| This is a course about tomorrow’s yesterdays. Over the next fourteen weeks we will examine the changes that digital media have wrought in the research, writing, presentation, reading and teaching of history. As befits a class with a heavy emphasis on technology, this semester will be a mixture of analytical and hands on work. We will discuss readings, websites, teaching modules, and other manifestations of what some like to call the “digital revolution” in the history business. Rarely do we get a chance to step back and reflect on such seemingly momentous changes in a discipline as they are happening, so this course is often very entertaining even as it is challenging. We don’t have a canon of literature and methodology to fall back on, so much of what we will do will be brand new.
Because this is a graduate seminar, I place a high premium on your full participation in all aspects of the course. That means I expect you to keep up with the readings, contribute to our discussions in class and online and to complete all of your assignments on time. This class is part of a two semester sequence and because the second course is much more technical, this is your chance to become familiar with the technology, to overcome any anxieties you might have, and to play with ideas in a slightly less structured environment. To do that, though, you have to come to class and take part in all that we do.
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