Now in its twelveth year, the LibLab Fellows program is an experiment in library-based learning guided by a critical consideration of just what we mean by “the digital.” Fellows engage theory and practice of digital scholarship through open lab hours and weekly discussion meetings during the fall semester and spring semester
Week 1 - September 9: Introductions, Framing & The Infrastructure of the Internet
An introduction to the terrain + the internet and its modalities. This week, we introduce the fellowship and begin by looking at what do we mean when we say internet? What makes it different from other forms of information technology and where can we find it? The internet, the idea and its physical infrastructure, permeates every hour of our days. Understanding its history and the metaphors we use to give shape to it, become a daily endevor, so as to continue to have a critical eye towards it.
Reflection: As we move from the physical to the digital. What new information is gained? What is lost? Is this even a helpful dynamic?
Readings:
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Abbate, Janet. “Government, Business, and the Making of the Internet
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When was this article written? What does the Memex anticipate? What are other concepts still applicable today?
Optional:
Week 2 - September 16: Do Artifacts Have Politics?
What can things do? Considering the perspective of Science and Technology Studies. Are the technologies that we will study neutral? In other words, is the saying: “it depends how you use the tool that matters” universally true or is technology inherently biased?
Readings:
- Winner, Langdon. “Do Artifacts Have Politics?” from The Whale and the Reactor (1986).
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Biss, Eula. “Time and Distance Overcome” from Notes from No Man’s Land (2009).
- Bring a meaninful artifact for this week
Week 3 - September 23th: Github + History
What is github and what is its history? What can you do with it?
Week 4 - September 30th: Metadata / Data
Can data be neutral? What are the ethical considerations of collecting and analyzing data?
Why don’t archivists digitize everything?
<— Guest speaker: Emily Higgs Kopin, Head of Digital Collections Strategy –>
Week 5 - October 7th: Maps
What are the politics of maps? How does the platform used to create and provide access to geographic information shape our understanding of space? Can you map nothing?
FALL BREAK October 14
Week 6 October 21st: Static Sites in GLAM - Collection Builder
Minimal Computing, static sites and Collection Builder
Week 7 October 28: AI and the Textpocalypse
Kirschenbaum, Matthew. Prepare for the Textpocalypse
Week 8 - November 4th: Accessiblity
Can we democratize knowledge? How can we make information more accessible for everyone?
Week 9 - November 11: Letterpress
Week 10 - November 18: Immersive Technologies
What role do emerging technologies play in higher education?
Nakamura, Lisa. Virtous Virtual Realities
NOVEMBER 25th Thanksgiving no class
Week 11 - December 2: Surveillance and embodiment
Do we live in a survaillance culture? What are the privacy tradeoffs you make to use the tools you like? More importantly, do you know the liniage of survilance?
Browne, Simone. Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness. Introduction and Ch. 1