As society seems to be becoming more and more digital, colleges are creating more spaces for students to explore growing disciplines like Digital Humanities (DH) which applies computer software and equipment to the traditional humanities.
“Digital Humanities (DH) encourages students to engage in many of the same types of projects the traditional humanities have been doing for generations, but using new tools to engage in those projects,” said Dr. David Kenley, Director of the Center for Global Understanding and Peacemaking, Department Chair and professor of history, in an email interview.
The Wenger Center Digital Humanities Hub (DH Hub) is one such new space at Elizabethtown College. In the DH Hub, humanities students and non-humanities students in humanities classes can access software like the Adobe Creative Suite and a geographic information system (GIS).
Director of Student Transition Programs and Prestigious Scholarships Jean-Paul Benowitz and professor of anthropology Dr. Robert Wheelersburg have used the GIS in their humanities classes. The only other spaces on campus with this software are the ecology and environmental science labs.
“It’s kind of cool to see a software that was designed for one purpose being now used by the humanities for a different kind of research,” Wenger Center program coordinator M. Carol Costa Ouimet said.
In the DH Hub, students can also utilize equipment such as DSLR cameras, a 3D printer, video cameras, portable photo booth, virtual reality (VR) Google glasses, microphones and computers (PC and Mac).
“The goal of the Digital Humanities Hub is to provide students majoring in the academic disciplines of the humanities with a wide variety of technologies to support their research and scholarship,” Benowitz said in an email.
Since its creation, many students in classes like Benowitz’s have utilized the DH Hub as a space to collaborate on group projects and to create multimedia projects. Ouimet said faculty, staff and students have used the DH Hub for other things like a retirement reception, SCARP projects, creating flyers for clubs and a place to hang out between classes.
“It’s kind of like a kitchen table in your house, so the kitchen table sometimes it’s for meals, sometimes it’s for putting school projects together, sometimes it’s for having family serious conversations, so it’s not one thing. It can be all kinds of things,” Ouimet said.
This semester, Kenley is teaching HI170/EN170 Introduction to Digital Humanities, and sometimes his class meets in the DH Hub.
“We frequently use the hub,” Kenley said in an email. “Just as importantly, [students] frequently meet in the hub to discuss their projects and brainstorm with each other.”
In this class, Kenley’s students created podcasts, online digital resources and documentaries. Sophomore history and French double major Caitlin Rossiter is one of Kenley’s students in the class.
Rossiter said she used the DH Hub to create a podcast about modern reimaginations of Shakespeare’s works like The Lion King, a website with a humanities student advice blog and a documentary about her family’s history and modern day American Irish Catholics.
“When we were making our podcasts, there were mics available for us to use… Same with video cameras for the documentary and DSLR cameras if you wanted pictures for your website,” Rossiter said.
Rossiter also said she has used the DH Hub outside of Kenley’s class.
“I’ve also used it for the scanner. It’s a quality scanner,” Rossiter said. “So, I use the Hub a good bit. It’s helpful.”
Rossiter said she knows other students who use the DH Hub on a regular basis, too, and said they often go there to access the software on the computers.
“I know people who don’t have access to certain software like GarageBand and iMovie use the Mac in the Hub because those are really user-friendly, and they make a clean product,” Rossiter said.
In addition to providing resources and a space for students to use when working on projects for classes, the DH Hub allows students to gain new skills which will help them after their time at Etown.
“Students have gained research skills in statistical analysis, data mining, and geospatial analysis,” Kenley said in an email.
“They have also honed their skills in presenting information with the creation of podcasts, web-based resources and documentary films. All of these skills will benefit students in their post-graduate activities.”
Rossiter agreed and said she felt that DH is an important part of the Humanities and not a trend as she has heard other people describe it.
“I think it’s important we take a step in teaching people how to use [DH] because even for people who are taking the class who aren’t in the humanities, it’s teaching them helpful skills about using websites and producing products that are going to be very helpful and employable in the future,” Rossiter said.
For the future of DH at the College, Kenley said professors will be encouraged to include DH methods in their classes. Kenley and Ouimet both said they hope to continue organically growing and improving the DH Hub, so that it will remain a space for students to collaborate and utilize software and equipment to advance the humanities.
Students interested in checking out equipment can sign them out from Ouimet in Wenger 100 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week or email her at ouimetc@etown.edu to reserve the equipment. Students can check equipment out for a maximum of 24 hours but can renew that if necessary.
