St. Louis Area Digital Humanities Network

Co-Directors: Geremy Carnes (Lindenwood University) and Margaret K. Smith (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville)

The St. Louis Area Digital Humanities Network supports DH pedagogy across the St. Louis metro area in Missouri and Illinois, focusing especially on the often neglected arenas of secondary and undergraduate education. In particular, we seek to create collaborations and partnerships across institutions to provide more equitable access to DH pedagogies for students from underserved groups and at under-resourced institutions. We hope not only to cultivate 21st-century digital literacies among students, but also make the field of digital humanities more diverse, inclusive, and equitable.

The network began with our Slack, founded by Geremy Carnes in 2020. The Slack was (and continue to be!) a central spot for local DH practitioners to share ongoing projects, opportunities for collaboration, events, and other news. However, the goals of the network extend beyond supporting current practitioners. In 2021, Lindenwood University, in partnership with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, received a Digital Humanities Advancement Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for “Expanding Access to the Digital Humanities in St. Louis.” This grant project, which ran from January 2022 to June 2023, established an infrastructure for digital humanities pedagogies in high school and undergraduate classrooms across the St. Louis region. The network is now working to grow participation, awareness, and opportunities in the region. Watch out for new opportunities to get involved!