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Syllabus Requirements: Almost all of the other readings for this course are available online. Those not pubicly accessible through the web may be accessed through the Electronic Reserve system. To access the Electronic Reserve system, go to http://eres.ulib.albany.edu, search for HIS 390/530 and then type "digitalhis" at the password prompt. In addition, you will be expected to purchase 1 flash drive (or "jump drive" or "memory stick") for saving your project. A 256 MB drive is sufficient. You must also purchase at least 3 CD-RW disks for saving your project and for distributing your final project to your peer reviewers. Assignments In addition, the following assignments related to the final project will be due throughout the semester: Topic Paragraph (September 10) - A one-paragraph statement of your proposed research topic and a short description of what your proposed website might accomplish. Bibliography (September 24) - A list of primary sources you have found related to your topic, as well as a survey of relevant secondary sources-both printed and online. Project Overview (October 22) - A 5-page overview of your website, including: description of the research, rationale for the chosen site design and its relationship to the research, discussion of the intended audience, historiographical justification of the research, and an expanded bibliography. More details about this overview will follow. "About the Producer" Web Page (October 29) - This is your chance to practice the web design skills you have learned by building one of the pages of your final web project. This page is about you - and must include at least one image, 2-3 links, and 2-3 paragraphs of text. Final Project Presentation (November 26 and December 3) - A 5-minute demonstration of your site to the entire class. This demonstration will be followed by a discussion led by your assigned peer reviewers (see below). For His 530 students only: You must also turn in a 3-5 page interpretation of your website that explains and rationalizes the choices you made. 2 Web Reviews (For His 530 students only) (October 8 & 15) - For each of these two assignments you will select one site to review from a preselected list of historical websites. This review should be based on the evaluation criteria we have discussed in class (especially on October 6). Peer Reviews (November 26 and December 3) - You will be assigned 2 students' sites to review. Your comments, which will be presented orally in class on December 1 or 8, are meant to help your fellow students revise their sites before they "go live." Digital Workshop Space Digital Workshop #3 - You will have the entire class time on
October 29, November 5 and 12 to work in our regular classroom. If you would like to work at home, you can download free versions of some of the recommended software at: Note Tab Light 4.95 - www.notetab.com Lateness Policy Lacking access to proper equipment will not be accepted as a reason for not completing assignments on time. The workshop space provided by the University (and listed above) is more than adequate for this project. Important: you will likely encounter some kind of problem with a computer at some point in your project - a crash, a virus, or something else that's inexplicable. Such problems are almost inevitable, regardless of how good this technology has become. You therefore need to keep backup copies of your work at all times and should plan ahead for these kinds of problems. Leave time to work out glitches and do not work at the last minute! Attendance Policy Grade Distribution: Academic Integrity
Monday, August 27 - Introduction: What is digital history? Monday, September 3 - Classes Suspended Monday, September 10 -- History of Computing and the World Wide Web Tim Berners-Lee, Weaving the Web: The Original Design and Ultimate Destiny of the World Wide Web by its Inventor (1999), pp. 1-51. Vannevar Bush, "As We May Think," Atlantic Monthly (July
1945), available at: Roy Rosenzweig, "Wizards, Bureaucrats, Warriors, and Hackers: Writing
the History of John Naughton, A Brief History of the Future: From Radio Days to Internet Years in a Lifetime (2000), pp. 209-277, 303-313. Howard Rheingold, Tools for Thought: The People and Ideas behind the Next Computer Revolution (1985), pp. 13-24, 174-231. 4:30pm: Orientation to primary source research by Brian Keough, Head of the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University at Albany **Topic Paragraph Due** Monday, September 17 - The Promise of Digital History: Connections
and Preservation Robert Darnton, "The New Age of the Book," (March 1999), available
at: Roy Rosenzweig, "Scarcity or Abundance?: Preserving the Past in
the Digital Era," Daniel J. Cohen, "History and the Second Decade of the Web," Rethinking History 8 (June 2004): 293-301, available at: Carl Smith, "Can You Do Serious History on the Web?" AHA
Perspectives (February 1998), available at: http://www.chnm.gmu.edu/assets/historyessays/serioushistory.html William G. Thomas, "Democratizing History" (1999), available at http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/presidential.html Also examine "The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War": http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu **Individual Meetings with Dr. Taylor this week** Monday, September 24 - The Promise of Digital History: Hypertext and New Narratives Janet H. Murray, Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace (1997), pp. 1-10, 27-94, 185-213, 273-284. George P. Landow, Hypertext: The Convergence of Contemporary Critical Theory and Technology (1992), pp. 1-34. Edward L. Ayers, "The Pasts and Futures of Digital History"
(1999), available at: Philip J. Ethington, "Los Angeles and the Problem of Urban Historical Knowledge," A Multimedia Essay Accompanying the December 2000 issue of the American Historical Review, available at: http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/history/historylab/LAPUHK/index.html William G. Thomas III and Edward L. Ayers, "The Difference Slavery Made: A Close Analysis of Two American Communities," digital article published by the American Historical Review, available at: http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/AHR/ **Bibliography Due** Monday, October 1- The Challenge of Digital History: Quality Control Evaluating Design Selections from Patrick J. Lynch and Sarah Horton, Web Style Guide,
available at: Paula Petrik, "Top Ten Mistakes in Academic Web Design," (2000), available at: http://www.archiva.net/essays.html Evaluating Content "Evaluating Web Pages: Experience WHY It's Important," University of California, Berkeley, http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html Esther Grassian, "Thinking Critically About Discipline-Based World Wide Web Resources" and "Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources," UCLA, at http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/critical/index.htm Roy Rosenzweig, "Can History be Open Source?: Wikipedia and the Future of the Past," Journal of American History 93 (June 2006), available at: http://chnm.gmu.edu/resources/essays/d/42 Cohen and Rosenzweig, "Web of Lies?: Historical Knowledge on the Internet" (December 2003), available at: Monday, October 8 -- Anatomy of the web: How does it work? In-Class Workshop #1: HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) Cohen and Rosenzweig, Digital History, pp. 51-95 HIS530: **Web Review #1 Due** Monday, October 15 - Aesthetics of the Web: Design & Navigation In-Class Workshop #2: Images (Scanning and Adobe Photoshop) Cohen and Rosenzweig, Digital History, pp. 95-103 HIS530: **Web Review #2 Due ** Monday, October 22- Project Planning Cohen and Rosenzweig, Digital History, pp. 108-159 **Project overview due** Monday, October 29- In-Class Workshop: Individual Projects Monday, November 5- In-Class Workshop: Individual Projects Monday, November 12- In-Class Workshop: Individual Projects Monday, November 26- Project Presentations & Peer Review (Group
A) Monday, December 3 - Project Presentations & Peer Review (Group
B) Monday, December 10 - Final Projects Due - Students will sign up for times to meet with Dr. Taylor and upload their projects to the server. |
