Project Profile: The Queer Zine Archive Project

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About zines

In the realm of publishing, the Xerox copier doesn’t get (ahem) a lot of press. This simple workhorse pales in comparison to the industrial machines used by major printing presses. Today, for those interested in self-publishing, the internet provides a handy medium for their desired content in the form of blogs and private websites. Flash back to the days before the internet, however, when communities whose numbers or interests couldn’t find mass-market appeal with print publishers, and the copy machine begins to show its true power as a medium for custom content within local, niche communities. Thus, the “zine” (pronounced “zeen”) was born: small, self-published, low-tech compilations of text and images.

Zines appealed especially to punk communities in the 1970’s, but that appeal applied just as much to queer communities, who felt the need to find and exercise a voice. Enabled by the advent of cheap photocopying, zines usually intended only a small circulation, and their creators gave them out free of charge or very cheaply. Experimental, fragmentary, sometimes even crude, these publications represent the social and economic margins of knowledge production. Zines come about through a desire to express oneself and one’s ideas, not necessarily to make money. Unsurprisingly mainstream audiences would normally be indifferent (at best) or hostile (at worst) to the sex, sexuality, and gender focused content of a queer zine; to queer audiences, however, zines provided a means for carving out local communities and serving their interests.

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DH and the Scientification of the Humanities: Natural vs. Human Science

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Wilhelm Dilthey, 1833-1911, German philosopher. Sought to apply the rigor of Kant’s philosophy to human experience. Made significant and lasting contributions to history, hermeneutics, and empirical philosophy.

The distinction we know today between science and the humanities is a relatively recent one. It has its roots in 19th century philosophy, which is radical in the way that it makes nature the source of all possible knowledge. [1] This “natural” grounding is the rationale behind science as we know it; it not only prescribes where knowledge arises, but in what knowledge can possibly consist. Grounding knowledge in nature means that knowledge is “factual,” that is, it can only describe phenomena in quantifiable terms. The advantage to this understanding of knowledge is clear: it approaches universality, it clears ambiguity, and it provides a “sure” basis for systems of knowledge.

In the 19th century, however, Europe began to undergo a reaction against the “mechanized” and “impersonal” forces of the Enlightenment. New forms of analysis made their way onto the scene, most especially in the form of Romanticism, which put emphasis on the subject–emotion, the experience of the sublimity of nature, the primacy of the individual. Toward the end of the 19th century, German philosopher Wilhelm Dilthey would fundamentally distinguish between forms of knowledge about things, as opposed to knowledge of the inner experience of things. Natural knowledge about things he termed Naturwissenschaften–roughly, “Natural Sciences”—while knowledge of the inner experience of things he termed Geisteswissenschaften–roughly, “Spirit Sciences,” or “Human Sciences.” [2] Read more

DH and the Scientification of the Humanities: Introduction

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This is the first post in a series questioning general relationship between digital humanities and the sciences. Specifically, the main concern is whether, and to what extent, DH contributes to the scientification of the humanities. That is to say, does DH lead the humanities away from the qualitative and ineffable and toward the quantitative and numerable? Does DH pose new questions as to the study and integrity of the humanities? How might we begin to articulate the potential benefits and limitations of DH when investigating these questions?

This is an ongoing debate between the proponents and critics of DH. The purpose of this series will be to examine the question of the relationship of the human sciences with the natural sciences, and to see how technology and the digitization of knowledge affects that relationship. Such a survey will lead, in part one, to a brief examination of the original distinction between the natural and human sciences, and then, in part two, to the question of technology as applied to human knowledge. Part three will focus on the contemporary relationship between Natural and Human sciences and how DH arises from that relationship.

A series of short blog posts is, of course, inadequate to resolve these big questions with any satisfaction. The purpose of this series is, instead, to raise the questions and begin to search for resources in addressing them. Relevant discussion comes from topics such as hermeneutics and philosophy, but touches on nearly every area of humanistic research. The question is as historical as it is philosophical, and we first have to question how we came to view the natural and human sciences as separate, discrete spheres of knowledge altogether.

Sommer Browning – Comics as Poetry

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After being on hiatus for a few years, UNT Comic Studies made a grand return in Spring 2017! Now hosted by the UNT Libraries, the Comic Studies Project invited poet, cartoonist, librarian, and author Sommer Browning to speak about Comics as Poetry for a rejuvenating restart to the program. During the webinar, people listened to the conversation both physically on the 2nd floor of the Willis Library and remotely for people who wanted to join in the conversation at a distance.

 

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RAW Data Visualization: Hexagonal Binning

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RAWGraphs offers hexagonal binning as an option for representing dispersions in datasets with an exceptionally large number of data points. This visualization visually clusters the most populated areas on a gridded surface and assigns a color based on the number of points in the region.

This example uses a public data set from Kaggle of data from 5000+ movies on IMDB. The x-axis shows IMDb movie ratings, and the y-axis displays gross revenue. Because there are so many data points in this set, it may be difficult to visualize the data in a clear and coherent way. However, hexagonal binning simplifies the data by clustering and color-coding it.

After setting up the visualization, this is what RAW gave me:

 

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Takeaways from “Making the Case for Sustaining Your Digital Library” Workshop at DPLAfest 2017

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This year at The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Fest 2017 in Chicago, I had the opportunity to attend the Making the Case for Sustaining Your Digital Library Workshop. The workshop was hosted by two employees of the Foundation Center and was sponsored by a grant from the Knight Foundation.

The large group of us gathered in Chicago Public Library’s Harold Washington Library Center as a part of Hubs the day before the conference. The workshop participants were led through helpful activities and discussions, given grant-seeking insider knowledge, and had time to practice using the methods.  We also brainstormed ideas to help us better communicate and build relationships with potential funders. One activity I enjoyed was called Roses, Thorns, and Buds wherein participants were asked to write down on colorful post-it notes the Positives (Roses), Challenges (Thorns), and Opportunities (Buds) for the projects we were looking to sustain. Group members then clustered the ideas to identify trends that were both plaguing and encouraging across our institutions.

 

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#DataRescueDenton

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When I was asked within hours of becoming employed as the Collaborative Programs Graduate Assistant at UNT to work at a Data Rescue event, I had virtually no idea what I would be doing or how I could contribute to something like rescuing data. While familiar with general computer use, hearing “Data Rescue” implied a level of technical ability that felt beyond my expertise. However, I would soon learn that the Data Rescue initiative provides opportunities for people at all technical levels to contribute their skills. Specifically, I found my opportunity in telling the Data Rescue story.

                                                                                                                                       Read more

RAW Data Visualization: Dendrograms

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A dendrogram is a tree diagram that is usually used for showing taxonomic relationships, but any data that lends itself to hierarchical data clustering can be displayed using a dendrogram. RAWGraphs offers two variations on dendrograms: the circular dendrogram and the cluster dendrogram. I had some fun playing around with different data sets to provide examples of these two visualizations.

A circular, or radial cluster, dendrogram starts with more general classifications at the center and fans out to more specific classifications at the extremities. RAW give the user the option of using as many hierarchical steps as they want, and these can be in the form of strings, numbers, or dates.

I found a dataset from Kaggle that classified different Pokémon based on their type or types. I used the circular dendrogram to display this data, starting with their first type in the center and fanning out to their second type (if they had one) and then their name.

 

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Call for Poster & Infographic Proposals: Digital Frontiers 2017

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Exploring the Edges, Pushing the Boundaries

Call for Poster & Infographic Proposals: Digital Frontiers 2017

September 21-23, 2017 | University of North Texas

 

Digital Frontiers is an annual conference that explores advances and new research in humanities and cultural memory through the lenses of digital scholarship, technology, and multidisciplinary discourse. The conference recognizes creativity and collaboration across academic disciplines by bringing together researchers, students, librarians, archivists, genealogists, historians, information and technology professionals, and scientists.

 

The Digital Frontiers program committee invites poster & infographic proposals for the 2017 conference (September 21-23). The program committee encourages imagination and originality in programming proposals and promotes the inclusion of student research. Proposals may be for:

 

Posters

Poster proposals should be in the form of an abstract of no more than 250 words describing the topic to be presented. Please do not submit the final poster! Further guidelines and specifications will be provided upon acceptance.

  • A poster that presents a central hypothesis, research methodology, and outcomes in a clear, visually-appealing format.
  • Posters should offer a general summary of your findings and main points, and may be accompanied by a brief talk.
  • Recommended size 36 x 48, please include the estimated size of your submission in the proposal if it exceeds the recommended size.

Infographics

Infographic submissions should include a 250 word description of the visualization including the methods, tool(s), dataset, and/or purpose, and an optional near-final version of the complete infographic if available (drafts are not required at submission).

  • An infographic that offers a single, informative visual image, or series of images, that represents data or information pertinent to your central research question(s).
  • The infographic should contain all of the information necessary for understanding your argument or main point.
  • Recommended size no less than 600 x 600 pixels to no more than 600 x 4800 pixels.

 

Proposals will be peer reviewed, with final decisions made by the program committee.

 

The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2017. View the complete call here. Notifications will be the week of July 15th.

 

Please email digitalfrontiers@unt.edu if you have questions.

 

Evaluating Video Games: The Wide Wide World of Narrative

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Interpreting Video Games

Video games stand as an utterly unique medium in today’s world. Nothing else comes close to what they offer and what they achieve. No other medium involves the same level of artistic interactivity and audience driven design. It is for this reason that both ludological and narratological studies fundamentally fail in regards to video games; they are both forms of study based on preexisting mediums. Ludology, the study of games as games, fails because it lacks the recognition of video games as story driven and containing more than just a series of game rules and mechanics. And narratology, the study of narrative, fails because it principally denies the idea that narrative can be in any way interactive, which is a fundamental basis of video games. To say that either approach holistically describes a proper study and understanding of video games is simply not valid. Now, this isn’t to say that certain elements of these studies can’t be used or adapted to better understand and interpret video games and video game design. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel here, and this is evident by seeing and analyzing the common patterns that video games hold between these two schools of thought. And so here we start with narrative.

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