What does the artist, historian, or literary scholar have to say about the computational platforms and formats that shape our lives? “Introduction to Digital Humanities” will address this question by treating digital technologies as both expressive media and as objects worthy of humanistic study. The course will provide students with a space to use digital tools to create things (such as art, electronic literature, and games) and also to develop critical vocabularies for analyzing digital objects. We will examine a number of digital formats and platforms, from the MP3 to the Atari 2600 videogame system. No technological expertise is required, and students will be encouraged to experiment and tinker with a variety of platforms. The class will take place in the Digital Studies Center CoLab, a collaborative learning space in the Fine Arts building.
Required Texts:
Racing the Beam: The Atari Video Computer System, Nick Montfort and Ian Bogost
MP3: The Meaning of a Format, Jonathan Sterne
Flash: Building the Interactive Web, Anastasia Salter and John Murray
The class will also examine a number of videogames, works of electronic literature, and a range of other digital objects.
Visit the course web page for more details.