Gettysburg College: A Diversity Story is a public history project highlighting the diversification and efforts of inclusion within the student body, faculty, administration, and governance. The project itself is transformative because I am “uncovering” a part of the college history that some campus members know about. I recently had a conversation with someone where they told me that my project was going to cause issues that no one would be interested in learning about this perspective. Naturally, I was perplexed – why would someone say this. I really thought about this conversation because it was one I knew I would hear, but I was not sure when it would come or how it would be phrased. The authors in the article elaborate on the dominating community within DH and unfortunately everything else. I completely understand that Gettysburg College has some members that are against diversity, but this project is not to convince people that diversity at the college is great or to diminish the experience of others. My project is for those that plan to come to Gettysburg College, for those that feel like they didn’t have a place here. This conversation is so important – in a sense, we are still at the beginning of diversifying the institution. Diversity may look good when we look at statistics, but we are not diverse. Our friend groups and classes remain segregated -people do not understand the efforts of those who strive to diversify the college… some understand, but most do not, at all. It can be transformative by giving others a voice to efforts that we are not aware about. It is transformative by making others aware of these efforts – to this day, community members remain in the shadows.
Digital Humanities as a program is fairly new at the institution, but we committee is listening to the needs of the cohort and changes are being made when we voice the transformation we, the cohort, think we need. The article mentions the difficulties minorities face when becoming digital humanists – I have a different perspective on this conversation. I agree that minorities have a difficult time fighting for their position in the world of DH, but I do not think that being a minority increases the level of difficulty when learning about the tools. Before starting the program, the committee emphasized that we did not need prior experience with digital tools to be successful in this program. Does digital humanities need to be transformed – yes, of course, but doesn’t every field need to be transformed? So many fields are dominated by White, Christian men that are well off socio-economically – the narrative is changing, but minorities will continue to fight for their voice, regardless of the field. I came in with a narrow perspective on digital humanities and it has now expanded. I acknowledge that digital humanities is more than a research question – it is creating a research project that is attractive, which is something students don’t get when writing a research paper. My level of creativity has increased exponentially because I am in control of my entire project. Having a supportive cohort and committee make the experience better, I can see how DH can be difficult without the support. Fortunately, I have the support and tools I need, which puts me in a different position.
Appreciate how your own understanding of DH has been transformed! And it’s great to see that you are thinking creatively about your research and you are getting the opportunity to express that in what you are doing. There’s lots of different ways to involve undergrads in DH … but many of them involve having the students work on very directed projects–something led by faculty, or relegating students to a more technical support role. One of our hopes for the DSSF program is that we can transform how others see the work done by undergrads and that other institutions implement similar programs.
Keep your eyes on the project purpose that YOU identified and stay the course! We’re with you!