Public Digital History

Collaboration + Engagement via GitHub Pages

@fredgibbs | univ. new mexico

Two Questions:

  • How to improve tech literacy in humanities?
  • How to create more accessible DH pipelines?

Common: Interface-driven sites

Advantages

  • almost zero startup cost
  • easy administrative tools
  • ubiquitous

Drawbacks

  • complex interfaces for simple tasks
  • too much content abstraction
  • discourages innovation
  • tech masking

Better: Static sites

Drawbacks

  • non-trivial start-up costs
  • non-trivial technical understanding
  • way more DIY
  • troubleshooting rabbit holes

Advantages

  • plaintext file based
  • tech forward
  • extensible across classes
  • maintenance free

An accidental beginning...

Toward process practice...

  • Wanted more collaborative space for student work
  • GitHub (?!)

What is GitHub?

Level up

Year-to-year iterations...

Why Static Sites via GitHub Pages for Student Projects?

Github Pages Advantages

  • free
  • ubiquitious and stable
  • live cloud-based site building
  • students have own work areas

Digital Pedagogy & Digital Literacy

Digital Writing

  • direct file access & editing
  • ...but with Markdown not clunky HTML
  • demonstrate values of plain text
  • practice with a text editor like Sublime
  • encourages design thinking [example]

Collaborative Digital Publishing

  • transparency
  • accountability
  • peer review
  • product + process
  • expansible digital projects

Prototype template XANTHAN

In development...

Specific Questions...

  • how to get past initial intimidation?
  • how to not stop? what makes it compelling?

General Questions...

  • how are historian and archivist roles overlapping?
  • what are best ways of linking stories?
  • do we need a better vocabulary for linking digital work?

What can we build together?

Thank you

fwgibbs@unm.edu