Instructor: Dr. Ashley Sanders (asandersgarcia@ucla.edu) Meeting Times: 3-hour interactive lecture + weekly lab Course Description This course is a critical social media data analysis course that explores not only how to, but also why, study this type of data. This course moves beyond a business-minded functional understanding and analysis of social media data to engage
Read MoreThe funds raised by AIDS/LifeCycle participants like myself support the HIV/AIDS services at San Fransisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. HIV/AIDS remains one of the top ten leading causes of death among young people, particularly young people of color. With the support of donors like YOU, we are working to see an end to the 40-year epidemic that has affected millions.
Read MoreThis is the textbook that I wish I had had. I can’t think of a comparable work that weaves such an engaging historical case study together with such a breadth of methodological material, whether applied statistics, computational methods, or source bias. A must read. (Ian Milligan, Associate Vice-President, Research Oversight and Analysis, University of Waterloo)
Read MoreIt teaches us about how to ethically account for silences in the archive, how to intentionally approach the production of history, and how to creatively imagine what the future of digital humanities research can be. (Lauren Klein, Winship Distinguished Research Professor; Director of the Digital Humanities Lab at Emory University)
Read MoreDr. Sanders teaches with mastery and empathy. I am not a coder and I was scared coming into this class, but I learned SO much about conducting research, analyzing data, and presenting that data as part of a comprehensible narrative. (Graduate Student, UCLA, Winter 2021)
Read MoreProfessor Sanders has a knack for integrating different perspectives into her explanations of very complex issues. I learned a lot about how to think more critically about data, narratives, and sources. Professor Sander’s presentations were always very in-depth and well-structured. (Undergraduate student, UCLA, Fall 2020)
Read MoreThe hands-on assignments for data cleaning and data visualization with Tableau, as well as the group note document were most helpful. I also think the community free response questions allow us to think critically about a topic and see how our classmates interpreted it as well. (Undergraduate student, UCLA, Summer 2022)
Read MorePlay “is the basis of all art, games, books, sports, movies, fashion, fun, and wonder–in short, the basis of what we think of as civilization. Play is the vital essence of life. It is what makes life lively.” Brown & Vaughan, Play, 11 Introducing Play in the Classroom I have a confession to make. I
Read MorePresidential Roundtable at the Western Association of Women Historians Conference (22-24 April 2022, Costa Mesa, CA) Abstract: In this presidential roundtable, each scholar will provide an introduction to their work and offer their “best advice” to graduate students and early career scholars navigating the digital world at this challenging time. In particular, speakers will address
Read MoreThis is the first in a two-part afternoon workshop series presented by Dr. Ashley Sanders, Vice Chair of Digital Humanities and a comparative colonial historian at UCLA. The first session of the workshop provides an overview of digital historical research methods, including text and network analysis, geospatial and data visualization, a workflow to organize research materials, as well as tips for pedagogical applications. This overview will provide jargon-free explanations of each technique, examples, as well as links to free, easy-to-use tools.
Read MoreGrading has always been an unsatisfactory but institutionally necessary practice in my teaching. This post is a reflection on my past and present experiences with grading and shares ideas for restructuring future classes to create a better assessment experience for everyone.
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