Electronic Currents

Coding (and) the Archive: Texts, Markup, and Open Pedagogy

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Abstract

What is the relationship between open pedagogy and the archive, and how can the digital humanities allow that relationship to be explored? Beyond issues of access and affordability, open pedagogy emphasizes collaboration be- tween students and instructors, project-based and experi- ential learning, and a sense of meaningful interaction with the world. Such an approach invites students to be critical users and developers of digital technologies, attending to the affordances and constraints of the platforms at hand. In short, we build educational resources in addition to us- ing them. The Breckinridge Correspondence and Digital Texts Project and its associated undergraduate course at the University of Kentucky seek to model these principles as a way of opening the archive and involving students as decision-making stakeholders. Beyond engaging with primary sources, our work represents an inquiry into digital models, methods, and mediations that transform those sources—and the information they contain—for a wide audience. While the project has several goals, the most visible will be the publication of a web-based, open access, digital documentary edition.

How to Cite:

Gill, B., Bradley, C., Clark, D., Beavin, J. & Conatser, T., (2019) “Coding (and) the Archive: Texts, Markup, and Open Pedagogy”, MAC Newsletter 47(1), 29–31. doi: https://doi.org//macnewsletter.11113