DH Open Office Hours with Dr. Lauren Klein

Dr. Klein joined us for DH Open Office Hours before her talk in 90 Snell Library. Dr. Klein is assistant professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, and in addition to her interest in digital humanities, also researches American literature and culture, media studies, and food studies.

She also now edits the journal Debates in the Digital Humanities. This caught the attention of quite a few of those in attendance, especially because they wanted to know more about the publishing platform for its digital edition.

Klein explained that the journal uses Manifold Scholarship, which is “an open-source platform for scholarly works.”

In the future, Dr. Klein wants to push the journal towards more debates and fewer case studies.

The conversation turned to the value of blogging. On one hand, it used to be a centerpiece of being involved in digital humanities. On the other hand, it’s hard to get it “counted” towards tenure and on resumes, especially compared to larger, more formal projects. This is especially because most people doing the hiring are not digital humanists, and don’t always see the value of blogging and interacting with the community.

However, some blogs do turn into journal articles, and it’s easier to do important things in digital humanities when you’re an active member of the community. And, of course, writing regularly is a useful habit to get into, and can lead to interesting ideas and start important conversations.

The concensus was that sincerity is key – don’t write just to market yourself. Write blogs because you have ideas you want to share or wok out, and because you want to be part of the wider community. That’s where the meaningful work happens, and where blogging will be a boon instead of a burden.

More information on DH Open Office Hours can be found at our event and wiki pages. If you have questions email us at DSG@neu.edu or contact us on Twitter @NU_DSG.

Post by Abbie Levesque, Digital Scholarship Group Coordinator.