Are there biases present in my sources that even a close reading might not reveal? What are they? How do I determine what to read closely within an overwhelmingly large collection of primary sources? What can I do with fragmentary evidence? What approaches are particularly useful for revealing stories of people who have been marginalized? Is there a way to streamline research management, note-taking, and writing? How do I bridge historical content and the technical skills students will need to succeed in the twenty-first century?
Participants will find answers to these questions (and more!) in a two-part afternoon workshop 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.
Following the overview, participants will decide which approach is of greatest interest, and that will be the topic of the second session. Participants will have the opportunity to learn one of the approaches presented in the overview through a guided, hands-on tutorial.