COMP 275
Digital Humanities in Art History and Literary Studies Spring 2025
Division I
Cross-listed ARTH 275

This course introduces students to critical topics, techniques, and methods related to digital scholarship in the humanities. Students will learn how to critique the reliability of published case studies that use digital methods, and how to construct basic projects that use digital techniques, including text analysis, digital mapping, 3d modeling & imaging, and data analysis with both quantitative and qualitative data sources. They will also explore different ways of sharing research through digital methods, including virtual storytelling and best practices of data communication. Digital Humanities in Art History and Literary Studies provides a foundation to encourage student exploration of digital projects in a variety of disciplines at Williams, whether students wish to incorporate digital methodologies into a humanities discipline or to understand the ways humanities materials require different approaches to data and digital projects in the sciences. While trying different tools and approaches, we will discuss the larger ramifications of using digital techniques in humanistic disciplines. What kinds of ethical questions should we consider? What sorts of environmental footprint or sustainability issues do our projects raise? What kinds of power structures do they create, reflect, sustain, or dismantle?