Initiatives such as the creation of STEAM from the widely known STEM Collaborative (Science, Technology, Engineering, ART, Math) recognized that art and the humanities are irrefutably core components of any production of knowledge. The affects of art and aesthetics are not easily qualified or quantified so they become easily dismissed.

Yet, you know when it is gone.                                                                                                                                                         The project, the experiment, the writing, the building, the meeting feels… off, or less than. No one knows what it is and it feels wrong, but something is missing, a certain je ne sais quoi that would make it right. This proposed session will attempt to discuss and explain the inexplicable. Through examples across the humanities (science to art) we will try to tease out the aesthetics that collectively balance the senses of perception and emit a signal of ‘rightness’ to the observing  majority.

The focus and structure of this presentation/poster/session/?  is guided by a Question

(Are there people who don’t appreciate a good view?)………………… and a Joke

(Q: How many Surrealists does it take to screw in a light bulb? A:Knock-Knock).

Proposed by: Marissa Selena Molinar, MA (Comparative Art & Archaeology)                                         PhD Candidate_Archaeology. University of Florida                            

Perhaps the most intriguing thing about digital humanities is the expansiveness of the field. It has no single definition, no limitations on what it is and isn’t. The possibilities within the field are limitless, but its liminality – its existence somewhere between “real” humanities and “real” tech – is also one of its largest drawbacks. For all of its possibilities, the field of digital humanities is also rife with questions: Can young academics put their DH work on their CVs? Can assistant professors use it to gain tenure? Can alt-ac doctorate-holders transform it into a non-academic career? And, perhaps most important of all, can those of us toiling in the (often-unpaid) DH bowels get, and keep, others on board to help them with their projects? Ultimately, I hope to explore how can we explain the importance and significance of this growing and dynamic field to our core audiences: other academics, and the public at large.

I am an ACLS Public Fellow/Engagement Analyst at the Center for Public Integrity, the managing editor of Points: The Blog of the Alcohol and Drugs History Society, and a writer whose first book (a history of marijuana activism from the 1960s to today) is being published by Basic next year. I work with DH every day, and I hope to use my presentation to discuss the possibilities and potential of this field for academia/alt-ac, but also dialogue with others about where we see the field going, where its greatest applications lie, and how we can bring more people into the conversation. The emphasis of DH has long been, in my opinion, an opening of the humanities to as broad as audience as possible – certainly a worthy goal. But it begs even more questions: What can we do, and what goals can we keep in mind, to achieve this? And where are the richest possibilities for the field?

Last year, more than 50% of all internet traffic took place within mobile devices. How should the DH community respond to this ongoing shift to mobile-computing? How does it impact our teaching/research goals? How should we define a “mobile” technology? How can such technologies reshape our perspective on a physical space?

In this session, I would like to explore these and other questions as I share some of my own experience in creating mobile augmented reality applications for humanities projects. Specifically, I want to explore how DH can leverage this uptick in mobile computing to create location-based digital experiences for culturally significant sites. To contextualize this discussion, I will discuss some of my experiences using mobile technologies in the classroom. In addition, I will introduce a location-based mobile app I am co-creating for use at TPC-Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.

I would like to propose a teach session on how to use online exhibit creation to teach students valuable critical thinking and digital humanities skills for lifelong learning. Based off teaching Omeka and Weebly to various undergraduate courses at UF, this session would cover what types of critical thinking skills can be learned from using Omeka and free website building sites, how to use these programs in the classroom, and what types of projects students can create. Best practices for teaching and other guidelines would also be covered. If scheduled, I would anticipate attendees would also get an opportunity to play around in Omeka as well. Although my experience is in the higher education classroom, I think this session would also be great for those who work in secondary schools as well.