2023-2024 Annual Report
Letter from the Director
Dear colleagues,
During 2023-24, DH@MSU has taken several important steps toward deeper collaborations across the college and around the university. Perhaps most exciting among these steps — if a deceptively small one — is completing the process of renaming our undergraduate minor from “Digital Humanities” to “Digital Studies in the Arts and Humanities.” This renaming serves several purposes, including making clear that the minor has long embraced ways of engaging with the arts as well as the humanities. Most crucially, however, it opens the door to some exciting major-minor combo meals, as we’re fond of saying.
Majoring in English, for instance, and minoring in Digital Studies presents the potential for MSU students to build a degree focused on Digital Studies in English, engaging both with the vitality of arts and humanities and the hands-on skills that the 21st century demands.
In what follows, the DH@MSU team reports on the other work we’ve done this year, including our strategic planning process, our ongoing engagement efforts, and the wonderful research we’ve had the opportunity to support. We’ve also been delighted to welcome some fantastic new colleagues this year. But we’ve had to say goodbye to others, and those goodbyes weigh heavily as I write. In particular, losing our good friend and long-time supporter Bill Hart-Davidson has been hard for all of us. As his collaborator and business partner Jeff Grabill noted during his celebration of life, Bill was probably the most accomplished, most important scholar of his generation in his field. He was also the most generous colleague, mentor, friend, and all-around human that many of us have known. His work was wide-ranging, deeply thoughtful, and always focused on making things better, whether those things were peer-review processes in writing classrooms or health outcomes for folks with diabetes. Even more, he was committed to using his institutional and intellectual capital in support of the work of others. We are deeply grateful to have had him join us as one of the keynote speakers at this year’s Global DH Symposium, where he shared his wisdom — neither unthinkingly optimistic nor despairingly pessimistic — about the future of writing in the age of generative AI.
As we look toward the year ahead, the DH@MSU team will strive to continue learning from Bill’s model, seeking always to be a little more thoughtful, a little more creative, and a little more generous. We’re grateful for the opportunity to continue building and supporting this community, and we’ll look forward to thinking with you about how best to honor Bill’s legacy in the years ahead.
With all my best,
Kathleen Fitzpatrick
Director of Digital Humanities
Table of Contents
New Faculty
Strategic Thinking
Curriculum
Events
Global Digital Humanities Symposium
Digital Engagement
Research Support
DH@MSU FaCulty
Core Faculty
Affiliated Faculty
Faculty MeetingS
DH@MSU held faculty meetings in December 2023 (agenda) and April 2024 (agenda).
In a shift from previous years, these meetings were held virtually at separate times from the End of Semester celebrations in order to ensure adequate time for discussion of agenda items and to expand access by enabling virtual participation.
The End of Semester Celebrations continued as their own events with a greater focus on opportunities for in-person mingling and presentations from projects, with the Spring Celebration showcasing the DSL Incubator projects.
DH@MSU Strategic Thinking
Advisory committee
The Advisory Committee spent the year primarily developing the strategic plan. The Committee also reviewed and awarded Professional Development funding in both the Fall and Spring semesters, and the Committee reviewed and selected DH Seed Funding Awards for Summer 2024.
Learn more and read the committee’s full charge
Members
Stephanie Vasko (Fall 2023)
Catalina Bartlett (2024)
Kate Birdsall (Fall 2023)
Devin Higgins (2024)
Jesse Draper (2025)
Matt Handelman (2025)
Alice Lynn McMichael (Fall 2023)
Jon Keune (2025)
Amanda Tickner (2025)
Katie Knowles (Graduate Student Representative)
Kathleen Fitzpatrick (ex-officio) (Chair)
Kristen Mapes (ex-officio)
New Members for 2024-2025
Gillian MacDonald
Bonnie Russell
Kate Topham
Justin Wadland
Strategic Planning
As part of the College of Arts and Letters’ strategic planning process, the Advisory Committee worked on developing a 7-year strategic plan for DH@MSU , 2023-2030. After gathering initial input from faculty and graduate students in Spring 2023, the Advisory Committee identified the Challenges and Opportunities we face and developed the set of Objectives and Strategies listed below. The was shared with the faculty at the Spring meeting. The 2024-2025 Advisory Committee will continue this work to confirm a set of next steps and responsibility and assessment plans for carrying out the strategic plan.
Objectives & Strategies
- Grow the undergraduate minor
- Increase the prominence of graduate studies in DH at MSU
- Raise the profile of DH research within MSU
- Expand on DH@MSU’s international leadership in the area of Global Digital Humanities
- Institutionalize DH@MSU in order to secure a sustainable future
Curriculum
Graduate Certificate Awardees
-
Daniel Fandino (History)
-
Katie Knowles (English)
- Tianyi Kou-Herrema (German)
-
Christine Peffer (English)
-
Nick Sly (History)
-
Dani Willcutt (History)
Curriculum Committee
This year, the Minor in Digital Humanities was officially re-named the Minor in Digital Studies in the Arts and Humanities. The Curriculum Committee focused on outreach to promote the minor to students. In collaboration with the Engagement & Outreach Committee, we developed pitch slides, updated the DH website pages about the minor, and conducted course visits to promote the minor to students.
The committee also reviewed graduate certificate portfolios and began updating the Graduate Certificate Handbook to streamline the portfolio creation and approval process. (to be completed in Fall 2024).
Learn more and read the committee’s full charge
Members
Zach Kaiser (2025)
Ethan Watrall (2025)
Kirk Astle (2024)
Dean Rehberger (2024)
Matt Rossi (2024)
Kate Topham (2024)
Danielle Willcutt (Graduate Student Representative)
Kathleen Fitzpatrick (ex-officio)
Kristen Mapes, Chair (ex-officio)
New Members for 2024-2025
Stephen Rachman
Jon Frey
Kuhu Tanvir
Study Abroad
Six students traveled to London and Edinburgh for the Technology, Humanities, & the Arts study abroad program, led by Kristen Mapes. Students met with museum and library professionals to learn how they digitize and share digital materials with their audiences, and they engaged with performance art to consider the intersection of technology and creative practice. Along the way, students created digital tours of their London neighborhood using Omeka/Curatescape and crafted sound collections using Museum in a Box.
Learn more about Study Abroad!
Teaching Highlights
The Newsletter showcased teaching activities over the course of the academic year. These highlights are also available for reference on the DH@MSU website.
KnightLab JS StoryMaps in LEADR
Imari Tetu on Teaching with AI
DH Internship in the Digital Scholarship Lab
In the 2023-2024 academic year, Margaux Smith served as the Digital Studies Intern in the Digital Scholarship Lab. Margaux is a double major in Interdisciplinary Humanities and French, minoring in Digital Studies in the Arts and Humanities and Professional Writing.
In the internship, she worked with faculty projects as part of the Incubator Program, ran VR open hours, staffed the desk in the Lab, and helped with class visits.
Read more about Margaux in her Student Profile!
Outreach & Events
Engagement & outreach committee – members
The Engagement & Outreach committee organized events for the community and began developing an outreach initiative to alumni of the undergraduate minor and the graduate certificate. In collaboration with the Curriculum Committee, the committee developed slides to show to classes about the DSAH minor, and created a strategy of class visits to distribute that information.
Learn more and read the committee’s full charge
Members
Max Evjen (Chair), DH@MSU
Kristen Mapes, DH@MSU
Denice Blair, MSU Museum
Jonathan Barber, MSU Libraries
Alexa Sutton, Student Worker, DH@MSU
Outgoing Members
Christine Peffer, H-Net
Dani Willcutt, Graduate Student Representative
Bonnie Russell, MESH
Joyce Meier, Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures
New Members for 2024-2025
Yuri Cantrell, MSU Libraries
Julian Chambliss, English
THATCamp
Research Showcase
Distinguished Lecture
Local Spotlight Lecture
Douglass Day
THATCamp
DH@MSU continued its tradition of running THATCamps in August and in January of each year, held on campus and on Zoom, respectively.
THATCamp is a gathering where the agenda is set by attendees on the day of the event based on what people want to learn and/or share. These events gave community members an opportunity to network, explore skills and interests, and share about their work.
Planning Teams:
August 2023 – Max Evjen, Taylor Hughes-Barrow, Katie Knowles, Dani Willcutt, Dan Fandino, Catherine Ryu
January 2024 – Max Evjen, Natalie Phillips, Dani Willcutt
Research Showcase
In Fall of 2023, DH@MSU held its inaugural DH Research Showcase, where recipients of DH summer funding and faculty/staff and students discussed their in-process projects. Presenters and Projects included:
- Daniel Fandino, “Lady Nijo: Travel, Tourism, and Pilgrimage in 13th and 14th Century Japan”
- Daniel Trego, “MOCAP Dance Exchange”
- Aubree Marshall, “Merging LEADR and CAP – Utilizing StoryMaps to Tell a Story as a method utilizing time, space, and media”
- Dani Willcut, “Mapping Food Networks”
- Kara Haas, “Unlocking Squareland Mysteries: The development of Squareland Digital Field Trips”
- Garth Sabo & Matthew Rossi, “Marsh Time”
Distinguished Lecture
DH@MSU continued its fifth annual Distinguished Lecture in Fall 2023 with Dr. Suzanne Churchill, Professor of English at Davidson University. Her presentation, titled “THE future is limitless”: Mina Loy as a Model for Inclusive DH Designs,” showcased a series of projects that develop and theorize a practice she calls “inclusive UX design.” Watch the recording of the lecture here.
Local Spotlight Lecture
DH@MSU continued its Local Distinguished Lecture in Spring 2024 to provide a more fulsome showcase for DH work on campus. Stephanie Jordan, an assistant professor in the Department of Media and Information, presented “Coregulating with Water: Building Resilient Community with Toxic Watersheds Through Art-Science.”
Douglass Day
DH@MSU Collaborated with the Digital Scholarship Lab and MSU Libraries to host MSU’s first Douglass Day Event! Participants transcribed Frederick Douglass’ handwritten correspondence, watched the Douglass Day livestream, and shared a birthday cake.
The event gained widespread community attention, including stories in WKAR, Fox 17 (Grand Rapids), WXYZ (Detroit), MSU Today, and the State News.
Left: African Studies Librarian Erik Ponder cuts the Douglass Day cake.
Global Digital Humanities Symposium
The 9th annual Global Digital Humanities Symposium took place as a synchronous virtual event from March 18th-20th, and as an in-person event on March 22nd-23rd. Among the diverse range of presentation topics, this year’s program had particular emphasis on Artificial Intelligence, Digital Storytelling, and Anti-colonialism.
Thank you to the event sponsors, who made it possible to fund presenter travel, support live interpretation between English and Spanish, and share delicious food with our attendees: DH@MSU, H-Net, Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, The Graduate School, MATRIX, Canadian Studies Center, Ethics Institute, African Studies Center, and MSU Libraries.
Explore the Archived Website
Read the Proceedings
Watch Presentations
Keynote Speakers
Sara Morais dos Santos Bruss
Virtual Keynote
Rachel Adams
Virtual Keynote
“Empire of AI: How AI is Widening Global Inequality”
Alex Gil
Virtual Keynote Respondent
Watch Bill’s Keynote
Read Bill’s Abstract and Slides
Local Keynote: Bill Hart-Davidson
As a digital humanities community closely tied to Digital Humanities at Michigan State University, we were delighted to learn from DH@MSU Core Faculty member, Bill Hart-Davidson as our local keynote. His presentation, “Mixing and Mastering Genre Signals: Generative AI, Writing, and the Near Future of Writing Technologies,” commenced the in-person Symposium on a note of critical curiosity that carried through the sessions that followed.
A few weeks after the Symposium, Bill suddenly passed away. In addition to giving a keynote presentation in 2024, Bill served as a champion of the Symposium time and time again over the past decade. He was a mentor and a model of scholarly generosity, embodying the values that we strive to carry out in through our activities.
The Global DH Symposium and the DH@MSU community deeply mourn the loss of Bill and consider it an honor to have been one of the last stages on which he shared his special blend of insight and humor.
By the Numbers
Presenters at the 2024 Global DH Symposium, mapped by the location of their institution.
Digital Engagement
Newsletter
This year, DH@MSU developed its monthly newsletter geared toward undergraduate students. The “main” newsletter continued running twice per month, and across the two publications, the team created material for cross-posting in the newsletter, social media, and the website. Explore all the Teaching Highlights, Research Highlights, What DH Means to Me posts, and Student Profiles on the DH@MSU website.
Website & Beyond
The team improved accessibility on the website, adding alt-text for all images and checking color contrast, and fixing font sizes. The site underwent an update to simplify language and update social media references.
Communication and community building continued in several platforms, including new Mastodon accounts.
- Newsletter (248 subscribers)
- Email listserv (216 subscribers)
- Slack (318 members)
- @DHatMSU@h-net.social Mastodon (104 followers)
- @MSUGlobalDh Mastodon (71 followers)
Research Support
Professional Development Funding
The Professional Development Funding program supports DH activity with awards up to $500. Faculty and students are welcome to apply at several points in the academic year for support.
Awardees in 2023-24:
- Katie Knowles (grad student) – conference presentation
- Emily Elliott (faculty) – DHSI attendance
- Dani Willcutt (grad student) – conference presentation
- Gillian MacDonald (faculty) – DREAM Lab attendance
Seed Grant Funding
In its seventh year, the Seed Grant Funding program provides funds up to $2000 to support DH projects over the summer. Funding recipients present on their work at the Research Showcase event in the Fall and share project reports.
Awardees for Summer 2024 were:
- Ashley Cerku, “Taking A Walk Down Memory Lane: Exploring Immersive Digital Approaches in Local Communities”
- Gillian Macdonald & Morgan Fox, “Networking Letters of the Revolution (1689-1691)”
- Aubree Marshall, “A Community-Engaged Approach to Mesoamerican Plant Knowledge: The Co-Creation of a Botanical Database”
- Heather Howard, “Walking virtually with Nokomis”
- Taylor Mills & Gregory Rogel, “Mapping Reproductive Injustice Law”
Digital Scholarship Lab & DH@MSU Partnerships
The DSL Project Incubator supported five projects in its fourth year. Head of Digital Scholarship Services Justin Wadland and Digital Humanities Archivist Kate Topham led the program, with additional support from DSL Intern Margaux Smith.
Incubator Projects for 2023-2024:
- Siddharth Chandra, “The Mass Killings in Indonesia 1965-1966, a mapped display of data demographics”
- Noah Kaye, “Seleukid Coins in the Collection of the Ödemiş Museum.”
- Katie Knowles,** “The Stratford Heritage Guide, a text based analysis of travel guides of Shakespeare’s birthplace.”
- Blaire Morseau,* “Potawatomi Star Knowledge, an astronomy presentation of native constellation mapping.
- Crystal VanKooten,* “Adventures, Friends, and Witness: The Alaskan Experience of Nurses Jacque Greeman, Anne Engbers, and Marge VanKooten, an oral history archive of the three women’s experience in Alaska circa 1964.”
Read More about the 2023-24 Incubator Cohort Here
* DH Affiliated Faculty
** DH Graduate Certificate Student
Graduate Arts Fellowship
The Graduate Arts Fellowship, begun in 2020, provides a summer stipend and support for a graduate student from the College of Arts and Letters to develop a project that creates art using the technology, resources, and expertise in the Digital Scholarship Lab.
For 2023, the DH@MSU Research Committee and some members of the DSL Faculty Advisory Board (which otherwise was on hiatus in 2022-23) reviewed the 8 applications and selected the fellow.
The 2024 Fellow, Morgan Reneé Hill, is an MFA candidate from the Art, Art History, and Design department, whose project “Rituals through Communities: The Art of Breaking” worked with the dancers of AOTA, All Of The Above, to create an immersive piece in the 360 Room that brought together surround sound, digitized dance ephemera, and animation.