Developing a THATCampHBCU

B”H

Well, my dean doesn’t know it yet, but I am planning to organize a THATCamp HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities.)  I currently work for Clark Atlanta University, an HBCU in Atlanta, and I think it is really important to bring the black community into the vocabulary of digital humanities.

I know a lot of colleagues would technically qualify as “digital humanity scholars,” but that particular title hasn’t been used on our campuses before, so there is a lack of identification with the movement as a whole.  They are just quietly doing their thing, unaware that an entire field is growing up around them.

Categories: General |

About Michelle Kassorla

Michelle Kassorla is a Lecturer in the WISE/QEP program at Clark Atlanta University. She has a Ph.D. in Ethnic American Literatures from Bowling Green State University, a Master's Degree in English from Humboldt State University, and a Bachelors in English and Journalism from Bowling Green State University.

8 Responses to Developing a THATCampHBCU

  1. Alex Gil says:

    Count on me for this one. I am also trying to put together one for the Caribbean. Keep me updated!

  2. David Morgen says:

    I’m the Asst. Director of the Writing Center at Emory U in Atlanta and hoping to be one of the organizers for the next THATCamp Southeast (if we can ever get our acts together and get a meeting arranged). We’ve talked about improving outreach to HBCU and other schools in the Atlanta area next time around, but I’d also be happy to help out with your planning in whatever ways I can.

  3. Matt says:

    Fantastic idea. I’m looking forward to seeing what you put together. Please let me know whether I can help in any way.

  4. A suggestion: One way of approaching this is to anticipate what challenges or obstacles need to be “hacked” in order to make this happen and then to ask people to help tackle those hacks. And as I wrote here, “I use the term ‘hack’ to mean ‘a good workaround’ or ‘a good-enough solution.’ Sometimes a ‘hack’ will involve the use of technology, but sometimes it will not.”

    What kind of help do you need? Let us know!

  5. Ian Thomas says:

    This sounds great! Though I’m not at a HBC, I have contacts with a few different institutions in and around Little Rock, AR and I think many of the faculty members would want to be involved. Please let me know how I can help.

  6. James Neal says:

    Michelle,

    Good to see this. I am a Morehouse graduate so Clark/AU is near and dear to me. Kari Kraus at UMD and I are in the early stages of designing outreach to Howard University. Let’s be in touch.

    Thanks!
    James

  7. I’m so happy to see this. I’m originally from the Atlanta area but don’t have many scholarly connections there.

    As a historian, one of my interests is how we can use digital methods for researching African-American and women’s history– and helping people who already have training in those history subfields to learn more digital tools. I’d be happy to share how digital methods have helped me write about the African-American men and women of the Manhattan Project and on African-American and Mexican-American midwives during the early 20th century. I’m located in the Boston area, so my ability to participate in person would depend on my budget.

  8. Angela Shaw-Thornburg says:

    I’m in! I teach lit and composition at South Carolina State U. I have been exploring how to use low-cost/low-tech tools in my classrooms. I’m good at breaking big tasks into small, doable bits, so let me know if I can be of help.

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