Experiential Learning in the Archives: Case Studies in Digital Humanities Pedagogy for Undergraduate Research
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5195/palrap.2022.274Abstract
This article explores experiential learning in archives and special collections as an emerging area of digital humanities pedagogy within which librarians can take a central role. The case studies presented cover a range of undergraduate research projects that incorporated active and inquiry-based learning exercises with digital archives as a pedagogical approach to digital humanities instruction. The research projects include an honors project to create an online exhibit of medieval manuscript leaves, a capstone experience in the library to explore the relationship between archives and social justice, and a course project that used the University Archives to research the University of Scranton’s Black history.
References
Bell, C. (2015). In practice and pedagogy: Digital humanities in a small college environment. In A. Hartsell-Gundy, L. Braunstein, and L. Golomb (Eds.), Digital humanities in the library: Challenges and opportunities for subject specialists (pp. 103-126). Association of College and Research Libraries.
Bell, E. C., & Kennan, M. A. (2021). Partnering in knowledge production: Roles for librarians in the digital humanities. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 70(2), 157-176. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2021.1907886
Brannock, J., Carey, C., & Inman, J. O. (2018). Starting from the archives: Digital humanities partnerships, projects, and pedagogies. In R. Kear & K. Joranson (Eds.), Digital humanities, libraries, and partnerships (pp. 163-176). Chandos Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-102023-4.00012-4
Carino, C. (2018). Inquiry-based archival instruction: An exploratory study of affective impact. The American Archivist, 81(2), 483-512. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48617865
Christian-Lamb, C., & Shrout, A. H. (2017). “Starting from scratch”? Workshopping new directions in undergraduate digital humanities. Digital Humanities Quarterly, 11(3). http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/11/3/000311/000311.html
Clayton, S., & Widener, J. M. (2017). Beyond embedded librarianship: Co-teaching with faculty to integrate digital scholarship in undergraduate research. In M. K. Hensley & S. Davis-Kahl (Eds.), Undergraduate research and the academic librarian: Case studies and best practices (pp. 293-304). Association of College and Research Libraries.
Clement, T. (2012). Multiliteracies in the undergraduate digital humanities curriculum: Skills, principles, and habits of mind. In B. D. Hirsch (Ed.), Digital humanities pedagogy: Practices, principles and politics (pp. 368-388). Open Book Publishers. https://books.openedition.org/obp/1605
Daniels, M., & Yakel, E. (2013). Uncovering impact: The influence of archives on student learning. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 39(5), 414–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2013.03.017
Giannetti, F. (2017). Against the grain: Reading for the challenges of collaborative digital humanities pedagogy. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 24(2-4), 257-269. https://doi.org/10.1080/10691316.2017.1340217
Green, H. E. (2016). Fostering assessment strategies for digital pedagogy through faculty-librarian collaborations: An analysis of student-generated multimodal digital scholarship. In J. W. White. & H. Gilbert (Eds.), Laying the foundation: Digital humanities in academic libraries (pp. 179-204). Purdue University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt163t7kq.13
Grimm, T. (2017). Undergraduate research in the archives: A case study of collaborative teaching and dissemination of aerospace history. In M. K. Hensley & S. Davis-Kahl (Eds.), Undergraduate research and the academic librarian: Case studies and best practices (pp. 293-304). Association of College and Research Libraries.
Hauck, J. (2017). From service to synergy: Embedding librarians in a digital humanities project. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 24(2), 434-451. https://doi.org/10.1080/10691316.2017.1341357
Hensley, M. K., & Davis-Kahl, S. (Eds.). (2017). Undergraduate research and the academic librarian: Case studies and best practices. Association of College and Research Libraries.
Hirsch, B. D. (Ed.). (2012). Digital humanities pedagogy: Practices, principles and politics. Open Book Publishers. openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0024
Kear, R., & Joranson, K. (Eds.). (2018). Digital humanities, libraries, and partnerships. Chandos Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1016/C2016-0-01794-1
Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Lach, P. R., & Pollard, E. A. (2019). Visualizing history in the classroom: A faculty-librarian partnership in the digital age. New Review of Academic Librarianship, 25(2-4), 335-356. https://doi.org/10.1080/13614533.2019.1627562
Locke, B. (2017). Digital humanities pedagogy as essential liberal education: A framework for curriculum development. Digital Humanities Quarterly, 11(3). http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/11/3/000303/000303.html
Mahoney, S., & Pierazzo, E. (2012). Teaching skills or teaching methodology? In B. D. Hirsch (Ed.), Digital humanities pedagogy: Practices, principles and politics (pp. 215-225). Open Book Publishers. https://books.openedition.org/obp/1605
Mitchell, E., Seiden, P., & Taraba, S. (2012). Past or portal?: Enhancing undergraduate learning through special collections and archives. Association of College and Research Libraries.
Omeka. (2022). Homepage. Retrieved August 1, 2022, from https://omeka.org
Posner, M. (2013). No half measures: Overcoming common challenges to doing digital humanities in the library. Journal of Library Administration, 53(1), 43–52. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2013.756694
Reed, M., Duncan, P., & Halegoua, G. (2017). Engaging our student partners: Student leadership in a library-initiated experiential learning project. In M. K. Hensley & S. Davis-Kahl (Eds.), Undergraduate research and the academic librarian: Case studies and best practices (pp. 293-304). Association of College and Research Libraries.
Rockenbach, B. (2011). Archives, undergraduates, and inquiry-based learning: Case studies from Yale University Library. The American Archivist, 74(1), 297-311. https://jstor.org/stable/23079010
Ruelle, J. D. (Ed.) (2020). The engaged library: High-impact educational practices in academic libraries. Association of College & Research Libraries.
Russell, J. E., & Hensley, M. K. (2017). Beyond buttonology: Digital humanities, digital pedagogy, and the ACRL Framework. College & Research Libraries News, 78(11), 588-600. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.78.11.588
Society of American Archivists. (1999). Guidelines for college and university archives. Retrieved October 1, 2022, from https://www2.archivists.org/groups/college-and-university-archives-section/guidelines-for-college-and-university-archives
Stamatoplos, A. (2009). The role of academic libraries in mentored undergraduate research: A model of engagement in the academic community. College & Research Libraries, 70(3), 253-249. https://doi.org/10.5860/0700235
The University of Scranton. (2020). The University of Scranton Strategic Plan 2020: Our core, our community, our commitments. Retrieved July 15, 2022, from https://www.scranton.edu/strategic-plan/2020
The University of Scranton Catalog. (2022). Peace and Justice Studies Concentration. Retrieved July 15, 2022, from https://catalog.scranton.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=56&poid=8314&returnto=7034
Varner, S. (2016). Library instruction for digital humanities pedagogy in undergraduate classes. In J. W. White & H. Gilbert (Eds.), Laying the foundation: Digital humanities in academic libraries (pp. 205-222). Purdue University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt163t7kq.14
Wagner, A., & Strach, P. (2019). Internships and applied work-based learning experiences in higher education. New Directions for Higher Education, 188(2), 51-59. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20345
Weinberg Memorial Library. (2020). WML Strategic & Tactical Plan 2020-2025. Retrieved July 15, 2022, from https://www.scranton.edu/academics/wml/about/planning/index.shtml
Wertzberger, J., & Miessler, R. C. (2017). Dreaming big: Library-led digital scholarship for undergraduates at a small institution. In M. K. Hensley & S. Davis-Kahl (Eds.), Undergraduate research and the academic librarian: Case studies and best practices (pp. 293-304). Association of College and Research Libraries.
White, J. W., & Gilbert, H. (Eds.). (2016). Laying the foundation: Digital humanities in academic libraries. Purdue University Press. https://doi.org/10.26530/OAPEN_605454
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
- Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
- The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
- Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site;
- The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a prepublication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
- Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
- The Author represents and warrants that:
- the Work is the Author’s original work;
- the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
- the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
- the Work has not previously been published;
- the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
- the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
- The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.
Revised 7/21/2020. Revision Description: Updated to APA 7th style.