Project Name
- “The Blood of Patriots and Tyrants.”
Project Owner
- Ben Johnson
Project Summary
- Even in an increasingly digital age where much is recorded, there are few events which will undoubtedly transcend time and remain forever in our collective consciousness as U.S. citizens. One such event was the raid of the U.S. Capitol building which occurred on January 6th, 2021. This project will conceptualize the events of January 6th, 2021, within the framework of the relationship between reactionary politics and veterans. A core research question that I will seek to answer through primary and secondary source research, digital timelines, storytelling, and text analysis is: What drives individuals who promise to preserve and protect the U.S. Constitution to change course and challenge the legitimacy of their government once they leave the service? This project will uncover the importance and consequences of veteran political activity, and what compels these individuals to take such action. I will briefly explore the history of such activity in the United States and complicate our understanding of why these veterans take such a dramatic step.
Deliverables
- WordPress/Scalar
- Timeline JS
- StoryMapJS/ArcGIS
- Primary and secondary sources
- Maps
- Images such as photographs and prints
- Government documents on the January 6th raid of the U.S. Capitol
Timeline
| Week 1 (6/7 – 6/11) Meet with mentor to discuss plans for the summer. Continue to compile resources for the project. Explore digital tools which I will plan to utilize. | Week 2 (6/14 – 6/18) Project charter due. Consolidate sources which explore the January 6th U.S. Capitol raid in detail. Meet with mentor to discuss progress and steps to take. |
| Week 3 (6/21 – 6/25) Wireframes due. Meet with mentor to discuss the digital tools that I will implement. | Week 4 (6/28 – 7/1) Have a competent understanding of the digital tools to be utilized. Continue to gather the sources I will use in the project. Meet with mentor to discuss next steps. |
| Week 5 (7/6 – 7/9) Visualization due. Work on completing timeline and map(s) for my website. Meet with mentor to discuss the layout of my website as well as the progress of my work using the digital tools. | Week 6 (7/12 – 7/16) First project draft due. Meet with mentor to discuss improvements on my first draft. Apply the improvements and be prepared to do final edits. |
| Week 7 (7/19 – 7/23) Final project draft due. Meet with mentor to discuss final steps. | Week 8 (7/26-7/30) Presentation due. Meet with mentor to discuss the successes and failures of my project. |
End of Life/Future Plans
- This website will serve as a vital resource for my Individual Studies Major capstone project, which will be completed during the fall semester of 2021. I will utilize the sources I have already gathered and the website itself to enable me to integrate the digital humanities into my capstone project.
- I will market my abilities to do independent research in the digital humanities to future employers to both prove my research capabilities and my technical proficiency.
