DH 8993 gives students the opportunity to pursue individualized DH elective coursework with the support of a Faculty Mentor, the DH Certificate Director, and a Project Partner when appropriate. The instructor of record can be a faculty member or the Director of the DH Certificate Program. DH 8993 should have “a significant DH component” according to SCHEV guidelines; this component may be project-based or essay-based. The Director can provide assessment of technical coursework if needed.
Notes on the structure of the independant study:
- Objective: The project should enhance the student's capacity to advance in their research area, through a combination of readings and either hands-on technical work or critical engagement with a technical topic.
- Syllabus: The student is required to create a full syllabus with a schedule for the semester's work, including DH readings and a proposed project. This may be done in consultation with the Certificate director,
- Instructor of record: Either a faculty member or the director of the DH Certificate may serve as instructor of record.
- Project Partner: A project partner can function in several ways, but is not required. Librarians and other custodians of archival and cultural heritage materials (from the local community, for example) can collaborate with a student in order to bring DH methodologies and critical vision to the work of structuring, displaying, or preserving content. A UVA-based technical expert can serve as an advisor for a student who wants to work through a significant technical learning process.
- Required expert consultation: The student must meet with a DH expert to discuss their project within the first three weeks of the semester. The appointment must be confirmed in the first week. The director will provide recommendations for consultations in the initial meeting (see checklist).
- Deadlines: The following tasks must be completed by the end of the second week of the semester.
- Meet with DH Certificate director.
- Complete the Independent Study agreement, signed by the student, instructor, DH Certificate director, and project partner where applicable. This form may be obtained from the director.
- Confirm appointment with a staff technical expert recommended by the director.
-
Examples of DH activities in this context:
- create a DH-informed finding aid for a collection
- add metadata to a collection informed by best practices from DH and library science
- design and/or build a database
- create a website
- creat a storymap
- develop and build a visualization
- create a GIS map
- create a digital scholarly text
- produce a podcast
- create an art installation
- build a custom LLM
- develop or contribute to an ontology or taxonomy
- write a technical proposal for a DH project
Students are not limited to these options. The website of the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities (IATH) is one source of inspiration; the list of DH periodicals is another. Students should also explore publications in their own fields.