My keynote presentation from the 2011 Midwest Historic Archaeology Conference held at Michigan State University - the theme of which was "Digitizing the Historic Midwest"
1. CULTURAL
HERITAGE
INFORMATICS:
a model for digital practice, capacity building, and
education in cultural heritage
Dr. Ethan Watrall
Department of Anthropology
MATRIX: The Center for the Arts, Letters, & Social
Sciences Online
Michigan State
University
@captain_primate |
#MWHAC
29. chi.matrix.msu.edu
The MSU Cultural Heritage Informatics Initiative is a
platform for interdisciplinary scholarly collaboration in the
domain of Cultural Heritage Informatics at Michigan State
University. In addition, the initiative strives to equip students
with the practical and analytical skills necessary to creatively
apply digital technologies to cultural heritage materials and
questions, influence the current state of cultural heritage
informatics, and become thought leaders for the future of
cultural heritage informatics.
30.
31. Sixteen Tons
Tells the story of mine workers, their families, and their communities
through a public archive and online exhibit that documents the history of
two mining towns.
Campus Unearthed
Online exhibit with explores the cultural heritage of Michigan State
University, and allows the Campus Archaeology Program to engage with
the public and community stakeholders
dhShare
Collaborative online resource that allows users to share and engage with
resources relating to intellectual properly, copyright, and cultural patrimony
Mississippian Archaeological Digital Repository
Scholarly digital repository designed to preserve and provide access to
Mississippian archaeological data
34. “campus as museum”
Android + iPhone/iPod
Mobile, locations-based
application that allows users
to engage with the heritage
of MSU and the process by
which that knowledge was
constructed
I’m taking quite a bit for granted in this statement - not least of which the idea that computers and computation have impacted archaeology and cultural heritage for quite a long time (since the early 1950s).\n\nComputers and cultural heritage isn’t a new thing at all. In fact, at least in archaeology, the relationship can be traced back to the early 1950s \n\nOne of the earliest,most influential, and best known examples comes courtesy of the late Jim Deetz’s seminal work on Arikara ceramics carried out in the very early 1960s in which he used an IBM mainframe to discover "stylistic coherence" on over two thousand rim sherds from central South Dakota Medicine Crow site\n\nBut lets put that aside for now.\n
Its in this context that I would like to introduce you to a term - a term that will serve to frame the rest of this discussion\n
Its in this context that I would like to introduce you to a term - a term that will serve to frame the rest of this discussion\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
a reminder that the technology isn’t the point. \n
a reminder that the technology isn’t the point. \n
So, what exactly is the difference between Cultural Heritage Informatics and other similar domains such as the DIGITAL HUMANITIES, DIGITAL ARCHAEOLOGY, DIGITAL HISTORY, or even LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCES.\n
So, what exactly is the difference between Cultural Heritage Informatics and other similar domains such as the DIGITAL HUMANITIES, DIGITAL ARCHAEOLOGY, DIGITAL HISTORY, or even LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCES.\n
So, what exactly is the difference between Cultural Heritage Informatics and other similar domains such as the DIGITAL HUMANITIES, DIGITAL ARCHAEOLOGY, DIGITAL HISTORY, or even LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCES.\n
So, what exactly is the difference between Cultural Heritage Informatics and other similar domains such as the DIGITAL HUMANITIES, DIGITAL ARCHAEOLOGY, DIGITAL HISTORY, or even LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCES.\n
the argument I’m making is that in many ways, CHI brings much of these domains together\n
\n
important to point out that these characteristics are of my own making - based on my experience and work in digital cultural heritage. \n\nTales from the trenches, as it were\n
or perhaps, given that this is a conference of archaeologists, this would be more appropriate\n
cultural heritage informatics isn’t just about archaeology - its about all disciplines that are interested in cultural heritage. - history, museology, historic literature, area studies (such as American Studies, and Near Eastern Languages & Cultures)\n\nIt is also about those disciplines, such as informations science, computer sciences, and user experience design, that can help us address technical questions and challenges. \n
cultural heritage informatics is also deeply collaborative...leveraging the skills and domain knowledge of various disciplines to build engaging digital cultural heritage projects\n
When I say “open,” what exactly do I mean?\n\nThere has been a lot of talk about openness in regards to data - and that is an important discussion to have. However, when I say “open” in this context, I’m more interested in encouraging a form of scholarship that is outward facing instead of inward facing\n\na form of practice that looks to the greater scholarly ecosystem (not just in cultural heritage) for models, approaches, collaborators, and research\n\na form of practice that engages with the wider scholarly community - thereby bringing our experience and understanding to other domains (related or not) and subjects\n
cultural heritage informatics embraces a culture of sharing - sharing of models, data, approaches, workflows, even code.\n
This model of openness, collaboration, and sharing is simply not possible in an environmental of rigidly and dogmatically enforced “silos” - intellectual silos, professional silos\n\nDisciplinary and intellectual silos are simply counterproductive to exciting and innovative work in digital cultural heritage. \n
Cultural heritage informatics has a very strong ethic of “building as a way of knowing” (or “hacking as a way of knowing”).\n\nThe idea is that you can gain far more insight and understanding by actually making things \n\nThis approach also has added benefit for students because they gain or strengthen skills that ultimately make them better professionals. \n
At MSU, I’m put this model into practice in the Cultural Heritage Informatics Initiative\n
\n
The CHI Initiative is housed and administered by the MSU Department of Anthropology, hosted by MATRIX, and funded by Anthropology, The Graduate School, and the College of Social Sciences\n
\n
describe fieldschool\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
powerful model for developing digital cultural heritage projects\n\npowerful model for building skills in students and capacity in the domain of cultural heritage. \n
its also worthwhile to circle back to this image, and remind you that the technology isn’t the point - the point is what it can do for the scholarly inquiry into the human past and human culture. How the technology can support contributions to the scientific record. \n
but it also requires that you take a leap - diverge from common practice and step into the unknown and unfamiliar.\n