part of a collaborative grant from the Mellon foundation, working closely with similar programs at Macalester and St. Olaf. We continue to work with other institutions in the upper-Midwest through Day of DH, an event highlighting collaborative DH projects at Carleton, and other institutions in the region. We also seek collaborations through wider regional affiliations with the Oberlin group and AALAC.
Q. I have an idea for a project. What should I do now?
A. If you have an idea for a DH project (even if you are unsure what makes a “DH” project), feel free to get in touch with the Digital Humanities Associates! Check out our Contact Us page here; or, Carleton faculty members can fill out a support request form on our Carleton website.
