Hello, my name is Hannah Phillips. I’m currently in my second semester of Sophomore year here at New Paltz, studying English and Journalism. I’m from Upstate New York, specifically the Central New York region. My interests include reading, writing, listening to music, HGTV, antiques, and learning about different things (broad term here). Also cats.
An interesting side-note is that I live in a Victorian home (built in 1870), complete with bizarre knick knacks and period furniture.
Hello everybody! My name is Zach Pollock and I am 19 years old and I am a sophomore studying marketing at the State University of New York at New Paltz in New Paltz, New York. I love skiing, hiking and mountain biking.
See ya on the flipside.
http://www.myslopes.com/images/en/ski-holidays-hunter-mountain-a774.jpg
Five qualities of a good DH project are:
1. The project must be legible and clear.
2. It should be aesthetically pleasing.
3. It must be engaging and/or interactive.
4. It has credited sources (citations) for unoriginal data.
5. It is well-organized.
A good DH project will feature all of these aspects. It must be clear, visually stimulating, engaging, and well-organized in order to hold the attention of the reader and simultaneously teach them something. The more information you can get from a project, the more interesting and useful it will be in answering questions of the modern world. With today’s technology, we are able to ask and answer questions that previously could not be answered. Digital tools help organize information in a new and fun way to help visual learners and those seeking a different method of teaching to read, write, and view life differently. Most of the websites we have used this semester were able to take a huge amount of information and form it into something compact and easier to understand and interpret. With word clouds we can get the general sense of main themes in stories and speeches. With Google Ngrams we can start to decipher the relevance and importance of words in a vast amount of past literature. With Booktraces we can permanently document the marginalia of old books that will eventually fall apart and be destroyed. With GIS we can plot points of historical significance much faster and more efficiently than ever. There are endless possibilities to the amount of information we can absorb in a short time by using digital tools. Therefore, it is important that students and others studying digital humanities create projects that others can use to view the world differently.
When creating a website, it is key that one is able to have the site efficient with as little effort as possible. A few aspects that help achieve this are as follows:
-Organization of the site’s information will allow for easier perusing of the site.
-Visually pleasing to the eye, so one does not become bored or turned away.
-Clarity of information. Otherwise the user will not be able to understand what is being told or what any of the visualizations are.
-Multiple resources will allow for a more diverse abundance of information. All of these sources must be cited though.
-Accessibility. Without accessibility, there would not be any point in the site because no one would be able to find the site easily.
For a relatively decent DH project, easy navigation is necessary. Should one not be able to navigate about the site, then there is almost no use to the site. Organization and accessibility are a few aspects that allow for a site to be easily navigated. All of the main links or tabs should be located in an efficient spot, such as the very to of the page or on either side of the site.
DH allows for scholars to be able to quickly gain information and data, whether it is for statistics on something, or just as simple as information or a document recorded on that website. With quick to access information, scholars can come to certain conclusions, or lack there of, thus having more specific question to ask.
Qualities of a Good DH Project: Large Data Set, Citations, Aesthetically Pleasing, Interactive, Search Feature
The new wave of scholarly work that is known as the ‘Digital Humanities’ is all about data (and lots of it). When the humanities and technology converge to create new research and discoveries, large amounts of information are compiled in order to do so. New questions cannot be asked without analyzing as much information as possible, so as to ensure a secure basis for those new inquiries. Living in the digital space, a Digital Humanities project is worth exploring if it has some key qualities.
A great DH project has a large data set that it pulls from, references, analyzes, reflects, or even contradicts. The more data there is in a project, the more expansive and the greater the opportunity to analyze findings, identify trends, and pose new questions. With that in mind, with large data comes large responsibility …to be scholarly. Incorporating lots of data is a wonderful first step, but citations are the important second step. The credibility of a project determines whether it is considered scholarly, and the best DH projects not only reveal new data, but also openly share the original data that the project pulls from.
The advent of digitizing works of the humanities creates a new question of ‘what will the digitized project look like?’ No matter what the project, a good DH work should be aesthetically pleasing. This does not mean that it needs to be reminiscent of the Romantic era, but it does need to look clear, rather than cluttered or illegible. At a glance an aesthetically pleasing project will look like it relates to the data that it is based upon. For example, a good mapping project or Ngram will be legible and clear, and a good topic modeling or word cloud project will at a glance be somewhat representative of the publications it is pulling from.
Aesthetics of a project are important for the analysis and exploration of them but looks aren’t everything. A good DH project is interactive. Depending on the type of project, this can be interpreted in several ways. In a word cloud visualization, the ability to hover over or click on words to learn about their frequency and other information is one form of interactivity. On a map, this could just mean the ability to zoom in and out, or it could mean having the ability to plot data points on a map or compare a map form the past to a map from the present. No matter what the form of engagement, a good DH project will take advantage of the endless possibilities that the digital space allows.
Related to project interactivity, a great DH project has some kind of search feature. The ability to not only explore the information in front of you in a project, but to also quickly explore related texts, visuals, maps, and more is what makes the digital space unique. Digitized projects that live online allow web surfers to have a world of information at their fingertips. On a map, searching could just mean plotting data on a map or it could mean searching for a specific street in a city. In a topic modeling project it could mean looking up metadata regarding a specific word across a corpus of texts. No matter what the search function, its addition to a project allows for that immediate exploration, analysis, and creation of questions.
The field of Digital Humanities has a modern goal made possible by the World Wide Web – to engage a broader network of scholars in the pursuit of knowledge of the humanities. Pulling discoveries from the modernization of dated texts, works, and arts, this field allows scholars to ask new questions because of the ability to share content online across oceans and continents. The “Digital” in Digital Humanities provides both an increase in accessibility and a modern approach to works of the humanities. Greater access means greater possibility of discovery and taking a modern look at older works creates for a new lens through which scholars can evaluate the past. Increased accessibility of old and new works, a broad network of scholars, and the use of digital tools all allow scholars to ask new questions through collaboration, detailed analysis, and modern technology.
An excellent DH project should be:
1. Focused: A great Digital Humanities Project will have a central theme that brings all of the data together
2. Relevant: The project should concern something that people will care about. Creating a project of your brother’s poetry won’t be successful, because most people do not care to study your brothers poetry. Rather, a distinguished poet’s work would make your project more relevant because it may be useful for scholars scholars.
3. Searchable: Especially if the project contains many different works, a search bar will make it easier for scholars to sift through all of your data
4. Cited: Be sure to specify where you got your information. It is extremely important that scholars know your data is reliable.
5. Visually Appealing: The format and graphics of a good DH project keep scholars engaged. Make sure the format of your project is clean and structured around your theme. This will make it easier to navigate. Clear images are critical because they ensure accuracy, especially when you can zoom in.
1. A great digital humanities should contain interesting, organized, reliable material. Scholars use projects that have compelling themes and useful data. In order to prove that your data is interesting, it is important to keep it organized. Well-organized data keeps scholars interested. Data that is not structured and orderly will be difficult to focus on. Lastly, a DH project is great when the data is reliable. A dependable DH project is comprised entirely of correctly cited data that has no mistakes (especially in digital editions!).
2. Digital Humanities enables scholars to ask new questions about past issues by providing them with new methods. Old concepts can be analyzed using new technology. A prime example of this is distant reading. Scholars can use distant reading to examine trends across thousands of texts without closely reading each individual one. MALLET, a topic modeling tool used for distant reading can process multitudes of digital texts in less than two minutes. MALLET reveals countless different topics within groups of texts, allowing scholars to question previous research conducted using traditional tools. New Digital Humanities tools such as MALLET allow scholars to expand their research and ask new questions.
Five qualities of a good digital humanities project:
1) The project is aesthetically pleasing
2) It is easy to navigate/clean interface
3) Includes context about the data and proper credit/citations
4) There is a functioning search feature
5) It incorporates a vast amount of relevant material
How each person defines a “good” digital humanities project will vary depending on who they are, what they are building, and their perception of the world and the way everything operates. Each person has their own cultural lens of experience that they understand and interpret everyday life with. With that in mind, I feel that in my own experience, a good digital humanities project will incorporate each of the five qualities I listed above. The purpose of a digital humanities project seems to be a tool or interface that is created not only to display information and data for a particular agenda but also to benefit the greater community of people doing research. Projects should be attractive and easy on the eyes. People will be more inclined to use your project or database if the colors and layout appeal to them. This also connects to the idea of simple navigation. I feel that a good project will be straightforward, clean, and easy to peruse. If there was a project or archive we looked at in class that was hard to read or navigate, I found myself straying away from it. Context is critical for a good project. If someone does not know the context of the material they are viewing, how are they expected to effectively use it? A good project should explicitly describe the mission of the project and provide adequate background information on what is being presented. Citations of any sources is also crucial for a good project. If there is one thing I learned, it is to give credit where credit is due. Having a search feature for a project may not be necessary depending on what type of project is chosen, although with an archive or other similar type of project, incorporating a functioning search feature is very helpful for the researcher. Having a search engine allows user to quickly browse for exactly what they are looking for in order to extract whether or not the project is something they could benefit from using. The final quality on my list discusses using a vast amount of evidence that is relevant to your topic. I feel that in most cases the more data you have, the stronger your project will be. Having a lot of information may be a lot of work to find and incorporate, but it will be worth it for strengthening the final product.
Digital humanities is a significant and exciting emerging discipline. It is constantly evolving and creating new perceptions on how academic research is done. Through different digital tools and archives, the creator enables scholars to actively engage and interact with what they are studying. It challenges classical methods of academic research and allows researchers to understand topics in different perspectives. Using digital outlets to display information allows participants to collectively collaborate and share ideas which is a fantastic benefit to digital humanities. Seeing topics in different lights enables scholars to raise new questions about what they are studying. Projects can create new ideas and discussions that may not have been easy to identify using classic methods of research. Digital humanities is an important, growing, and interesting field that allows scholars to research in new ways and raise questions that had never been thought of before.
A meeting place between Holmes and the mysterious villains of The Sign of the Four, the Lyceum is a well known and prestigious theatre in Westminster, right off the Strand. The current Lyceum was opened in 1834 after its previous name bearer was destroyed in a fire in 1830- the previous theatre was located just across the street (Lloyd “The Lyceum Theatre, Wellington Street, London – Also known as The Theatre Royal, English Opera House / Royal Lyceum Theatre / English Opera House / Palais de Dance / Mecca Ballroom”). Since its reopening, the theatre has played host to a variety of productions. This pedigree was established during its ownership by one Henry Irving, who produced several adaptations of Shakespeare works during his tenure (starting 1878). It continued to operate through the 20th century, even surviving the Blitz, to play host to bands such as The Clash, Queen, and U2. It closed in 1986 for renovations, then reopened in 1996 to host Jesus Christ, Superstar, and, since 1999, has been the home of London’s production of The Lion King(“Lyceum Theatre London”).
The Wellington Street locale has been a centerpiece of London’s performance arts for almost two centuries, but a cursory inspection of the Old Bailey Archives would show a variety of theft and related crimes surrounding the theatre. A simple example would be the case of the theft of the pocketwatch of one Chahata Jassa, where a pickpocket by the name of James George was able to easily steal the item amid the clutter of the crowd. The theatre, being a prominent landmark, made for an easy meeting place for cases of assault and extortion, like that of John Joyce in August 1844. Simply, like any popular scene, this storied house of drama was party to plenty of it- not all on stage.
Citations
Lloyd, Arthur. “The Lyceum Theatre, Wellington Street, London – Also Known as The Theatre Royal, English Opera House / Royal Lyceum Theatre / English Opera House / Palais De Dance / Mecca Ballroom.” The Lyceum Theatre, Wellington Street, London – Also Known as The Theatre Royal, English Opera House / Royal Lyceum Theatre / English Opera House / Palais De Dance / Mecca Ballroom. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
“Lyceum Theatre London | Lion King Tickets.” Lyceum Theatre London. Web. 9 Nov. 2014. <http://www.lyceumtheatrelondon.org/>.
For this project I chose to look closely at Covent Garden which is a district in London that is mentioned in The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. When Mr. Henry Baker approaches Holmes about the advertisement for the missing hat, he provides Holmes with valuable information for further investigation of the missing blue carbuncle that leads him to Covent Garden. Below is a screenshot of the area as seen on Victorian Google Maps:
After navigating all of the various digital archives to further research Covent Garden, I found the Charles Booth Online Archive and the British History archive to be particularly useful. The other archives were either difficult to navigate or did not offer information that I found interesting enough to connect with the story. The Historical Eye archive failed to incorporate a type of search feature which would have been helpful in my research. This was one flaw of the archive in my opinion. The Old Bailey Online archive discussed criminal and law records which are interesting yet not something I wanted to discuss in this example. The Locating London archive only seemed to provide me with a map of where Covent Garden was located around this time period. It did not yield much qualitative information that I was seeking.
The British History Online archive is a great digital tool with a lot of rich data. It has a very sophisticated search engine that lets you precisely refine your results to find anything that you are looking for in the context of all British history. On this archive I was able to quickly search for Covent Garden and be presented with a lot of history about it. I discovered that the late 1800s was the greatest period of expansion in the entire history of the market. People could visit the market for fruits, produce, flowers, and other goods. The history provided by the archive was able to paint a nice image in my head of what Covent Garden looked like during the turn of the 20th century. Having that imagery allows me to gain a better understanding of the Holmes story and how society must have operated during this time period.
The map of Covent Garden on the Charles Booth Online Archive shows the range of poverty and wealth in the area circa 1898-99. As you can see on the screenshot below, this district of London was comprised mostly of middle class, well-to-do people. There are some poor and very poor areas interspersed throughout the district as well as a few places that are of the lowest class. This map and archive allows the researcher to develop an understanding of class and location in the late Victorian era which is valuable when comparing to the Sherlock Holmes story. It provides context for the setting which is a marketplace. It makes sense to the story that Covent Garden was mostly middle-class at the time of the publication of this story because it was a shopping area where the goose was sold.
