How scholars define the Digital Humanities is as ongoing and fraught conversation. Here I offer a simple working definition to continue the conversation about its definition and present my own approach to the field. It is not meant to be exhaustive or all-encompassing. Please share what you believe to be…
Author: ashleyrs
“Settlers are not born. They are made in the dispossessing, a ceaseless obligation that has to be maintained across the generations if the Natives are not to come back.” — Patrick Wolfe.[1] In this post, I examine how American colonists became settlers through the process of invoking their perceived sovereignty…
A Case Study of Settler Colonial Power Relations in the American Midwest
Posted in Percolating Ideas
In this post, I briefly explore the ways in which settler colonialism shaped relations between tribes and how relations between American colonizers and Indigenous communities changed during the American Revolution. This short case study also exposes Indigenous dispossession and the establishment of hierarchical relations between imperial agents and those they…
Why Constantine?
Posted in Percolating Ideas
What was the big deal about Constantine? Why was France willing to expend thousands of French lives in two separate campaigns (1836 and 1837) to take the city? Prior to the first French military campaign to conquer the province of Constantine in 1836, parts of Captain Saint-Hippolyte’s notes about Constantine…
Settler Colonialism Uncovered: A New DH Project on the Horizon
Posted in Digital Humanities, and News and Notes
As a Cultural Heritage Informatics fellow, I am taking the first step toward making information about two prototypes of settler colonization – the United States and French Algeria – available for high school and undergraduate students and educators, as well as early-stage researchers and the general public through a website,…
Setting up a Comparison: Settler Colonization in the American Midwest and French Algeria
Posted in Percolating Ideas
Why do a comparative study? Why choose these two very different and seemingly unrelated regions? I’ve received these questions often enough that they merit an explanation. Please bear with me as my response is a little lengthy. This is a complex project! I’ve added subheadings to make navigating this post…
As you begin a project, consider what your goals and target audience(s) are. What story do you want to tell with your data or material? A project’s goals should motivate next steps and the decision about which tools to employ rather than tools driving the work. That being said, here…
What is “civilization”?
Posted in Percolating Ideas
Today one often hears talk about “civilized” conduct or standards of civilization, but what do we mean by these terms and ideas? When and how did come about? and why? More importantly, why does it matter? First, I should clarify that there are two distinct meanings of “civilization”: It is…
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, François Mitterrand Site There are several sites of the Bibliothèque Nationale: François Mitterrand Richelieu-Louvois Musée de l’Opéra Arsenal La Maison Jean Vilar To get to the François Mitterrand site, take Line 14 on the Metro toward Olympiads. Get off and follow the signs toward the Bibliothèque. When…