The film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, directed by Stanley Kubrick, follows a voyage by astronauts, scientists and the sentient supercomputer HAL 9000 to Jupiter to investigate an alien monolith. The movie itself is about transformation. The beginning of the film starts off with what is called the “Dawn of Man”. During this scene, it shows the evolution of the apes, and then dives into the future of humanity. The movie later on transitions into an advanced space technology. The effects and rapid movements displayed shows that the setting is techologically advancing. The first depiction of technology begins when the apes struggle to survive in the harsh prehistoric landscape, which was in the Dawn of Man sequence. One of the apes were inspired by the mysterious black monolith and picks up a bone, realizing that the bone can be used as a weapon. This is the most fundamental statement on technology because it is an extension of intelligence, a mean of control and ultimately a tool of power. The bone, which was originally used to smash other bones out of curiosity, quickly became a weapon of dominance, allowing the apes to take control of a water hole from a rival group. The setting of outer space correlates with the stage of evolution in this scene. The connection of both the spacecraft and the bone shows that space travel and technology is like using the bone as a tool. Kubrick’s match cut from the spinning bone to a futuristic spacecraft billions of years later suggests that all human technological progress is a part of a continuous tragectory: implying that the same instincts that drove early humans to wield weapons still drive humanity’s techological ambitions. Overall, I think the movie was interesting to watch. It’s visually stunning and had advanced filmmaking at the time it was made. The ending took me by surprise.
Category: Assignments (Page 1 of 2)
It’s interesting reading a classic science fiction story like this one, because it is a look into the time and how technology was viewed when it was published. It stuck out the absolute lack of capitalism until the introduction of the society that builds planets for the ultra-wealthy – I was actually kind of astounded. A lot of modern science fiction revolves around monopolistic industry in space, and the ways in which technology is newly exploited in under policed areas of the universe (thinking of the Illuminae Files, which features another mentally unstable and unreliable AI as well, and that I highly recommend listening to the full-cast audiobook).
I wonder if the recovering economy in Europe, and the growth of technology meant that depictions of the antagonists were different than I am used to reading modern sci-fi. Though there are themes of apathy throughout the novel, in deference to entire planets being wiped out and people dying and the galactic government all being puppets, there was very little in the way of a traditional sci-fi with how the individuals all responded to the technology that was being presented.
“The president in particular is very much a figurehead – he weilds no real power whatsoever. He is apprently chosen by the government, but the qualities he is required to display are not those of leadership but those of finely judged outrage.” The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, page 57
I think the most jarring aspect of the AI presented in the book would be Marvin, the depressed, paranoid and suicidal robot that assists the characters – albeit reluctantly – on the ship of improbability, the Heart of Gold. The robot is melancholic, hates everything, and causes a ship to commit suicide simply by talking to it. It’s an interesting depiction because the robot was specifically built with the intent of having this personality trait, and that there were many types of personalities that robots could be given. Though the book doesn’t talk about it, it does make me think about the ethics of giving something artificial a predetermined personality, especially one so negative (though doing the opposite would bring up concerns as well).
The Heart of Gold’s computer also has a personality, though it more lines up with what we might encounter today – a computer that is incredibly eager to please, to the point of annoyance of one of the characters, much as most AI we see today is programmed to help, even if we haven’t opted in to the process.
“’Hi there!’ [the ship’s computer] said brightly… ‘Oh God,’ said Zaphod. He hadn’t worked with this computer for long but had already learned to loathe it.” The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, page 131.
The, in my opinion, more important AI that is explored in the book is the computer Deep Thought, which is tasked with mice (an alien species) to answer the big questions of the universe that almost all alien life forms ask: “the Answer… [to] Life… The Universe… Everything!” (Adams 25). The computer acknowledges that it is tricky, and that it will take 7.5 million years to accomplish the equation. Once the answer is given, Deep Thought then goes on to explain that the only one who can actually answer the question is the next greatest supercomputer that will be built at his instruction. The importance of Deep Thought’s answer to the question of the universe couldn’t be overstated – the mice waited millions of years to get a pretty unsatisfactory answer, then built the Earth as a further experiment for determining what the purpose of the universe was – meaning that the final form of AI, according to Deep Thought, was actually the planet Earth. It was an interesting take on what an AI is, and if all AI is can be whittled down to an input-output machine, that has multiple processes done at once and can answer complex problems, then why isn’t the Earth a simulated computer problem? It was an interesting concept, at the very least, and I greatly enjoyed rereading this book.
Works Cited
- Adams, Douglas. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: The Illustrated Edition. E-book ed., Random House, 2021.
The app is a great resource considering that the museum is not available at this time. I think that the app itself is interesting, as it does provide a more immersive experience with history. Immediately my first concern was how quickly the app expects someone to be able to navigate the site, as it says the app provides a 90-minute tour. It definitely is dependant on the user being able to navigate the Cahokia site, and in a timely manner. This would restrict the navigation for people, in addition to the limited public transit options to reach the site.
The app is also potentially difficult to navigate for someone who cannot see, as it is a visual augmented reality tool, though it presumably has text that could be converted to speech. Due to this, it might make the app less useful and therefore restrict the number of people who could use it.
I also haven’t been able to find if the app uses more than English for its information, and since it’s not explicitly mentioned, that makes me think it might not be an option – or maybe will be an option eventually. This is a restriction of access because, according to their website, the Cahokia Mounds see approximately 350,000 tourists every year, from dozens of countries, many of which may not speak or read English well enough to navigate the app (CahokiaMounds.org).
All that to say, the app itself looks very cool, and would be a wonderful resource especially to contextualize history in the space it now exists.
- List of socials:
Snapchat
3) Snapchat, I use to keep up to date with my friends as another way of texting. For Instagram I use that to follow different places or local eatery places in Chicago and also to post things about my daily life as a 19-year-old college student. My LinkedIn social is used for connecting with students from SIUE and professional people who are in the same or similar field of work that I want to go into once I graduate. LinkedIn is also good for posting your accomplishments that you have gotten from school or work.
4) As far as information I want people to know about me is that I am sophomore in college with a study of Public Relations with a minor in sociology. I am from Chicago; IL and I came to SIUE because I was awarded a scholarship that takes care of my tuition and the environment that the school is located in. I’m far enough away from home but not too far which I like. I am a very friendly person and approachable person as well.
(Adapted from Brian Croxall’s DH Project Evaluation assignment)
If we’re going to spend the semester conducting research and completing a digital humanities project, it might be useful for us to see some finished projects ahead of time. Looking at examples like this can provide us with inspiration for what we try to do.
But we can do more than just look: we can do some research and reflection, considering what works and what doesn’t. Asking and answering the same question Miriam Posner poses—“how did they make that?”—will prepare us to be thoughtful about what we want to accomplish as we work on the poetry of Carol Ann Duffy.
In this assignment, you will do a deep dive into a specific digital humanities project. You will work to understand what questions they seek to answer, how they are organized, and what technologies and methods they use. This assignment has two parts: a presentation and a paper.
Presentation
On the day for which you sign up, you will give us an approximately 5-7-minute presentation on your two projects. You will cover most of the same points that you will write about in your paper (see below). You should plan to walk us through portions of the site to help demonstrate your points. Remember: you’re the expert on this project now, and you’ll be introducing it to us. The bulk of the presentation should be explanatory rather than evaluative, but you can provide your thoughts on the projects as you go. You should conclude the presentation by summarizing what you’ve learned by investigating these two projects.
This is not something that you should just wing. Feel free to bring in notes or a script and to practice beforehand.
Written assignment
Your “How did they make that?” entry should be about 300 words and do your best to address the following:
- Who made the project?
- What are the goals of the project?
- Who is the project’s intended audience(s)?
- What are the project’s conclusions? In other words, what did the researchers learn after all their hard work?
- What specific methods and/or technologies does the project employ?
- How long did the project take from start to finish?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the project?
- Reflect a little on what the project tells us about our local region. Does it enhance our knowledge with facts you didn’t know before? Does it add nuance or context to things you already knew? Does it gel with your understanding of the region? Does it seem off-base?
Although I’m asking you to tackle some very specific questions, the paper should not be written in bullet points but instead with paragraphs.
Submit your written assignment on the course website at the start of the class on which your present, with the tag “How did they make that.”
Projects
Below is a list of projects that you can evaluate. Each project can only be claimed by one person, so when you know what you want to work on, make sure you email me to claim it! I’ll update the list as projects are claimed, both here and on Blackboard. If you find another that you would like to choose instead, please email me first. (In particular, you’ll notice that St. Louis exerts an outsized influence on this list. If you find a digital project about the Metro East, please send it my way!)
- Mapping Decline: St. Louis and the American City, http://mappingdecline.lib.uiowa.edu/
- Macoupin County Open Data Portal, https://data.macoupincountyil.gov/
- Saint Louis StoryStitchers podcast, https://storystitchers.org/stitchcast-studio/
- St. Louis History in Black and White: From Dred Scott to Ferguson, https://black-white.stlpr.org/
- Connecting the Dots: A birds-eye view of St. Louis’s LGBTQ history, 1945-1992, https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/84825f5c2b734afab78663dc1b64f20c
- The St. Louis Corridor: A case study of dialect islands, https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/8be14b88e68e4092bbbca3fd8a53cc82
- Mill Creek Valley Community, https://uploads.knightlab.com/storymapjs/6e89f9a3ba656983c8590b6a468e2a8f/mill-creek-valley-citizens-and-community/draft.html
- St. Louis Food Access Storymap, https://moenvironment.org/blog/northstlfood/
- Citizen Brown: Race, Democracy, and Inequality in the St. Louis Suburbs, https://scalar.usc.edu/works/citizen-brown/index?path=index
- Archive of St. Louis Punk, https://stlpunkarchive.omeka.net/about
- St. Louis Patina, https://stlouispatina.com/
- Mill Creek Valley and African American life in early 20th century St. Louis, https://www.theclio.com/tour/1376
- Bulldozing a Path: North St. Louis and the NGA, https://vimeo.com/656770932
- The History of Toxic Waste in St. Louis, https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=1N9a8LmR5XTJpMmLyRBuhP_-L5udWikEaiqZ8Q77hAVk&font=Default&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&height=650
- The Revised Dred Scott Case Collection, http://digital.wustl.edu/d/dre/index.html
- Andrew J. Theising Collection, https://collections.carli.illinois.edu/digital/collection/sie_ajt
- Documenting Ferguson, https://digitalexhibits.library.wustl.edu/s/ferguson/page/home
- St. Louis Circuit Court Historical Records, https://library.wustl.edu/research-support/digital-projects/stl-circuit-court-records/
- We Are St. Louis, https://mappingstl.org/about/
- The Saint Louis Story, https://www.thesaintlouisstory.org/
- The St. Louis Regional Data Exchange, https://rdx.stldata.org/
- Louis H. Sullivan Ornaments, https://collections.carli.illinois.edu/digital/collection/sie_arch
- The Overland Trails, https://dsl.richmond.edu/panorama/overlandtrails/
Grading
Your grade for this project will be based 60% (30 points) on your paper and 40% (20 points) on your presentation.
Your presentation will be evaluated on its clarity, organization, and your discussion of what you’ve learned.
Your paper will be graded on how well it meets the requirements outlined above, as well as clarity, organization, attention to detail, and clarity.
Your final project is due on May 5th. Submit it as a blog post (linking to external content if necessary) with the tag “Final.”
Submit a draft of your final project. This doesn’t need to be the full project! But it should have enough content that I can give you meaningful feedback on the direction of your project.
At minimum, you should have:
- A detailed outline (ideally a relatively full draft) of your written content
- A prototype or partial version of your technical component (enough that we can identify any bugs, technical challenges, or areas where you might want more resources/support for learning the tool); for example:
- TimelineJS/StoryMapJS: some slides with your content added to them and any customization you want to do
- A website: multiple pages with navigation and draft content
- Data visualization: complete data sets and at least a couple different visualizations
- At least three sources for your bibliography
Submit your draft as a blog post (linking to external content if necessary) with the tag “Draft.”
Write a final blog post about what you understand digital humanities to be. How would you describe it in 1-2 minutes to someone who doesn’t know what it is? How can you use the concepts and tools from this class in the rest of your classes or professional interests? Publish your post with the tag “Definition.”
Sometimes we think of data as something that just exists, that we discover or access. But data sets are shaped by the people who create them, who structure them, and who use them. In order to produce visualizations and analysis that are accurate, critical, and transparent about data sources and bias, we have to evaluate our data sets.
Choose a data set from the list below and answer the following questions in about 300-400 words total. The first four questions are about the sources of the data. You can answer these relatively briefly. If you can’t find the answers to any of them, note that in your review. The last questions are about how we can or should use it, challenges with the data, and any perceptible biases in it. These will take more reflection and should accordingly make up the bulk of your review. Submit the review as a blog post on the class website by Wednesday, March 19 at 1:30, with the tag “Data review.”
Data set profile:
- Who is credited as the creator and/or contributors of this data set? Who are they?
- What are the sources of their data?
- Why did they create or compile it?
- How has it been used?
- What format is the data set in?
Data set evaluation:
- Take a look at the data itself. How have they structured it? What fields have they chosen? What effect might that have on how it can be used?
- Read the creators’ description of the data set. Have they described the choices they made in cleaning the data, and if so, how? What effect might those choices have on the data?
- Consider the creators’ identities and goals in creating the data set. How might those things have shaped the data, either intentionally or inadvertently?
- What would you use this data for?
Data sets to choose from:
Average Weekly Hours of All Employees, STL Metro Statistical Area
Monthly and Seasonal Temperatures, St. Louis (since 1874)
Washington Park Cemetery North Reinterment Index
Tombstone Transcription Project (choose a local cemetery that’s been transcribed)
Illinois Landcover in the Early 1800s
If you have another data set you’d like to review instead, please check with me (the earlier, the better).
Write a problem statement on your chosen research question (300-450 words). Your problem statement should include:
- Observation, background, context: Here you might talk about what drew your attention to this topic, what struck you as interesting about it, and/or any important context for the topic.
- Problem: What problem or question arises from your observation?
- Frame: How are you approaching that problem? What’s your point of view?
- Example sources: Provide citations for one primary source (something that is direct evidence for the question you’re asking) and one secondary source (something that uses direct evidence to make an argument) that relate to your research question.
- Proposed technology: What tool or method do you intend to use in your project? This could be
- A storytelling tool that you’ll use to share your research about a topic (for instance, an interactive timeline, a storymap, or a website)
- A tool for data analysis and visualization that you’ll use to formulate an argument (for instance, text analysis, a distribution map, or charts and graphs)
- A tool, project, or organization that you want to interrogate, to understand its impacts on a local or regional community (for instance, a municipal data platform, a tech-related organization or nonprofit, or a large language model)
Post your problem statement to the course website as a blog post by the start of class, using the tag “Problem statement.”