While many debate the definition of the digital humanities, whither its political concerns lie (see Liu), and indeed \u201cwho\u2019s in and who\u2019s out\u201d (Ramsay), what has largely escaped examination is how the digital has the potential to alter pedagogy.[1] As transformative as Franco Morretti\u2019s distant reading and Paula Findlen, Dan Edelstein, and Nicole Coleman\u2019s \u201cMapping the Republic of Letters\u201d are for research in their fields, adapting their methods to the classroom allows literary visualization to reach and engage a much larger number of people.<\/p>\n
In this electronic round table, I will demonstrate the interactive geospatial timelines that my students and I have collaboratively built using simple tools: HTML, Google Docs, and Google Maps. (For example, see timelines my students built in 2009<\/a> and 2010<\/a>.) After choosing years to research, students in my survey of American literature classes identified events that had a broad effect on American life. For each event, students wrote brief descriptions, found representative images or video, and plotted locations\u2019 latitude and longitude. As they added this material to our simple database in Google Docs, the students could see the timeline and its accompanying map updating dynamically. In addition to demonstrating the project, I will discuss the assignment and the students\u2019 successes and failures. Finally, I will address (and hope to prompt a discussion of) the time required not only of the students but also the instructor in designing and integrating digital tools into coursework.<\/p>\n Giving our students digital assignments helps them understand form, rhetoric, and plot in new ways. But such pedagogy also provides the opportunity for them to learn new, transferable skills that\u2014like reading, writing, and critical thinking\u2014strengthen students\u2019 ability to continue multifaceted examinations of literature and language, no matter what professional path they ultimately choose.<\/p>\n Works Cited<\/strong><\/p>\n Forster, Chris. \u201cI’m Chris. Where am I wrong?<\/a>\u201d HASTAC: Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Advanced Collaboratory<\/em> 8 Sept. 2010. Web. 1 Mar. 2011.<\/p>\n Liu, Alan. \u201cWhere is Cultural Criticism in the Digital Humanities.<\/a>\u201d Alan Liu<\/em> 2011. Web. 1 Mar. 2011.<\/p>\n \u201cMapping the Republic of Letters.<\/a>\u201d Web. 1 Mar. 2011.<\/p>\n