Intensives provide a space for a single researcher or small research team to engage directly with members of the AADHum community and MITH team in an open, flexible format meant to foster learning, discussion, and progress. AADHum Intensives further distill the most powerful elements of AADHum’s hallmark activities (workshops, reading groups and incubators) to facilitate the creation of excellent digital humanities work: presentation, as each researcher delivers a brief talk contextualizing the development of their digital project; dialogue, as participants engage with the researcher, with the goal of providing purposeful feedback and fostering discussion of two key theoretical or disciplinary readings that ground their project; and skill building, as AADHum and MITH staff support each researcher to develop or refine a key technical skill relevant to their project.

During the Spring 2019 semester, Intensives will feature members of the 2019 AADHum Scholars cohort and focus on supporting them in the advancement of their digital projects in African American history and culture. Though these Intensives do not provide broad theoretical or digital skills training, they are open to the public. We enthusiastically welcome all interested parties who want to learn more about the Scholars’ projects and/or participate in the ongoing development of their work. Please come prepared to engage in a discussion-driven, seminar-style event.

This Intensives session, “The Apathy of Apartheid: Using VR to Explore Liberation Struggles in South Africa, Namibia and Palestine,” features Dr. Imani M. Cheers, an award-winning digital storyteller, director, producer and filmmaker. As a professor of practice, Dr. Cheers uses a variety of mediums including video, photography, television and film to document and discuss issues impacting and involving people of the African Diaspora. Her scholarly focus is on the intersection of women/girls, technology, health, conflict, agriculture and the effects of climate change in sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Cheers is also an expert on diversity in Hollywood, specifically the representation of Black women in television and film. Dr. Cheers is the co-creator and managing editor of Newsroom U, an innovative, immersive multimedia journalism initiative for high school and college students. She is also the executive director for the Global Media Project, an international storytelling program.

Before joining SMPA, Dr. Cheers was director of educational resources and a multimedia producer for the PBS NewsHour, a producer/writer at Howard University Television and a multimedia producer at Newsweek.com. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, DAWN (Diaspora African Women’s Network) and a 2013 New Media Fellow with the International Reporting Project. Dr. Cheers is also a regular contributor for CCTV America and CTN Canada, offering insight into American race relations and popular culture.