This seminar is a broad survey of artistic, academic, and activist productions of digital material over the last 15 years in the Middle East. We will address 4 larger themes across the week of the seminar, in addition to framing each day alongside larger debates in digital humanities and public scholarship. The sessions will include:
- Digital Directions of Middle Eastern Studies
- Archive Fever: Documents, Objects & Images
- Maps, Space, and Visualizing Place
- Digital StoryTelling: Text/Image/Sound/Video
Some of the questions that motivate this seminar are: How do we make sense of different archives, databases, and digitization projects that emerge across the region every year? How do they allow for new means of collaboration, crowdsourcing, and community? How are we teaching the “Middle East” with changing technologies? To whom? With what resources? What is the future of area studies in a digital age?
This seminar will speak to those with an interest in digital cultures and digital humanities. We will explore a wide number of platforms, archives, databases, and projects to understand larger developments. Each day, participants will come away with a wide list of resources they might use for their own research and teaching.
When & Where
Seminar Schedule. Seminars run Monday to Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with a midday communal lunch. Seminar conveners may adjust the class schedule in response to participant needs. Special events may also be held during the week. Participants are required to attend the full week of seminar meetings and maintain 90% attendance overall.
Seminar Materials. Eligible participants are provided with all required seminar materials (books, articles, laboratory equipment, and entrance fees).
Accommodations & Meals. Limited housing accommodations are provided to participants who live more than 50 miles from the program site. All admitted participants are provided with some meals during the program period.
Application Procedure. Applicants should submit the completed application along with all of the following:
- A statement of intent that indicates how the seminar participant will apply what is learned at the home institution
- A current CV
- A letter of support from either the division dean or department head, who is well-acquainted with the applicant’s area of research
- Their institutional liaison officer’s approval