History 970: Digital History Seminar
Fall 2008
Syllabus

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Douglas Seefeldt
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Department of History
606 Oldfather Hall
402-472-3251 office
dseefeldt2@unl.edu

"...history may be better suited to digital technology than any other humanistic discipline. Changes in our field far removed from anything to do with computers have helped create a situation in history where the advantages of computers can seem appealing, and perhaps even necessary. At the same time, changes in information technology, far removed from any consideration of its possible uses for our discipline, have made it possible for us to think of new ways to approach the past. The new technologies seem tailor-made for history, a match for the growing bulk and complexity of our ever more self-conscious practice, efficient vehicles to connect with larger and more diverse audiences."

Edward L. Ayers
"The Pasts and Futures of Digital History" (1999)

Course Objectives

This research seminar course will examine leading digital history works of scholarship, explore theories of narrative in hypertext, and develop models of digital scholarship. Students will be expected to conduct research around selected topics in history, focus their work on the creation of a digital project, and participate in class discussion on methods and theories of digital media. The emphasis in this course, however, will be to develop in students an acute awareness of the consequences of writing for the digital medium. Students will explore the possibilities for scholarly communication in the digital medium and their theoretical implications at every stage of their work. Students will concentrate their work on the forms of narrative available in the digital medium. The final research project will feature the completion of a digital work of scholarship equivalent in scope to a standard research seminar paper.

Required Texts

(Please note that occasional readings will be posted to the course Blackboard site and are listed in the "Course Schedule" section of the course Moodle site):

Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, The Craft of Research. 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008).
Jeff Gomez, Print is Dead: Books in Our Digital Age. (New York: Macmillan, 2008).
Wright, Alex, Glut: Mastering Information through the Ages. (Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press, 2007; paper ed., Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2008).

Optional Texts

Daniel J. Cohen & Roy Rosenzweig. Digital History: A Guide to Gathering, Preserving, and Presenting the Past on the Web. (U. Pennsylvania Press, 2006). This book is available online should you prefer to read it that way: http://chnm.gmu.edu/digitalhistory/
Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 7th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007).

Course Requirements

This course has four major requirements: detailed assignment instructions will be provided via the course Moodle site http://segonku.unl.edu/

40% Active participation (200 points)
You are expected to attend and actively participate in all facets of the weekly seminar including face-to-face meetings and out of class work. Participation will be evaluated on the completion of occasional in-class writing assignments and one-page hand-ins as well as thoughtful contributions to seminar discussions.

20% Digital History Project Reviews (100 points)
Each student will be responsible for writing a detailed review of two digital history projects from a list provided by the instructor. These reviews will assess the technical specifications, systems and practices, as well as the forms of presentation, navigation and design. Narrative choices, argument and analysis in these projects will also be evaluated informed by the seminar theory readings.

40% Final project (200 points)
Students will work outside of class to research and build a digital history project on a topic of their choice approved by the instructor. Projects may take many forms, including but not limited to: web site hypertext, xml/xsl markup of texts, geographic information systems data sets, database development, web programming, animation and simulation, and visualization technologies.

Late assignments will be marked down one half-letter grade per day that they are overdue. No assignments will be accepted more than one week late without permission from the instructor.

Final Grade Scale

A+ 486-500
A 470-485
A- 450-469
B+ 435-449
B 420-434
B- 400-419
C+ 385-399
C 370-389
C- 350-369
D+ 335-349
D 320-334
D- 300-319
F 000-299

Classroom Etiquette

In order for everyone to have the opportunity to learn we must strive to create an open, positive, non-threatening classroom atmosphere. Curiosity, honesty, and above all, respect, are characteristics inherent in healthy discourse. A great deal of this class revolves around discussions of material that quite often lends itself to subjective aesthetics, contested meanings, and personal opinions. We are going to address some divisive topics and it will be perfectly appropriate for us to end our discussions in disagreement. I believe that one of the greatest strengths of the class will be the variety of experiences and perspectives each one of us brings to the subject. No personal attacks or disrespect will be tolerated and proper sanctions will be imposed. Please familiarize yourself with the "Student Honor Code," published in the "General Information" chapter, and the "Student Code of Conduct," published in the "Student Rights and Responsibilities" chapter of the Graduate Studies Bulletin.

Academic Honesty

Examples of academic dishonesty include the following types of actions and behavior: Cheating, fabrication or falsification, plagiarism, abuse of academic materials, complicity in academic dishonesty, falsifying grade reports, and misrepresentation to avoid academic work. Academic dishonesty is prohibited and has serious consequences including course failure or disciplinary proceedings. See section 4.2, "Academic Dishonesty," part of the "Student Code of Conduct" published in the "Student Rights and Responsibilities" chapter of the Graduate Studies Bulletin for specific details.

Administrative Deadlines

The office of Registration and Records has several important deadlines:
2 September: Last day to register, add a class, or drop a class and receive a refund
5 September: Final date for dropping without being subject to a "W" grade
17 October: Final date for changing to or from Pass/No Pass
14 November: Last day to withdraw from courses (grade of "W")

Course Schedule & Assignments

The semester's schedule will be posted to the course Moodle site. Please complete the readings and assignments prior to each seminar meeting, as we will discuss the material as a group. I reserve the right to change the schedule as necessary and will give you notice when I do via group email.

Department of History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

History 970: Digital History Seminar Fall 2008 Syllabus