Blog #6: DIY History

A little while ago someone introduced me to DIY History, a website run by The University of Iowa Libraries. This is a public digitization project, very similar to the one run by the New York Public Library. However, DIY History focuses on handwritten letters, diaries, and books. The collections include culinary manuscripts, women's letters and diaries, and civil war letters and diaries. Overall, it is a much more personal project than What's on the Menu? because everything is handwritten in a formerly private location. Some of the items waiting to be transcribed date back to the 18th century, while others are from the more modern 20th century.
The purpose of digitization projects like DIY History and What's on the Menu? is to increase accessibility. By digitizing and transcribing objects, it makes it easier for archives/libraries to catalog and at the same time it improves searchability by enabling the use of keywords. It is definitely useful to transcribe handwritten items, which could not be achieved with a machine, like typed text could be.
Opening transcription to the public serves a dual purpose. It is a cheap, easy way for universities/libraries/archives to get things done. All they have to do is open a website and let eager internetters go to it. Otherwise it would be a long, slow, and costly project. At the same time, these projects do benefit the public as well. They offer a unique, engaging way to interact with history on a personal level.

Edit: So, amazingly, I wrote about this before this week's blog assignment, which was to participate in a crowdsourcing project. Obviously I've already done that - I have spent time transcribing on both DIY History and What's on the Menu?
I actually did another today, also without realizing it was the assignment, which was correcting the transcription for the "COOKERY" section on this digitized newspaper page from Australia. In this case, it seems that the text is automatically generated, but blurring and stray ink marks sometimes make the transcription messy, so it needs a lot of work. The main website is called Trove, and it's part of the National Library of Australia. Items available on the website include newspapers, books, maps, images, and music. There's actually a way for Australians to submit photos to Flickr, which then appear on the Trove website. I think that is an awesome way to get people involved and sharing information!
I think crowdsourcing projects are really neat. I love getting involved in them because it makes me feel like I did something special, even if it was just a little thing. I could spend hours transcribing old menus or newspapers or diaries. I also think having this information publicly and freely available is amazing. Without the internet or projects like these, I would never been able to interact with a 1902 newspaper from Australia or a New York menu from 1914.

Blog #5: Humanities and GIS

Okay, disclaimer of honesty: at first I thought this whole GIS (Geographic Information Systems) thing was going to be super boring.
But then I started searching around and I felt like I had just found the coolest things ever! Which is why I'm going to highlight a few projects here, because I just couldn't choose. They're all so amazing!

Lewis and Clark Across Missouri

Official blurb:

This website serves geographical information and maps that are products of the LEWIS AND CLARK HISTORIC LANDSCAPE PROJECT that has been conducted at the Geographic Resources Center (GRC), Department of Geography, University of Missouri in partnership with the Missouri State Archives, Office of the Missouri Secretary of State. With the primary goals to geo-reference, digitize, and map all of the retrievable information from the Lewis and Clark journals and the 18th and 19th-century land survey notes along the Big River Corridors of the state of Missouri, this effort should serve as a significant educational contribution to the national commemoration of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial (2003-2006).
Specific campsite maps, photo-realistic images of important river landmarks, animated virtual Missouri River travel, and an interactive map server offering various layers of geographical data on the Expedition's outward and homeward journeys joined with the natural and cultural history of the Missouri River corridor are all currently offered here. We hope your visit both informs and excites your geographical and historical imaginations on the Missouri of old.

Things I love: the website is simple, but still provides interest. There are a number of different maps, which are interactive, and a list accompanies each map so that you can browse through campsite or landmark names as well. I think this is a cool website and would be useful in teaching, especially in elementary or high school. I could also see tourism value here as well. The virtual river travel was the coolest thing to me. The only way it could get better is by being there in person. There are also a lot of links to related information.
One thing I wish they had done is made a composite map, where all the routes were plotted, so they could be seen together. It would have made a nice comparison.

Map of Early Modern London

Official blurb:

The Map of Early Modern London (MoEML) maps the streets, sites, and significant boundaries of late sixteenth-century and early seventeenth-century London (1560–1640). Taking the Agas map as its platform, the project links encyclopedia-style articles, scholarly work, student work, editions, and literary texts to the places mentioned therein. Students will view the landmarks of Shakespeare’s London and learn about the history and culture of the city in which he lived and worked. Teachers will find the map and encyclopedia useful in teaching Renaissance plays and other texts set in London. Scholars are welcome to contribute articles, links, sources, or compilations of data.

This project is a little different, and it seems to take more of a wiki type of approach. The map is used as a visual basis for discovering information about streets and landmarks. There are also some complete texts (I assume early modern and from London) and references to places in literature. This is also a Canadian project! Unfortunately there is not a lot of information on the site yet, but even having the high-quality map available to look at up close, with labels, is commendable enough. Because this project is on-going, applications to contribute are available, which I think is great!

Google Lit Trips

Official blurb:

Google Lit Trips are free downloadable files that mark the journeys of characters from famous literature on the surface of Google Earth. At each location along the journey there are placemarks with pop-up windows containing a variety of resources including relevant media, thought provoking discussion starters, and links to supplementary information about “real world” references made in that particular portion of the story.

First off, I love how the website has links according to grade, right up at the top. That said, at first I was confused about what to do. The website was also a bit messy, so it took me a while to figure out how to navigate it. It also requires that you download Google Earth and the lit trip file, which is kind of annoying and a turn off. It would be nicer if everything was available on the internet for easy access.

Mapping the Republic of Letters

Official blurb:

"Mapping the Republic of Letters” is a collaborative, interdisciplinary, and international project in the digital humanities, centered at Stanford University. Since 2008, we have been creating visualizations to analyze “big data” relating to the world of early-modern scholars. We focus primarily on their correspondence, travel, and social networks. While we make use of quantitative metrics to examine the scope and dimensions of our data, we remain committed to the qualitative methodologies of the humanities. We actively encourage collaborations with other projects.

At first I was impressed by the clean design of this website, but then with the minimal links and information I found it rather confusing in the end. There is lots of information on the tools they have developed/in development, but no way to access these amazing projects! Perhaps it is because of the newness of the project. Anyway, it focuses on literature in relation to geography. Some of the case studies include John Locke, Benjamin Franklin, Galileo, Voltaire, and more.


So, this is just a selection of GIS projects in the humanities which I found intriguing. I'm sure there are hundreds more out there. I think that using maps is a great way to learn. For me, at least, I find the visual aid very useful. Furthermore, organizing information this way can be useful to a wide variety of people: elementary school and high school, as in Lewis and Clark or Lit Trips, or upper level university scholars, such as the map of London or Republic of Letters. I think GIS could be applied to almost anything really, which is part of its appeal. Everything is based in a place, and therefore can be mapped. I'm even considering it in relation to my project for this course, which I discussed below.

Blog #4: Project Log

When I thought about my project for this class, an idea immediately occurred to me. I have a keen interest in food history, so I knew it would be something related to that. Then I considered what I could make that would contribute to what is currently on the internet. I remembered that recently, when researching for an essay, I was frustrated with the fact that there was no single website for canadian cookbook history. So basically, I want to make a website where someone can find information on many cookbooks at once, rather than having to do a google search for every title or author.
So, this is what I've come up with so far: click.
Right now only one cookbook link (under 1825) works, just to be an example. I have added a bit of information under "Browse" and "Links & Bibliography", as a rough draft. The "Research" section will include more quantitative data - perhaps graphs and charts, as well as essay-type information for more scholarly visitors. The "Blog" section would be a more popular media for highlighting interesting recipes, books, tidbits of information, etc. I am also toying with the idea of including a recipe bank, like the one at The Henry Ford.
While I am proud of what I've thought up so far, it is not the scope I intended. On the other hand, at this point I think it might be taking on too much to go any farther. In this case, I think I might present this website as a component of a larger website. For example, the main website might be Canadian Cookbooks Timeline, with various sub-websites named:

• Canadian Cookbooks Timeline

• Pre-1825 Canadian Food History Online

• Early Canadian Cookbooks Timeline (1825 - 1855)

• Late 19th Century Canadian Cookbooks Timeline (1856 - 1900)

• Early 20th Century Canadian Cookbooks Timeline (1900 - 1910)

• Wartime Canadian Cookbooks Timeline (1914 - 1945)

• Modern Canadian Cookbooks Timeline (1946+)

I think breaking up the information into manageable timelines would be necessary in a project with such a large scope. The main website might also have timelines organized by province and by cookbook type (community/fundraising cookbooks, advertising cookbooks, etc.).

Blog #3: What's on the Menu?

A few months ago I came across What's on the Menu?, a website run by the New York Public Library. I thought it was the coolest project ever - anyone, anywhere could participate in history by transcribing and interacting with primary documents. Additionally, the transcription of the menus has allowed anyone access to useful information for research. For example, I looked up the dish "Squash Pie" and was able to see the earliest and latest dates it appeared on menus, the lowest and highest price, a chronological timeline depicting the frequency in the collection, and links to related dishes. This could be extremely useful for someone studying menus or the history of a particular food or dish. The website also allows anyone to download data spreadsheets. A What's on the Menu? blog highlights interesting or relevant parts of the project and collection.
What's on the Menu is just one of the NYPL's many digitization projects. Other projects include Map Warper, Musical Theater Online, Biblion, and Yizkor (Holocaust Memorial) Books. This is just a very, very small selection of the huge number of websites the library runs.

Blog #2: Orlando

The website for Orlandois very minimal and easy on the eyes, but when I first visited the site I found myself feeling lost and confused. I didn't know where to look or how to access information. It wasn't really a self-explanatory site. That said, once I figured it out, I found Orlando to be a very interesting project!

For those who are wondering what Orlando is, the website states,

Orlando: Women's Writing in the British Isles is an online cultural history generated from the lives and works of over 1200 writers, and for readers with an interest in literature, women's writing, or cultural history more generally. With almost eight million words of text, it is full of interpretive information on women, writing, and culture. Orlando currently features 1012 British women writers--listed twice in cases of multiple, shifting, or contested nationality--; 13,495 free-standing chronology entries; 25,616 bibliographical listings; 2,438,588 tags; 7,861,990 words (exclusive of tags).

 One of my favourite sections is Today in Orlando - a page that highlights related events in history. For example, a number of events are listed for today, January 14th. The earliest entry states that in 1664, "Poems by the Incomparable, Mrs K. P. was advertised for sale by Richard Marriott of Fleet Street, London." The latest entry states,

Katharine, Duchess of Kent, converted to Catholicism, becoming the first Roman Catholic member of the British Royal Family in more than 300 years.
Her husband, the Duke of Kent, a cousin of both the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, stands in the line of succession. Though the Act of Succession (1701) prohibits heirs to the throne from being or marrying a Roman Catholic, officials said the Duchess’s conversion would have no constitutional implications since she had been an Anglican at the time of her marriage.

So we can see the scope of this project. Not only does it cover a long period of history - up until modern times - but it also includes information that situates the literature in history. I like an approach like that.

I decided to try out the system. First, I went to the Writers with Entries page. I selected the British author Ariadne. This brought me to a page dedicated to the author. This page was much easier to comprehend than the main website. I could easily navigate the sections - overview, life & writing, writing, life, timeline, links, links excerpts, and works by. I love how this broke up the information into neat pieces. The overview also lists milestones and a quick blurb about the author, so the reader gets some background knowledge on the person. I can see how this would be a very valuable resource for researchers and there is just so much information here that it really is a goldmine of knowledge.

However, I noticed that Orlando is a subscription service, and without a paid subscription, viewers cannot see any of the real information. I found myself dwelling on this fact, especially given the recent news reports surrounding the suicide of Aaron Swartz. Should scholarly information be available for free? Is a free and open internet really possible? According to Aaron Swartz,

You get to feed at this banquet of knowledge while the rest of the world is locked out. But you need not — indeed, morally, you cannot — keep this privilege for yourselves. You have a duty to share it with the world. And you have: trading passwords with colleagues, filling download requests for friends … Only those blinded by greed would refuse to let a friend make a copy.

Honestly, I'm still undecided. I think that there were a lot of mistakes in the way Swartz's case was handled (although JSTOR is to be commended) but I'm not sure that it was the right way for Swartz to make a statement or if having everything online be free is really feasible.

Blog #1: Digital Approaches at the University of Guelph

How have my studies at Guelph been affected by digital tools and approaches, and what future possibilities do I see?

I think that compared to the majority of students, I've had a fairly digital-based education. Thus far, I've taken 13 online courses and I plan to take one more this semester, for a total of 14. That is 44% of the total number of courses I have taken/am currently taking.
At first I found online courses difficult, because when I wasn't regularly attending a lecture, it was easy to fall behind...way behind. Once I got used to the difference in learning style, I came to really enjoy online courses. The style fits well with my personality. They also seem quite modern, since everything is conducted online.
When considering traditional courses, at first I didn't think they were modern or technologically advanced at all. But then I realized that my opinion was formed on my own obliviousness. It is so easy to take things for granted, when you've never known any other way. Considering when my mom or my grandparents went to university, they didn't have access to things like Primo, JSTOR, Google, Wikipedia, or ebooks. I use all of those things on a practically daily basis when researching for a school project. Obviously, then, digital tools are very integrated and important to my education. At the same time, this sort of approach isn't necessarily promoted, and a student could easily do research the old fashioned way. Of course, it's just assumed now that students will do the former.
Many courses also make use of Courselink, another digital approach in education. I love when a professor uses courselink well - posts regular news updates, the course outline, assignment instructions, powerpoint slides, etc. It can be frustrating when some professors don't seem to understand how to work Courselink or don't use it, however.
I have also had some courses make use of digital media within the course content. One course had a discussion on public history in relation to historical video games. During that lecture we were encouraged to play the game Outbreak 1885. Another course had all of the readings online in PDF format. A few courses showed videos related to course content. An art history course I took last summer involved a lot of hands on photography work, including uploading submissions to Flickr. The professors of a few courses have had blogs available for students to read. In one course I viewed the website hastings1066.com to interact with the Bayeaux Tapestry and in another I completed a research essay based on The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft.
So now that I have really had time to think about it, digital tools and approaches comprise a large part of my university education. I think that this is commendable. At the same time, I think that these tools and approaches could use some sophistication.
Professors could be instructed more in how to utilize Courselink. Online articles or ebooks could be used more often in courses instead of traditional, costly textbooks. The library website could be made more easily accessible and more sources could be digitized (especially things from the special collections which are public domain). Technology in classrooms could be upgraded. Another major issue is the general assumption that online information is not as reputable as print information. Although work is being done to reverse this attitude, it still seems to be a widely accepted attitude.
Considering how far the university has come since 5, 10, 20 years ago, it seems obvious to me that things will continue on in the right direction. In the 21st century, digital information plays a huge role in all aspects of life, from education to social interaction to government and politics. It would be a mistake not to implement new tools and technologies in order to educate and prepare students for a modern world.