4Humanities@UCSB Meeting 4

1. Discussion of principles for an overall media strategy

First we will add to the foundation of core values, frames, language, allies, and audiences we began establishing in Meeting 2 and Meeting 3 by discussing the principles for an overall media strategy (with a special, but not exclusive, focus on online “new media”).

Preparation (readings and browsings – links open in another window or tab):

(A) Alan Liu, 4-page excerpt from “Where is Cultural Studies in the Digital Humanities?” [http://humanistica.ualberta.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/liu-where-is-cultural-criticism-in-the-digital-humanities-excerpt.pdf], in Matthew K. Gold, ed., Debates in the Digital Humanities (U. Minnesota Press, forthcoming 2012), pp. 495-98. (The full essay is also available in the 4Humanities@UCSB private library [http://humanistica.ualberta.ca/2011/11/4humanitiesucsb-private-library/])

(B) Look at the online Prezi presentation Alan has prepared on “Creating a Humanities Advocacy Media Plan” [http://prezi.com/gpd6ygbijwvi/creating-a-humanities-advocacy-media-plan/] (which Alan will explain at the meeting). Click on the links in the screens near the end of the presentation entitled “IT Platforms & Tools” and “Historical & Current Paradigms of Advocacy IT” to get a sense of the nature of these resources (just spend a minute on each to find out what they are).

How to navigate the Prezi presentation in your browser: The Prezi will appear in your web browser. Click the arrows to move forward or back along the path of the presentation. Drag with your mouse to move around any particular screen view. You can also zoom in and out. When you see a Web link (a URL), you can click on it to open it in another browser tab or window. (There is also a full-screen viewing option for the Prezi under “More.” But because of the links that open in other browser windows or tabs, it may be easier instead just to zoom in and drag around from link to link.)

If you find it more convenient, you can view the links independently of the Prezi by browsing the following: (We will not have time in the meeting to explore these resources in detail; so spending a minute on each just to find out what they are will be helpful):

2. Project Planning

Secondly, we will begin brainstorming for individual or team projects that our group can produce this year.

Preparation:

Drawing on the core values, frames, language, and so on for humanities that we began identifying in previous meetings, draft either a full post or an informal idea for a post for the “Humanities, Plain & Simple” initiative on the 4Humanities site at http://humanistica.ualberta.ca/category/humanities-plain-and-simple/. (See the mission statement of the initiative on the site.)

To demonstrate how such a post can serve as the seed of an integrated media campaign or of discrete projects, Alan has drafted an example of a full post: “The Humanities and Tomorrow’s Discoveries” (http://humanistica.ualberta.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/liu-discovery-draft.doc).

If you do not have the time to work up a full draft for a post of this sort, please contribute anything in any form–a free-form paragraph, a bullet list, a drawing or image, etc. The purpose is to begin developing a stock of ideas that we can use at our meeting to start brainstorming projects. (The “Humanities, Plain & Simple” format is ideal for this purpose.)

How to create your “Humanities, Plain & Simple” post and have it mounted on our group’s collective brainstorming page:

* Just write something in a word-processor document, adding images and links as needed, and send it to Lindsay Thomas (lindsaythomas AT umail.ucsb.edu). We will mount it on our collective brainstorming page at: http://humanistica.ualberta.ca/2011/11/ideas-for-framing-the-humanities/. (Please ask Lindsay or Alan for instructions if you wish to post directly to the collective brainstorming page or want to contribute in a different format or media.)