DH-412 / 5 credits

Teacher: Baudry Jérôme

Language: English


Summary

The course presents a number of computational approaches & tools that can be used to study history. Drawing on case studies from the history of science & technology, the course also offers students the opportunity to critically reflect on their own practices as digital humanists and data scientists.

Content

Keywords

history, social sciences, digital, history of science, big data, text analysis, data visualization, citizen science, history of technology, digital humanities, computational thinking, ethics, science and society

Learning Prerequisites

Required courses

None

Recommended courses

nice to have:

- CS-401 (Applied data analysis) or equivalent

- a SHS course in history (for example: HUM-221, HUM-276, HUM-385 etc.)

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the student must be able to:

  • Identify and formulate important research questions in history
  • Explore historical data using a variety of computational approaches
  • Analyze the differences and similarities between the natural and the human/social sciences
  • Contextualise her/his data science practice through historical examples

Transversal skills

  • Make an oral presentation.
  • Write a scientific or technical report.
  • Use a work methodology appropriate to the task.
  • Demonstrate the capacity for critical thinking

Teaching methods

Lectures + discussion of readings (2 hours per week)

Student projects (3 hours per week)

Expected student activities

Students are expected to attend lectures, read the assigned articles, participate actively to class discussions, design and conduct projects in small groups.

Assessment methods

Project (80%): two intermediary reports (each 15%) and one final report (50%)

Class discussion (20%)

Supervision

Office hours Yes
Assistants Yes
Forum Yes

Resources

Bibliography

Lisa Gitelman (ed.), "Raw Data" is an Oxymoron, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2013.

Shawn Graham, Ian Milligan and Scott Weingart, Exploring Big Historical Data, The Historian's Macroscope, London: Imperial College Press, 2015.

Jo Guldi and David Armitage, The History Manifesto, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Ian Milligan, "Mining the 'Internet Graveyard': Rethinking the Historian's Toolkit," Journal of the Canadian Historical Association, 23(2), 2015: 21-64.

Ressources en bibliothèque

Moodle Link

In the programs

  • Semester: Spring
  • Exam form: During the semester (summer session)
  • Subject examined: History and the digital
  • Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Project: 3 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Semester: Spring
  • Exam form: During the semester (summer session)
  • Subject examined: History and the digital
  • Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Project: 3 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Exam form: During the semester (summer session)
  • Subject examined: History and the digital
  • Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Project: 3 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Semester: Spring
  • Exam form: During the semester (summer session)
  • Subject examined: History and the digital
  • Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
  • Project: 3 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks

Reference week

 MoTuWeThFr
8-9     
9-10     
10-11 INM203   
11-12    
12-13     
13-14     
14-15     
15-16 INM203   
16-17    
17-18    
18-19     
19-20     
20-21     
21-22     

Tuesday, 10h - 12h: Lecture INM203

Tuesday, 15h - 18h: Project, other INM203

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