Professional Portfolio of E.J. Pavlinich

Elan
Justice
Pavlinich

Digital Humanities

I employ an array of digital humanities, such as Mind Maps and Google Sites to accommodate different learning styles, to enhance students’ digital literacies, and to provide tools that will serve them beyond our semester together. For example, students report using some of these digital resources to brainstorm projects and to prepare for senior capstone exams, others have shared their website contributions and professional portfolios with potential employers and graduate schools.

Sections:

Digital Humanities at Wabash College

In my Digital Humanities class, students employ tech to foster connections with the broader community beyond the college. For example, using Google Maps, we constructed a text that represents diverse cultural contributions to Crawfordsville, Indiana. Then, students drew upon their personal experiences to develop multimodal narratives with Knight Lab's StoryMaps. Next, they illustrated infographics that share their unique knowledge and skillsets. Then, we hand-stitched wearable trackers that sync with social media accounts such as Twitter promote social justice. And we even wrote computer codes that generate new forms of poetry. For more information, please refer to the following website:

Digital Mind Mapping

Mind Maps begin with a central topic from which subtopics sprawl outward resembling a web. Unlike traditional outlines, Mind Maps appeal to multiple learning styles because they combine verbal and visual elements, while encouraging complex thinking about the connections between ideas that are not so easily facilitated by more linear conventions. I employ Mind Maps to present students with a broad overview of information (Figure One), to record the highlights of our in-class conversations (Figure Two), and as a creative exercise that helps students to analyze literary themes and to generate ideas for class discussions and essays (Figures Three and Four).

Figure One is a Mind Map of some of the most essential rhetorical principles of Business and Technical Writing. The basic structure and organization of the Mind Map reinforces class content by simplifying nine chapters of assigned reading. It is made available to students via online course archives, such as the Canvas file folder. This visual reference helps students completing major class assignments and professional writing beyond their undergraduate careers.

Figure Two is a record of ENG 218: Medieval and Renaissance Literature. It looks intricate from a wide perspective, but when we zoom in on specific branches the organization of the texts is clearly defined by phases of the English language: Old English, Middle English, and Early Modern English. In this way, we neatly display over 1500 years of English literary history in one concise map. But a Mind Map of this magnitude is compiled weekly over the course of the semester. I record students’ questions and insights as we analyze the texts. We use our discussion to answer the questions generated by a first reading, and to challenge some of the problems that emerge through close reading. Near the end of the semester, students are provided digital copies (so they can easily zoom in and read the fine print) and one poster-size print out (large enough to read and display—for those students with an entire wall to spare). We use our final, semester-long view of the texts to brainstorm the final project and to think critically about historical boundaries and literary traditions. Moreover, I encourage students to retain their Mind Map posters for senior comprehensive exams, graduate school, or other occasions for future reference. One student, having completed his senior exams, kindly explained that this visual representation of key literary periods would have been useful for his preparations.

In addition to making our course notes more dynamic, students employ Mind Maps to generate their own ideas. As an in-class exercise, they collaboratively build Mind Maps that focuses on one theme or formal convention employed within an assigned text. Each group then presents their work while leading the class through a careful literary analysis of their topic, supported by quotations and close reading. Also, as students develop their essay ideas, I encourage using Mind Maps to visualize complex connections within and across texts. In my experience, when students are given the opportunity to brainstorm with text, images, and spatial relations, they develop more nuanced and original papers.

Figures Three and Four: Having read J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, students collaborated in small groups of four to analyze a rhetorical element of literature in the context of Barrie’s text. Following roughly thirty minutes of constructing the Mind Maps, each group presented their work by projecting it onto the large screen (via a document camera), while leading the class through a careful literary analysis of their topic. These collaboratively-constructed Mind Maps were also made available online, and students reported using Mind Maps to generate topics for their individual literary analysis papers.

Web Design

Wabash Medievalists is a website that was initiated during the Fall semester of 2020 in a class on medievalisms; it continued to evolve into the Spring of 2021 during a survey course of medieval and early modern literatures. Both of these courses inspire students to think critically about history, diversity, and communication within the interdisciplinary context of Medieval Studies. I use Google Sites to introduce students to multimodal writing, encouraging them consider diverse audiences and accessibility. Moreover, building a website together requires students to practice recursive writing processes in a more familiar medium. The benefits of this project include enhanced digital literacies, community outreach, and a refined internet presence.

The first section of the website introduces Old and Middle English to students developing proficiency and confidence with their approaches to early phases of English literature. We practice reading these texts every week in the classroom, but to facilitate their independent studies and to ensure they retain these skills well beyond our semester together, I require students to recite the opening lines of Beowulf and Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, in Old and Middle English respectively. This subpage of Wabash Medievalists provides a chart that illustrates the phases of the English language, and some tools for refining pronunciations. In class, I provide interlinear translations of the relevant lines of poetry, and I demonstrate a proper recitation: I read one line and students repeat so that I can make corrections as necessary. Then, I direct them to the website where they will find a video of my reading and translating the opening lines of Beowulf, and a video of me reciting Chaucer’s Middle English with visual cues indicating the meaning of the words. Finally, to prevent students from getting bored with my recitations, and to make the experience a little more entertaining, I created two additional videos starring my cat, Thorn, reading the Old English and the Middle English, with captions so viewers can follow the text. This subpage of Wabash Medievalists supports students’ independent studies, so they can practice their recitations as needed.

Following this, Pieces of History is both a publicly accessible reference page and a record of students’ contributions. This subpage is evidence of students’ research practices, their abilities to clearly communicate one aspect of medieval cultures, and an introduction to web design. First, students selected a topic from a pre-approved list, including bestiaries, women writers, and the expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290. This collaborative assignment required students to draw from credible sources to construct a short overview of the subject. Following a peer review and revisions, each group uploaded their document to the website. Then, I presented a tutorial about multimodal, inclusive writing and fair-use images. Putting these lessons into practice, students enhanced their projects with copyright-free pictures, supported with captions, citations, and alt-text for visually-impaired readers. Finally, students participated in an online discussion group, via Canvas, in which they read and responded to the other projects by their peers uploaded to the website to identify overlapping historical events and themes. Consequently, students developed a broader understanding of medieval cultures through their own research and interactions among peers, while constructing a public-facing resource.

Additionally, Wabash Medievalists also served as a platform for creative expression. The Covid-19 pandemic hindered students’ full college experience. Passion was flagging. Depression was prevalent. And so, we turned to the Old English elegies, such as those found in the Exeter Manuscript. Old English elegies meditate on difficult circumstances. Speakers’ expressions of grief connect with audiences through a shared sense of loss. Tragedy is located within natural cycles of ebb and flow, suggesting that true stability is rooted in inner peace. As Wabash scholars, we are united by our experiences including the difficult circumstances of a global pandemic. After studying the Old English elegies, students contributed their own personal versions to our digital collection: Pandemic Elegies. Using Deor as a model, each Wabash Medievalist constructed their own verse, employing either the Old English refrain, “Þæs ofereode; þisses swa mæg,” or a Modern English translation, “that passed away; so shall this.” Students expressed their contemporary experiences within a medieval poetic form, connecting their current frustrations to a broader historic arc, and thus resonating with medieval perspectives. Despite the social-distancing imposed by the pandemic, Wabash scholars forged connections with people across temporal and cultural boundaries, adding nuance to their understanding of the human condition. Regarding their immediate circumstances, they employed poetic conventions to look through the pandemic for sources of humor and hope.

In fact, the Pandemic Elegies were so well received by the broader Wabash College community, that it seemed only natural to follow this with a foray into Middle English poetic conventions. In the following semester, during National Poetry Month in April, students took inspiration from the opening lines of Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales: “Whan that Aprille . . .” First, we analyzed the meter and rhyme scheme of Chaucer’s text, and identified multicultural intersections. Then, students composed their own poetry, expressing their 2021 experiences in Chaucerian style.

Finally, students designed their own original medievalisms for the webpage. First, I provide students with a short video introducing them to medievalisms, or modern recreations of medieval signs and cultures. This video includes critical terminology, textual examples, criticism, and a brief overview of some of the medievalisms that are specific to Wabash College. The publicly accessible video ensures that students have a reference text to consult over the course of the semester, while also demonstrating how online platforms such as YouTube and Google Sites intersect. ENG 180: Medieval Magic / Modern Monsters introduced students to medieval cultures through literature, then challenged them to analyze modern representation and interactions with the Middle Ages. The capstone project for the course presents two paths: either critically analyze a medievalism or create a medievalism. I assigned individual consultations with students, during which they were required to pitch their project ideas with support from credible research. Whether students selected the critical or creative project, they were required to identify 3—5 credible sources that inform their approach to medievalisms. Finally, students imported their medievalisms onto the website and presented their work to the class, which includes critical analyses of some modern masculinities expressed through medieval cultures, queerness in neomedievalisms, and a medieval role-playing game that encourages audiences to think critically about modern social justice issues.

Upon completion of the course, students have a digital record of their research and writing for a professional portfolio. Because Wabash Medievalists foregrounds students’ research and development, this website ensures each collaborator has a refined internet presence beyond their social media posts. And so a simple internet search yields better results, broadcasting the work each scholar has done, and enhancing their public, professional images. Moreover, students demonstrate effective communication and public outreach by working beyond the boundaries of the college to make resources available to our broader communities. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Students were excited to develop publicly accessible projects because they understood the utility of sharing their research and creativity with others. The risk and reward are higher when others can criticize the output. I never pointed this out, but I believe they intuited this because they approached each assignment with elevated professional comportment. Students were proud of their original website, and they were delighted to learn that months after our first semester together Wabash Medievalists was awarded second place in the 2020 international Digital Humanities Awards in the category of Best Public Engagement.

Additional Developments

I continue to employ digital humanities in my other courses. My goal is to instill digital literacies that will make Wabash scholars more competitive in various fields. In my Business and Technical Writing classes, for example, students construct professional websites and digital portfolios. These students were encouraged to meet with Career Services to refine their online documents, including resumés, and to continue updating and adding to their online portfolios as their professional experiences evolve beyond Wabash College. Students reported enjoying this project because it combines writing, reflection, and an immediate, relevant application beyond the classroom that aims to serve them well into the future. I invite you to survey one example at this hyperlink, shared with the developer’s permission.

Most recently, in my course survey of mystery and detective literatures, we collaboratively constructed the Detective Agency of Wabash website, which features a digital handbook for logical deduction, an overview of the subgenres of mystery literature, critical analysis of some popular texts, case files on the true crimes of Indiana, and a collection of murder mysteries about Wabash College.

Finally, at the end of Spring 2021, I completed a certificate in Python for Humanists from Texas A&M University. Coding skills such as Python will allow me to develop more sophisticated projects in the future to serve the Wabash College community and integrate more digital humanities into my English literature courses and research.

“Creativity, Communication, and Compassion: Working with Students to Create Positive Outcomes amidst the COVID-19 Crisis.” The Humanities in Transition, 2020: https://medium.com/the-humanities-in-transition/creating-positive-outcomes- during-crises-such-as-covid-19-cdccc48d1c03

Contributor for Balancing Issues of Critical Digital Pedagogies: http://www.digitalpedagogylab.com/dhsi2019/

This online course introduces educators to critical pedagogy and digital praxis; the course was collaboratively constructed during the Digital Humanities Summer Institute 2019.

YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPjtlDh909Wvv2hLhD1hCKg

Includes a recitation and translation of the opening Old English lines of Beowulf; the LGBT Research Award presentation on queering Chaucer’s Legend of Good Women; a lecture on feminist and queer approaches to literature; a video tour of the medieval studies exhibit curated for the Beaver Area Memorial Library; and a selection of lectures and in-class exercises.

“Oral History Interview,” University of South Florida Oral History Project, 2016: https://digital-lib-usf-edu.ezproxy.lib.usf.edu//ohpi/?doi=U41- 00019&packageid=SFS0060953&doi=U41-00019&packageid=SFS0060953.