On Tuesday, April 15 from 4:00 – 6:00 pm, the Digital Humanities Collaborative (DHC) will host an “Open House and Lightning Talks” event in JBHT 255 to showcase how the newly renovated space will serve as a hub for exploring the exciting potential of teaching, research, and student success at the intersection of the humanities and digital technology. The event will feature lightning presentations from the Departments of English, History, and World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (WLLC). Presenters will share how they engage with digital technology in the classroom and in their research. Dinner and refreshments will be served.  

The Digital Humanities Collaborative, located on the 2nd floor of the JB Hunt Center for Academic Excellence in room 255, is a mixed-use space for teaching, student-led research, and workshops which foster the critical application of digital technology in the service of the humanities. The departments of English, History, and WLLC have combined resources to renovate JBHT 255 thus far. The long-term vision of the DHC is to comprise all departments and student groups who are interested in the meaningful integration of digital technology to enhance and expand student success.   

The DHC is outfitted with technology and teaching equipment—including dozens of Oculus headsets and mobile power stations—that encourage a spectrum of flexible classroom and research scenarios, from hands-on workshops to student game jams. Located in the former Tesseract Center for Immersive Environment and Game Design, the DHC continues a tradition of innovative humanities education and student success.  

The DHC “Open House and Lightning Talks” will showcase exciting student projects featuring digital tech, innovative teaching modules, and research projects that integrate and/or interrogate the digital. Several of the approximately 5-minute talks will highlight the classes that are currently being held in the DHC, including “Black Digital Storytelling” (Chy’Na Nellon, CLCS PhD Candidate), “Pentiment: Immersive Illuminated Manuscripts” (Prof. Dave Fredrick, Classical Studies and Game Design), “Intro to the Digital Humanities” (TAP Curtis Maughan, WLLC), and “Italian for Gaming” (Claudia Devich, Italian). 

The event is free and open to the public. If you have any questions about the event or if you are interested in joining the DHC, please email Curtis Maughan at cmaughan@uark.edu.