This could be either a “talking” or “making” session depending on what we want out of it, but I thought THATCamp might be a good place to have an extended conversation about processes of promotion, tenure, and peer review in the digital age. As a current PhD student who thinks of traditional modes of scholarly production (books, articles, etc.) as somewhat limiting conceptually and, in certain respects, intellectually and is eager to cultivate a cv/resume that features a range of digital projects and collaborative experiences that, in all likelihood, deviate from what my department—history—thinks of as “creditable” scholarship, I feel like now is the perfect time to strategize ways to push our respective departments in more open-minded directions when it comes to evaluating and appreciating the methods and results of the digital work we are producing.

This issue is perhaps best described by Alex Galarza, Jason Heppler and Douglas Seefeldt in their call to redefine historical scholarship at the 2012 AHA:

“Digital tools are transforming the practice of history, yet junior scholars and graduate students are facing obstacles and risks to their professional advancement in using methods unrecognized as rigorous scholarly work. Their peers and evaluators are often unable or unwilling to address the scholarship on its merits…The disconnect between traditional evaluation and training and new digital methods means young scholars take on greater risks when dividing their limited time and attention on new methods that ultimately may not ever face scholarly evaluation on par with traditional scholarly production.”

Not to be assigning homework for a fun, informal event like THATCamp, but The Journal of the Digital Humanities recently did a good job of explaining what is at stake regarding the assessment and review of digital scholarship, while also providing some solutions and potential guidelines for academic departments and scholars to follow.

Therefore, I propose we talk about promotion, tenure, and peer review as it relates to the various digital projects we and others are pouring our time and mental energies into. If we are feeling up for the challenge, we could even draft a white paper to present to our respective departments that illustrates the merits of digital scholarship and how it might be properly assessed in line with existing disciplinary standards. Sure nothing may come of it, but at least we’ll have made our voices heard.

Greetings THATCampers,

We are very excited to announce the two locations for THATCamp Milwaukee 2014. That’s right, we are hosting our THATCamp at two distinct Milwaukee locations!

On Friday, May 23rd, we will feature a “Bootcamp” workshop series in the UW-Milwaukee Library’s Digital Humanities Lab. The DH lab is located on the UWM library’s second floor in the East Wing. The UWM library’s address is 2311 E Hartford Ave.

The Friday Bootcamp begins at 8:00am with breakfast, coffee, and introductions and lasts until 4:00pm. You will have an opportunity to attend at least three workshops. Unfortunately, lunch will not be provided on this day. However, there are plenty of dining options within walking distance. Please stay tuned for more information regarding scheduling and the workshops themselves. We do anticipate an exciting slate of workshops dealing with everything from mobile app development to the essentials of web design and search.

Then on Saturday, May 24th, we will all come back together for the THATCamp itself. The Saturday THATCamp—where we break out for and discuss our self-proposed sessions—will take place on the first floor of UWM’s Zilber School of Public Health. Zilber is located in the re-purposed Pabst Brewery complex near downtown. The school’s address is 1240 N 10th Street. Information regarding public transportation options and parking forthcoming. On Saturday, we will be providing you with some delicious FREE lunch (vegetarian friendly), so lets work up a big appetite talking about all things digital!

Note: If you registered for THATCamp, your camper profile should appear on the campers page after approval. That is the only action you need to take in terms of registering and you can expect that you have been admitted to the event. Also, please remember that our THATCamp is only as good as we make it. Now is the time to start proposing some THATCamp sessions on this very website. You can do so by clicking on the “Propose” menu option and following the step-by-step directions. Proposing THATCamp sessions need not be an agonizing process. They can take the form of a simple, well constructed question or be of more detail. Of course, the more thought-provoking and fully-formed the session proposal, the better the session (I can only assume)!

Please do not hesitate to email me with any questions: tchakir2@uwm.edu

Welcome to THATCamp (The Humanities and Technology Camp) Milwaukee 2014, an (un)conference organized by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Library’s Digital Humanities Lab and the UWM History Department. In this collegial setting, we invite you to have a little fun talking about new media and its wider application in the humanities, other scholarly disciplines, and the world beyond. Regardless of technical expertise or skill level, THATCamp Milwaukee provides an open and accessible space to “get your feet wet,” so to speak, in the digital humanities. Above all, it is a place to learn, experiment, and create.

For instance, you may have a project you are working on or about to start and want to brainstorm new ideas. Or perhaps you’re looking to add some digital elements to an existing project. Maybe you’re thinking about making a personal website and need to discuss what this might look like, or which platform to choose when establishing your online presence. Others may wish to lead more advanced discussions about digital pedagogy, 3D printing, topic modeling, or best practices in web design and development. No matter the subject, THATCamp’s informal, democratic session structure allows for spontaneity and collaboration. By working together, we all gain a better understanding of the digital humanities and its many possibilities in universities, libraries, museums, and other venues.

Still, for THATCamp to succeed, we need our “campers” to propose engaging and interesting sessions. Once you have registered for the unconference, take some time to craft a session proposal on our THATCamp blog. There is no required length to each post and your ideas need not be fully formed. We just want to have a good sense of what you’d like to talk about and the discussion should take off from there.

This particular THATCamp is loosely based around the theme of building community through the digital humanities. Many of the DH Lab’s initial projects focus on public-facing and community-oriented projects that document, visualize, and contextualize the city and state where we’re headquartered – Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Other UWM projects – proposed or underway –  look outward to other virtually imagined communities around the nation and the world.  The DH Lab is an experimental and growing community itself, grounded in the same improvisational spirit that animates THATCamp’s organizers.