This course introduces students to public sphere theory and fosters critical thinking about the historical and contemporary role of the humanities in public life. What do we mean when we talk about “the public” and “the public sphere”? Who is included? Who gets to decide? How do publics and counterpublics structure contemporary life? And how do the “humanities,” literary studies, and digital methods fit in there? In this class, students will be introduced to key ways of conceptualizing the public sphere and examine a series of case studies focused on reading in public and the role of storytelling in public life. As we consider case studies in public writing and public humanities engagement, we will center the many practices of humanities learning that take place outside the formal structure of the academy. Positioning these sites as essential loci of intellectual and social production, the class asks how we can bridge learning in the classroom with a humanities practice in the world. Students will also contribute to two public-facing projects, and this project-based work will allow you to apply your developing understanding of the public humanities in a real-world context.

This course works to revise several myths: one, that the humanities (literature, history, philosophy, etc.) don’t use data; and two, that data are undebatable and unbiased. To the contrary, and as this course will demonstrate, works of art, narratives, sounds, and archival documents are rich sources of data, both for the crucial information they carry and the equally crucial sets of questions they raise. We will ask, for example, what gets counted? Who is doing the “counting”? How and why are we “counting” at all? Through a set of discussions, workshops, and hands-on projects, you will learn to identify and analyze humanities data as well as to share that data persuasively and use those results as the basis for action to combat injustice and inequity, to examine systems of power, to reflect on ethics, and to serve the common good.

Many humanities practitioners have great project ideas—but don’t know how to bring those ideas to fruition. This course addresses this problem by training students in the development, implementation, management, and assessment of digital and public-facing projects in the humanities. Informed by the best practices in project management, this class focuses on project management strategies that are adapted and tailored to the contexts in which project management takes place in libraries, archives, museums, and institutions of higher education. Readings in project management theory will be paired with hands-on project management work with local partners. By the end of the course, students will better understand how to: develop a feasible project plan, understand the process of securing project funding, write a grant proposal, and manage project workflows to successfully implement a project plan.

This Internship course provides students with a pathway to gaining professional experience in a field pertinent to the digital and public humanities, while also receiving up to 3 credits towards their DPH minor.