The Archive and the Digital Age: Field Notes from the Pedagogical Front

Irena R. Makaryk; Ann Hemingway

doi:10.18778/2083-8530.20.03

Authors

Irena R. Makaryk University of Ottawa, Canada
Ann Hemingway University of Ottawa, Canada

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/2083-8530.20.03

Keywords:

Digital Humanities, Hamlet, Shakespeare reception, teaching Shakespeare, Shakespeare in Canada

Abstract

The digital environment in which the humanities are now firmly immersed has opened the door to innovative ways for students to interact with traditional formats such as archival and print material, and to develop a deep and personal understanding of topics and issues. Libraries, museums and archives are in the unique position of facilitating the creation of digital initiatives in the classroom by offering up their collections as “learning laboratories,” and by sharing their expertise in technology, information, and digital literacy as well as data management. Through active collaboration with course instructors, they can build bridges between their collections and the digital skills students need in order to embrace the new learning paradigm and to help lead them into the future. This paper outlines an archival-digital pilot launched in 2015 at the University of Ottawa, Canada. It situates the project in its historical context; details its early and subsequent iterations; and surveys the assumptions, challenges, surprises, and pleasures of introducing students to archival sources and to acquiring digital skills.

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Author Biographies

Irena R. Makaryk, University of Ottawa, Canada

Irena (Irene) R. Makaryk is Distinguished University Professor, Department of English with a cross-appointment to the Department of Theatre at the University of Ottawa. She is the author, editor, and co-editor of 16 books and numerous articles, including the ground-breaking Shakespeare in Canada: ‘a world elsewhere’? (with Diana Brydon, 2002). Her most recent book is April in Paris: Theatricality, Modernism, and Politics at the 1925 Art Deco Expo (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2018). Makaryk was named Professor of the Year, Faculty of Arts, in 2010 (awarded for excellence in all three areas of teaching, research, and administration); and, in 2009, was the recipient of The Filip Konowal, V. C., Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award for significant contributions to Ukrainian scholarship (awarded by the Ukrainian Canadian Business and Professional Association, Ottawa Branch). The initiator of, and project coordinator for, Shakespeare 400, Makaryk spearheaded an unprecedented four-month celebration of Shakespeare’s Quatercentenary involving nearly 40 events—scholarly, creative, pedagogical, and outreach—which involved close to one thousand participants. Makaryk considers her work as an act of “bridging”: her research interests draw from a variety of disciplines, including English, Theatre, Slavic Studies, History, and Cultural Politics. Trained as a Shakespearean, she employs the English bard as a prism through which she examines such issues as national identity, canonicity, theatrical innovation, modernism, and propaganda.

Ann Hemingway, University of Ottawa, Canada

Ann Hemingway is the subject librarian for the Departments of English, French and Theatre at the University of Ottawa. Her work is focused on undergraduate information literacy instruction. She participated in the design and implementation of tools and programs to actively engage students with information sources including a curriculum-integrated information-literacy module used in a mandatory essay-writing course. She led the library team that provided technical support and student community learning supervision for the digital and archival components of the Shakespeare in Canada courses. Hemingway’s approach to digital humanities pedagogy is grounded in the belief that students need to develop multiple literacies ranging from technical proficiency to critical thinking and the ability to work and communicate effectively in collaborative situations. A holistic approach to digital humanities in the classroom can enable students to explore their creativity and deepen their understanding of the essential elements of digital citizenship.

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