Hi all!
I am so happy to announce that the application period for the 2024 cohort of the Digital Humanities Summer Scholars (DHSS) Program is open! We went fully remote for the first time in summer 2020, and once again, the program will be offered virtually for summer 2024.
The application deadline is March 29, so please contact me if you are interested in this unique summer research opportunity!
Please see the details below:
The Digital Humanities Summer Scholars (DHSS) Program is a six-week seminar with a minimum of 200 hours of work required. Funded through the Lafayette Libraries, it offers a $3,000 stipend for the 2024 program’s duration from May 14 – June 21, 2024. The 2024 DHSS program will be conducted virtually, via Zoom. While the program will be held virtually, the cost of on-campus housing will also be covered for the duration of the program for accepted Summer Scholars who request it during the application process .*
Candidates may be from any class year, as long as they are enrolled as a student at Lafayette College in the summer at the time of the program.
During the six weeks of the program, students will meet for classes and labs multiple times weekly as a group to discuss readings and develop their research questions, as well as attend workshops dedicated to learning digital tools including Gephi, TimelineJS, R, ArcGIS, etc. Past scholars have used this program to explore interests as varied as airports and urban development in Bengaluru, India; the social geography of Lafayette College; racial perceptions of anime; the history of electronic synthesizers; New York City’s subways, bridges, highways, and expressways in the 20th century; Khmer classical dance in modern pop music; labor rights considerations in eSports; disarmament in South Sudan; urban agriculture and activism in the city of Detroit, and more.
Students will present their final digital research projects at the end of the program to their fellow Summer Scholars and the Lafayette community at large during a recorded virtual event.
To find out more about this program, browse past projects at https://sites.lafayette.edu/dhss/our-projects/.
Angela Perkins, director of Digital Scholarship Services (DSS), Lafayette Libraries, and director of the DHSS program, will lead the program with support from Lafayette Libraries colleagues and Lafayette College faculty.
To apply: Prior to submitting an application, students must meet with Angela Perkins to discuss their research ideas and interests, as well as their experience (if any) with digital humanities, digital scholarship, filmmaking, digital art, computer science, web design, etc. Students who wish to apply will be given application instructions after their interview.
If you are interested and would like to interview, please contact:
Angela Perkins
The application deadline is March 29, 2024. Students will be notified of their acceptance status by April 12, 2024.
* Applicants needing on campus housing should note that on their application to the DHSS program where indicated.
Sincerely,
Angela
Director of Digital Scholarship Services (DSS)
David Bishop Skillman Library, Lafayette Libraries
Here are some Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the Digital Humanities Summer Scholarship?
The Digital Humanities Summer Scholarship (DHSS) is a competitive, six-week seminar where students engage with Digital Humanities: learning digital tools, methodologies, and community practices in order to build a research project of their own design. They work independently and as a collective to understand and participate in rigorous original research. We are in our fifth year of the program.
When is the program held? How long is it?
The DHSS program lasts 6 weeks in total. This summer’s program will run from May 14 – June 21, 2024, but any interested student should keep in mind that there are year-round program obligations, including mandatory attendance of the set of of four DHSS Idea Incubator research workshop sessions held in April 2024, final project presentations, as well as other events.
Who runs this program? Where is it housed?
This program, originally funded by a Mellon grant, is currently funded by The Lafayette Libraries, and is housed in Lafayette College’s Skillman Library. The program is headed by Angela Perkins, Director of Digital Scholarship Services (DSS), and collaboratively run by members of its Research and Instruction Department, with support from Digital Scholarship Services (DSS), and many other members of our community.
As the place where disciplines, methodologies, and research expertise intersect, the Library is the natural home for the program.
How much is this scholarship? Are there any other benefits that I will receive as a Summer Scholar
The DHSS program offers a $3000 stipend and on-campus housing for the program’s duration.
How are scholars selected?
Scholars are chosen through a competitive application process, which concludes on March 29, 2024 this year.
Interested students must schedule a brief interview (15-30 minutes) with Angela Perkins prior to applying. The student should be prepared to discuss their interest in DHSS, experience with digital humanities or digital scholarship, and current research interests.
After the preliminary interview, if the student is interested in applying, they will receive instructions to apply.
When considering the application for acceptance to the program, we look at the strength of the research question, the potential to design and execute a project effectively within 6 weeks, and degree of enthusiasm for their inquiry. All applicants will be notified as to the status of their acceptance to the program by April 12, 2024.
How is the DHSS program structured academically?
The program is a seminar-style course with an emphasis on fluidity and flexibility in schedule in order to facilitate a creative and intellectually expansive basis for pursuit of original research, and building the final digital research project. Classes meet twice weekly for three hours, and a lab period of three hours is scheduled on Fridays.
The first two weeks focus on learning and discussion of basic research methods and methodology, in addition to creating and honing the digital project’s central research question.
The following two weeks see the Summer Scholars taking digital humanities methods and methodologies workshops, including text mining and analysis, topic modeling, data visualization, geographic information systems (GIS) and mapping, and digital storytelling.
The final two weeks are concentrated on the Summer Scholars completing practical assignments which started on the first week, including the digital project outline and plan, literature review, digital tool review and demonstrations, and research paper. These all lead up to completion of the final digital project, and presentation.
Weekly journal entries round out the required work, which serve as reflections on the challenges, blocks, and accomplishments along the research journey, as well as a documentary method which instills the importance of transparency through disciplined project management.
Where can I find more information/resources/syllabus? How can I connect?
Please feel free to contact Angela Perkins, Research and Instruction Librarian, for more information at perkinsa@lafayette.edu.