Reflective Narrative

I did not know when starting college what I wanted to do or who I wanted to be when I grew up, so to speak, so I began with a major in literature and writing. They were subjects I appreciated in high school and was interested in even outside of school. After receiving my Bachelor’s in English and Writing/Rhetoric, I was still interested in continuing my education, but in something a little different. I had taken two anthropology courses as an undergraduate, so I looked into how to further that interest. As a current employee at the same university I just graduated from, I found out that there was a masters program designed to create my own degree in a way and I soon found myself pursuing Anthropology and Historical Photography in a Masters of Liberal Studies program. When graduating from the program, my then advisor encouraged me to keep going and pursue a doctorate degree in Anthropology. But after being accepted and beginning at MSU, I found myself in a unique situation. As many traditional graduate programs begin with meeting and getting to know your cohort, I was faced with meeting and conversing with others through a computer screen as we were in the height of the pandemic. My first two years of the PhD program was me logging into and out of zoom classes and meetings, commuting from one room in my home to another. And thus, presenting another approach to the learning-how-to-learn philosophy. However, when we eventually came back to campus, I found myself not only learning how to learn while being back in the classroom, but also learning to learn about myself, as a PhD student and as an anthropologist. 

In the last three years of being at MSU, I was given opportunities to explore the field and what I wanted to do in the future as well as opportunities to develop professionally. Through my experiences as a student, teaching assistant, and researcher, I gained interest in how I could develop my skills and research even further. It is then that I learned about the Digital Humanities Graduate Certificate from fellow graduate students, and I soon found myself applying. The program has allowed me to reflect upon my experiences at MSU and has inspired me to continue furthering my interests in digital humanities for when I have my own classroom in the future. I share some of my experiences below.

Digital Humanities Seminar: ANP 412

In the spring of 2021, I enrolled in ANP 412: Method and Practice in Digital Heritage. Although not a graduate course, I was allowed to enroll because there were no other courses being offered about digital approaches to anthropological research in the department. In the course, I learned about different types of digital heritage initiatives, ethical considerations to examine in different situations, and how different technologies could be used for preservation, collaboration, or engagement. The assignments given allowed me to dive into digital heritage and humanities literature, reflect upon those readings through blog posts, receive hands-on learning through two lab experiences, and also prepare a mock digital heritage project through a project proposal and specs plan.

This course provided insight on how to integrate discussions about digital heritage and humanities into the classroom, modeling and encouraging through lectures, labs, and group projects. I appreciated being able to dive deeper into these fields as well as have the opportunity to experiment with different technologies.

Examples of the materials I created in this course can be found on this web page.

Digital Humanities Pedagogy: LEADR

For the 2023-2024 academic year, I was assigned to be a Teaching Assistant at the Lab for Education and Advancement in Digital Research (LEADR) at MSU. It was there that I had my “aha moment,” so to speak, the moment in my MSU journey where I realized that I was where I belonged and when I really became invested in my own research interests. Exploring different digital approaches to research and then teaching other students about different technologies made it an evolving and rewarding experience for me. Each semester, TAs were assigned different courses where faculty were interested in integrating digital methodologies and technologies into their classroom. The courses I was assigned included, ANP 489: Anthropology Capstone; HST 397: Global Soccer; RCAH 336: Topics in Language and Culture; HST 203: U.S. History Since 1876; IAH 221C: Great Ages: The Modern World (I); and ANP 433: Contemporary American Indian Communities. Through this diverse set of courses, I was able to educate faculty and students on a diverse range of digital technologies as well: geographical mapping, podcasting, TimelineJS, Google Earth, and WordPress, to name a few. I enjoyed seeing students have their lightbulb moment when learning something new, when everything just clicked and they found themselves immersed in the technology. I also had the opportunity to present on other topics with my LEADR colleagues, including through a Resume/CV Workshop, Recruitment Fair, and the H-Net 2024 Teaching Conference. I liked being able to expand our outreach to a larger audience and help others with how to integrate digital methods into their classrooms. Finally, with support from the Director and my colleagues, I have two forthcoming articles of publication that demonstrate different approaches to digital research and how to educate others on the topic.

While in LEADR, I worked alongside another graduate student who was in my original cohort, two others from the history department, and two undergraduate workers. We all just clicked and became a well-oiled machine. We relied on each other, collaborated on different projects, and also had fun experimenting with the different equipment offered in the lab. Working in LEADR became the most fulfilling moment of my MSU career because of the continued support from my colleagues. The experiences I had in the lab were one of the best I had while at MSU and I will cherish them always.

Examples of the materials I created while a TA in LEADR can be found on this web page.

Digital Humanities Research: CHI

For the past academic year (2024-2025), I have been a Graduate Fellow in the Cultural Heritage Informatics (CHI) Initiative at MSU. I work alongside other graduate students from across campus and learn about different approaches to digitizing cultural heritage and ways to develop my dissertation project. My dissertation research focuses on Main Street heritage in small communities and since being involved in CHI, it has evolved into an augmented reality experience and educational website. In CHI, I have been able to learn and create HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code and how to use GitHub Pages specifically for this project. These new skills were not only acquired from lectures and experimentation, but mostly through discussions with the other graduate fellows in my CHI cohort. Having the camaraderie and ability to ask questions while in-resident every Friday made the experience that much more fulfilling. I know I will be able to continue using such technologies and methods in the future because of the support of this initiative and my friends.  

Examples of the materials I created while a CHI Graduate Fellow can be found on this web page.

Conclusion

The Digital Humanities Graduate Certificate has offered me the opportunity to expand my interests in digital heritage and humanities, and explore how to adapt what I have learned into my own future classroom. I hope to become a university professor after receiving my PhD to grow interest and research in anthropology and digital humanities so students can have more diverse experiences and creative approaches to research. I hope to provide opportunities like the ones I received in ANP 412, LEADR, and CHI so that students can further “learn how to learn.” This experience has provided me with skills that I can transfer to other endeavors and has given me a way to support students through experiential learning.

I am grateful for this opportunity and thank you for your support.