Fordham University, Lincoln Center

Announcing THATCamp New York! On Oct. 5-6, 2012, we’ll gather at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus for an open meeting of the minds. THATCamp NY will be a space for scholars, librarians, educators, and students working at any level within the digital humanities to explore potential collaboration with each other and with information centers (libraries, museums, and archives). THATCamp NY 2012 discussions will emphasize the theme of collaboration among members of metropolitan research institutions to strengthen current projects and inspire new digital humanities scholarship. JSTOR, the library database for online academic journals, will host the workshop “Using JSTOR’s Data for Research.” Other multi-level workshops are being planned for participants who wish to learn more about specific tools, skills, trends, and platforms for digital scholarship and pedagogy. The cost to attend is free, but space is limited and applicants must register at the site. We seek a diverse group of people from a variety of institutions.

In addition to the generous support from Fordham University, the Fordham Digital Humanities Working Group, and Fordham IT, this event also is being generously funded by Hunter College Library, the CUNY Libraries, New York University Libraries, and JSTOR/Ithaka.

What is THATCamp? Short for “The Humanities and Technology Camp,”  THATCamp is a user-generated “unconference” on digital humanities. THATCamp was originally the brainchild of the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, where the first THATCamp was held in 2008; since then, more than sixty THATCamps have convened across the US and internationally. This particular THATCamp is organized by Jonathan Cain (Hunter College), Elizabeth Cornell (Fordham U.), and Tatiana Bryant (NYU) and hosted by Fordham University @Lincoln Center.

What is an “unconference”? According to Wikipedia, an unconference is “a conference where the content of the sessions is created and managed by the participants, generally day-by-day during the course of the event, rather than by one or more organizers in advance of the event.” Participants in an unconference are expected to share their knowledge and actively collaborate with fellow participants rather than simply attend or read a paper. Unconferences strive to avoid pomp and hierarchy; as a result, they’re generally more comfortable and free-flowing than a typical academic gathering. A frequent THATCamp attendee summed up the difference between a THATCamp and a regular academic conference this way: “[THATCamps] give all the good of traditional conferences and nix the endless PowerPoint presentations, sage-on-stage moments, and insane costs.”

Who should attend THATCamp? Anyone with energy and an interest in digital humanities. Faculty, graduate students, archivists, librarians, those interested in undergraduate teaching and technology, museum professionals, etc.

What will happen at THATCamp? Our THATCamp will feature workshops and sessions. Workshops are pre-planned, and feature informal and fun instruction in a particular skill or topic in the digital humanities. For example, JSTOR will offer a workshop on using their data for research.  Sessions are looser, participant-generated gatherings, which will be collaboratively scheduled the first morning of our THATCamp. At THATCamp New York, sessions may range from software demos to discussions of research findings to talk about uses of digital tools in the classroom, DH pedagogy, GIS tools, or data visualization.

What’s my role in shaping these sessions? Using our THATCamp blog, propose a session before we meet in person at newyork2012.thatcamp.org . Alternatively, bring a session idea and propose it to the group during our scheduling session. Once you’re at THATCamp, you may also find people with similar interests to team up with for a joint session.

How do I sign up? Visit our THATCamp site’s registration page http://newyork2012.thatcamp.org/registration/ to register for a spot. We are accepting up to 75 participants. Registration ends on 9/15/2012.

How much? Free!  THATCamps are cheap on purpose. Our THATCamp has been generously sponsored by Fordham University, CUNY Libraries, Hunter College, JSTOR, and NYU Libraries, and so we’ll be able to provide meals, snacks, and swag, along with the venue, at no cost to you.

Contact: Visit our website newyork2012.thatcamp.org, or email thatcampny@gmail.com for more information.