The interdisciplinarity of digital humanities is one of the field’s greatest strengths – that’s a truism, but of course it’s also a truth. DH tools help us capitalize on that interdisciplinarity even in our own field-specific, core courses. It’s nothing new to incorporate cultural products like poetry into a history class. Poems, songs, paintings – all of these make for engaging and perceptive primary source discussions and help students think not just about events but about ideologies, values, uses of the past and visions of the future. Digital tools can help us change our gaze slightly and read those primary sources through a slightly different lens. One of my favorite…

As the spring semester comes to a close, it feels a little early to start looking to the next syllabus. First and foremost, this is a moment to breathe. But I’m a perennial class prep procrastinator, so I find it useful to start thinking now (and more importantly, write down my thoughts). I also find this late spring-early summer to be full of possibilities rather than constraints. With fall still far off in the distance, this is the time I feel free to dabble in things and explore new possibilities. So periodically over the course of the summer, I’ll write up some simple DH and DH-adjacent activities and assignments I’ve…