12: Citizen History

Matt Price

Today

  • short lecture
  • assignment help!

Reminders

  • Oral History due Saturday
  • Proposal due Tuesday

What we've learned

Text is Code

  • all our work is "digital" now

The 3 layers of the web

  • structure
  • presentation
  • dynamism

The "Public" and "the Public Sphere"

  • media constrain the possible
  • the "public" is probably not unitary
  • don't have to be a genius to make a contribution

Invocations and Incantations

  • Using APIs to take advantage of other people's work
  • writing only what you have to

Open and Closed Systems

  • what "open source" means for us

Maps and Legends

  • organizing stories around space
  • digital maps are spcial

Storytelling

  • the distinctive features of oral history
  • problems of truth and objectivity
  • collaboration and authorship

What you might do

History doesn't have to stop at graduation

Changing Landscape of Profession and Expertise

  • how will "professionalism" stretch and change shape in the future?

Continuing as "historian" after graduation

  • history fora & groups
  • participating in crowdsourced projects
  • writing with a historian's eye

Use your new skills!

  • you're not a programmer yet, but you now understand how code works
  • lots of ways to learn
  • lots of roles for "demi-geeks"

History and Digital Literacy as Citizenship

Congratulations!