Instructor Insights

Instructor Insights pages are part of the OCW Educator initiative, which seeks to enhance the value of OCW for educators.

Course Overview

This page focuses on the course CMS.633 Digital Humanities as it was taught by Dr. Kurt Fendt in Spring 2015.

This course examines the theory and practice of using computational methods in the emerging field of digital humanities. It develops an understanding of key digital humanities concepts through the study of contemporary research, in conjunction with working on real-world projects for scholarly, educational, and public needs.

Throughout the course, students engage in discussions about readings, do hands-on projects, explore digital humanities tools and techniques, and learn from guest speakers who work in museums, libraries, and research settings. Additionally, students annotate readings using the tool Annotation Studio.

Course Outcomes

Course Goals for Students

  • Learn how computational methods are used in the field of digital humanities
  • Understand key digital humanities concepts, such as data representation, digital archives, information visualization, and user interaction
  • Examine contemporary research in the field
  • Create prototypes, write design papers, and conduct user studies to engage in real-world digital humanities projects

Curriculum Information

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for the course. Some programming and design experience is helpful but not required.

Requirements Satisfied

HASS-H 

Offered

Every spring semester

 

Instructor Insights

Man standing in a courtyard
Dr. Kurt Fendt, Principal Research Associate in Comparative Media Studies/Writing and Executive Director of HyperStudio – Digital Humanities at MIT (Image by Jonathan Sachs Photography. © MIT).

In the pages below, Dr. Kurt Fendt and teaching assistant, Andrew Kelleher Stuhl, describe various aspects of how they taught CMS.633 Digital Humanities.

 

Assessment

The students' grades were based on the following activities:

The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by the final project. 40% Final project, including a design paper and a prototype
The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by short projects. 20% Short projects
The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by presentations and project updates. 15% Presentations and project updates
The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by class participation. 15% Class participation

Student Information

14 students took this class in Spring 2015.

Breakdown by Year

Mostly Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors

Breakdown by Major

Variety of majors

Typical Student Background

This course attracted a wide range of students. Many of the students were interested in the course because it offered them an opportunity to work on design-based projects. Some students, who came from comparative media studies or other humanities majors, were excited to do some hands-on technical work. Other students, who routinely engage in technical work in fields like computer science, were interested in filtering that technological proficiency through a critical lens. Students in this latter group also saw this course as an opportunity to learn about an assemblage of tools and then to use that knowledge to create something original in their fields that could advance their research interests.

 

How Student Time Was Spent

During an average week, students were expected to spend 12 hours on the course, roughly divided as follows:

In Class

3 hours per week

 

  • Met 1 time per week for 3 hours per session; 14 sessions total.
  • Class sessions included reading discussions, demonstrations of tools and techniques, and hands-on project work time.
  • Some class sessions featured guest speakers.

 

 

Out of Class

9 hours per week

 

  • Sudents completed project work and used Annotation Studio to annotate readings. 

 

Semester Breakdown

WEEK M T W Th F
1 No classes throughout MIT. No session scheduled. A class meeting was scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
2 No session scheduled. No session scheduled. A class meeting and guest speaker were scheduled and an assignment was due. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
3 No classes throughout MIT. No session scheduled. A class meeting and guest speaker were scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
4 No session scheduled. No session scheduled. A class meeting was scheduled and an assignment due. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
5 No session scheduled. No session scheduled. A class meeting was scheduled and an assignment due. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
6 No session scheduled. No session scheduled. A class meeting was scheduled and an assignment due. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
7 No session scheduled. No session scheduled. A class meeting and guest speaker were scheduled and an assignment was due. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
8 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT.
9 No session scheduled. No session scheduled. A class meeting and guest speaker were scheduled and an assignment was due. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
10 No session scheduled. No session scheduled. A class meeting and guest speaker were scheduled and an assignment was due. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
11 No session scheduled. No session scheduled. In-class worktime was scheduled and an assignment was due. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
12 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. A class meeting and guest speaker were scheduled. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
13 No session scheduled. No session scheduled. In-class worktime was scheduled No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
14 No session scheduled. No session scheduled. In-class worktime was scheduled and an assignment was due. No session scheduled. No session scheduled.
15 No session scheduled. No session scheduled. Final Presentations. No session scheduled. No classes throughout MIT.
16 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT.
Displays the color and pattern used on the preceding table to indicate dates when classes are not held at MIT. No classes throughout MIT
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when class meetings are held. Class meeting
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when students presentations are held. Student presentations
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when in-class project work time was scheduled. In-class project work time
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when no class session is scheduled. No class session scheduled
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when guest speakers were scheduled. Guest speaker
Displays the symbol used on the preceding table to indicate dates when assignments are due. Assignment due date