Comments on: Digital Positivity and Optimism

By: Remona

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By: Matthew Kirschenbaum

Matthew Kirschenbaum — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 17:41:09 +0000

With regard to the collaboration question, there’s a draft DH “Collaborators’ Bill of Rights” that attempts to address some of the most important issues:

http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/mcpress/offthetracks/part-one-models-for-collaboration-career-paths-acquiring-institutional-support-and-transformation-in-the-field/a-collaboration/collaborators%E2%80%99-bill-of-rights/

By: Nigel Lepianka

Nigel Lepianka — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:56:08 +0000

Yes, McGonigal is exuberant and optimistic, but I’m not sure I’d suggest her as the poster child for DH optimism (and I suppose this would bleed into our conversation about whether or not she does DH or something else).

Anyways, the tenure question is definitely a tension, but one I don’t think is insurmountable, especially as DH becomes more established and the current generation becomes the ones who review faculty promotions. Perhaps I’m overly optimistic about it myself, but I foresee the subsequent DHers meeting less resistance to their non-monograph works being reviewed with weight. I remember Martha Nell Smith discussing how little credence was given to her work on her electronic Emily Dickinson archive at her tenure review, but how today’s environment would possibly have placed a lot more consideration on it.

By: Charity Hancock

Charity Hancock — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:22:08 +0000

I can’t believe you got through this whole piece on optimism, DH, and video games without mentioning Jane McGonigal! Actually, beyond humor, mentioning her brings me to one of the areas of tension in DH and the academy that ‘digital positivity’ has yet to fully charge up – the idea of independent work. In a few readings we ran into that topic a few times, particularly in regards to things like tenure meetings and such. You mention how open and inviting the field of DH is – when you work in an open and collaborative field (as opposed to a highly individualized and more typical approach to academia), how does that translate to the brass tacks of things like tenure review, etc.? Bringing this around to McGonigal, I remember her discussing her research in communal terms, and yet, it was McGonigal who got the TED spot. I guess what I’m wondering about is at what point do dh-ers depart from the collaborative to embark on the individual? And is this seen as a sell-out or even stepping on toes (after all, many collaborated, but McGonigal has the name-recognition)?