Since there is no exam in this course, regular attendance and participation is a must (and will figure in the final grade). To pass the course you must be in class the majority of the time (you are allowed a maximum of two absences, with the count started after the first week of classes).
Solo Assignments
Besides team work, each student has individual assignments that contribute to the class as a whole or to their team project but that are individually graded. A total of 50% of the final grade for each student derives from these solo assignments.
Student Bio
Class 4, Oct. 9: (This assignment is required to pass the course, but is not graded.) By this date, each student needs to create a bio for the course site that includes a description of their intellectual interests. This will allow class members to learn something about each other and also facilitate the formation of project teams. Try for a bio that is more or less professional in tone. However, since students often do not have enough material for a professional bio summarizing their relevant interests, expertise, experience, etc., you can also aim for a middle point between a Facebook-style profile and a career-oriented, professional bio. (Students may request to be excused from this assignment for privacy reasons or other reasons if they speak to the instructor. Students may also have their bio page deleted after the course.) To create your bio page, follow the steps on the Bio Instructions page.
Practicums
Various Dates in First Weeks of Course (see course schedule): (Practicums are required to pass the course, but are not graded.) Course "practicums" are hands-on, small-scale exercises that ask students to experiment at a beginner's level with the tools of the digital humanities. Classes 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 in the course each include a practicum that should be completed before class. Typically, a practicum asks students to try out a digital tool and method, then to leave an interesting "souvenir" on a page they create on the Student Work site for this course. The "souvenir" can be as simple as a screenshot of or link to something created (or found) during the exploration, For instructions on the individual practicums and on how to leave a "souvenir," see the Practicums page.
Annotated Bibliography
Class 12, Nov. 6: Create an annotated bibliography of 5 items related to the literary work and/or technologies or research methods your team is working on (or related to some other topic bearing on your team project). An "item" might be, for example, an essay, book, software tool, web site, related project, suggestive paradigm, etc. (There must be at least one print or originally-in-print item included. Wikipedia articles do not count as possible items, though Wikipedia may be used to supplement the description of an item if used according to the course Wikipedia Use Policy.) (10% of final grade) An annotated bibliography entry for an item consists of the following:
Post your annotated bibliography on the wiki by following the instructions on the Annotated Bibliographies page. Please also turn in a hard copy.
Research Report
Class 14, Nov. 20: Choosing one of the items in your individual annotated bibliography, write a 4-page research report on it that includes the following sections (15% of final grade):
Post your research report on the wiki by following the instructions on the Research Reports page. Please also email to Prof. Liu a digital copy of your research report (preferable as a PDF file, otherwise as a DOC or DOCX file).
Final Essay
Due the Monday after classes are over: Dec. 9 (8 pages): You have two choices for how to approach the final essay. One: Provide an understanding of the way your team project allows us better to understand the literary (or other) work that the project is about. Two: Provide an understanding of the literary or other work that includes a discussion of how your team project contributes to that understanding. (In other words, you can decide the balance between discussing the project and discussing the literary work--i.e., which is the "foreground" and which the "background" topic of your essay. But both must be included in your discussion.)
Important: your intended audience for this essay is a general scholarly audience, not the insiders in our class. So take care to provide the necessary context (i.e., explain the work and your project as if you were writing for another professor in the English department). Also, speak of your project in the objective third-person (not "our project makes me think that . . ." but "the [project title] at UCSB shows that . . .). In other words, these essays should be designed to be publicly presentable; they will be linked from the Final Essays page on the course site and also if possible from your team's project page on the course site. (25% of final grade.) Post your essay on the course site by following the instructions on the Final Essays page. Please also email a digital copy to the instructor (preferably in PDF format).
Team Project
Students will group into teams of 3 to 4 each. Each team will create a digital project exploring a literary work (or part of a work). Teams will be formed up in Class 6. Grading: 50% of the final grade of each student will be based on the team-wide grade for their project.
Team Preparatory Tasks
Team projects are due at the end of the quarter, but they require preliminary collaborative tasks on the following schedule:
Team Final Tasks (Classes 17-18, Dec. 2/4)
Due to the shortness of development time in an academic quarter, teams are not necessarily expected to finish with a fully-realized and polished product (though, of course, the closer to that goal the better). Instead, the goal is to finish with at least a working "version," "prototype," "demo," "model," "draft," "first analysis" (if your project is a text analysis, for example), "preliminary results," or whatever similar term fits the nature of the project. During the last week of the course, teams will make formal presentations of their projects. By the the time of these final presentations, teams must have ready the following:
Teams will formally present their projects to the class in classes 17-18. Presentations must be well prepared and timed to last no more than 13 minutes.