What does a digital humanities center do? As these projects suggest, a little bit of everything. In the non-exhaustive list of IRIS projects below, you’ll find…

Tool Development

The IRIS Center builds new tools to support digital storytelling, data visualization, and other creative technologies. Many of our tools are designed for classroom use, and you’ll find detailed instructions for both instructors and students. We’re always happy to support use of our tools, so if something’s unclear or you’d like to suggest a new feature, please get in touch with us at iriscenter@siue.edu!

DH Infrastructure

Digital humanities tools are so valuable for developing innovative humanities research and for fostering creative and critical engagements with technology! But access to the tools, training, and other pieces of infrastructure can be challenging. IRIS builds community-governed DH infrastructure across a number of spaces, including the Recovery Hub for American Women Writers (a disciplinary network), the St. Louis Digital Humanities Network (a regional network), and Emplace (a publication featuring place-based digital storytelling).

Research Projects

Many of the projects on this page are research projects developed by affiliated faculty, students, and community members. IRIS provides resources to support those projects, including hardware and software, and often contributes directly to their development. For instance, Kristine Hildebrandt’s Schafer Edoid Archive is built in Omeka S, a digital archives platform, but uses a custom theme developed by an IRIS student worker. The Black Lit Network, on the other hand, is a bespoke website developed by IRIS in collaboration with developers at the University of Kansas.

Explore our work!

Scrolly Story Generator

Developed by the IRIS Center, the Scrolly Story Generator allows users to create dynamic stories that allow text to scroll around images, maps, and videos. It is data-driven, so the user only need update a spreadsheet to create the story. Includes optional timeline feature.

Scrolly Example
Scrolly Tutorial
GitHub Project
Technologies: HTML/CSS/JS

Extended Leaflet Storymaps

Building on the Leaflet Storymap developed by Jack Dougherty and Ilya Ilyankou, this repo provides extended documentation for customizing storymaps based on IRIS user needs.

Storymap Example
IRIS Storymaps GitHub
Original Version GitHub
Technologies: HTML/CSS/JS

Leaflet Map Template

Leaflet is a JavaScript library that allows users to create complex custom maps. This template, developed by the IRIS Center, provides an easy starting point for creating Leaflet maps with a Google sheet. Designed for use in classroom and community settings, the template includes documentation and instructions for customization.

Leaflet Examples
Leaflet Template Github
Technologies: HTML/CSS/JS

Manifold Support

Manifold is an open-source platform for scholarly publishing and social annotation. IRIS maintains a Manifold instance and has created several custom style sheets. You can check out Our Common Ground, a textbook written by SIUE faculty for the CODES program .

Manifold Textbook Example
Technology: Manifold, CSS

Black Lit Network

Developed and maintained by the IRIS Center, the Black Lit Network is a portal of curated content connecting black literature with related publications, podcasts, data visualizations and more.

Black Lit Network website
Technologies: React

CODES Student ePortfolios

Students in SIUE’s CODES program track and reflect on their work in ePortfolios during their time at SIUE. Along the way, they learn WordPress and basic HTML and CSS. IRIS develops and maintains the ePortfolio website and supports CODE Scholars with ongoing training on a variety of technologies.

Website
Technologies: WordPress

Emplace Website

Developed and maintained by IRIS, Emplace is a community-oriented digital storytelling site that publishes stories from the CODES program and other community partners.

Emplace Website
Technologies: WordPress

Story Directory Plugin

The Story Directory is an IRIS-developed, open-source WordPress plugin that allows users to view and search story posts in a WordPress site by user-configured metadata.

Example Story Directory
Technologies: WordPress , PHP, JS, MySQL

Post Directory Plugin

The Post Directory is an IRIS-developed, open-source WordPress plugin that allows users to view and any kind of post in a WordPress site by user-configured metadata. It is used to display ePortfolios in the SIUE ePortfolio site.

Example Post Directory
Technologies: WordPress , PHP, JS, MySQL

Story Repository Generator

To support classroom use of the Scrolly Story Generator, IRIS has written a script that creates multiple story repositories at a time. This eases the technical burden on teachers.


Technologies: Python, GitHub APIs, Google APIs

CODES Student Importer

The CODES Student Importer is an IRIS-developed WordPress plugin that creates a batch of student WordPress accounts, ePortfolio sites, and ePortfolio directory data to setup a new cohorts of CODES students.

Technologies: WordPress , PHP

Book Bites Apps

Developed by IRIS for Dr. Howard Rambsy, this web app displays items from a spreadsheet and allows the user to flip back and forth between a front-side and back-side snippet for each item. The app also includes filters for categories.

The Convergence Book Bites
One Black Writer at a Time Book Bites
GitHub The Convergence
GitHub One Black Writer at a Time
Technologies: HTML/CSS/JS

Novel Dedications

Building from the code behind WhatIsDigitalHumanities.com, this project allows the user to return a random dedication to a Black novel. This project adds filter functionality to the original project, allowing users to generate either a truly random dedication, or to generate a dedication based on novel and author metadata.

Novel Dedications App
GitHub Project
Technologies: HTML/CSS/JS

Text Annotator

This IRIS-developed web app allows a user to create annotated text with rich styles and pop-up content. Like other IRIS tools, it is data-driven from a spreadsheet that displays on a web page.

Example annotated text
GitHub Project
Technologies: HTML/CSS/JS

Poetry Tracker

This project, developed by IRIS for Dr. Howard Rambsy, displays a variety of information and data visualizations for Black poetry.

Poetry Tracker
Technologies: WordPress, HTML/CSS/JS

African American Literary Studies Website

This WordPress instance serves as the homepage of the African American Literary Studies program within SIUE’s English Department. The site includes links numerous digital projects developed by IRIS and by affiliated faculty.

Website
Technologies: WordPress

Madison County at the Migratory Crossroads

Developed through an AHA/NEH-funded collaboration with the Madison County Historical Society, this project features storymaps and other digital storytelling projects highlighting experiences of migration and immigration to Madison County.

Website
Technologies: WordPress

Schaefer Edoid Archive

This Omeka S archive is dedicated to artifacts and resources collected by SIUE Emeritus Professor Ronald Schaefer during his years spent as a fieldworker, language preservation advocate, and educator in Nigeria. The site features a custom theme developed by project intern Daniel Flaum.

Website
Technologies: Omeka-S with custom theme