Category: Uncategorized (Page 12 of 15)

Interest Statement

January 28, 2026 / gokai

There was several topics stood out to me, AI fiction, AI imaginaries, and the ways the class approaches data and technology from a human-centered perspective. I’m particularly interested in how AI fiction and AI imaginaries help us explore ethical questions about technology, such as bias, power, creativity, and what it means to be human in an increasingly automated world. I’m also intrested in learning about creative approaches to data and the idea of humanizing data through visualization and storytelling rather than treating it as something purely technical or abstract. Topics like visualizing textual data and digitization technologies appeal to me because they show how humanities sources can be transformed and reinterpreted using digital tools. Civic technology is another area I want to explore further, especially how digital projects can address real community needs and social issues. But in general, I’m excited to learn how technology, storytelling, and ethics intersect throughout this course and to apply these ideas in future projects.

Interest statement

Place

January 27, 2026 / matthev

Imagine this, you are on the main road in the town of Mascoutah. You look up and see a giant mural of the native tribes that used to live in this wonderful place. You see several places as well, such as homes, the Night Deposit, which used to be an old bank that is now a bar. Now, why might I be telling you about this sleepy town? Well, funny enough, that is Mascoutah’s nickname. And I am here to inform you just briefly about this place. Now the town has several activities to do, but Mascoutah also provides major housing to Scott Air Force Base. Now, why might you all care about something like this? As we all know, the housing market has not been the greatest. Prices keep going up due to companies like BlackRock and several others that are buying up family homes. This is so they can shrink the housing market supply and increase prices to whatever they want. If there are not many houses to choose from, then it becomes an issue for the people who need a place to live. Especially when set in a specific area. This is interesting, as it contributes to the ongoing problem. This has incentivized more people to join the military because they are provided a home, whether they are active or not, by the military. This has pushed some of these companies away from Mascoutah because the majority of the people are there for the military work. So building homes in this town has become somewhat of a joke. AKA calling it a sleepy town because military people live there for work rather than other activities.

Interest Statement – Alex Roman

January 27, 2026 / alroman

I think the Topic The Modern web and the reading of how google took over the web looks very intriguing. This appeals to me because I only use google and have been my whole life. Google has really taken over the internet and has a sort of monopoly over it. Honestly, who wants to use internet express. Google has such a clean UI that its almost a must to use on a daily basis. Also the AI Imaginaries in fiction and non fiction look intriguing. its crazy how far AI has come in a few short years. I remember when it first came it it wasn’t very useful and now it controls the internet. AI today has the ability to read create and think. Overall I am very excited about this class, there are so many different types of topics when it comes to Hum. Its like a mix of history, Technology and Innovation, there is really no way to define social Hum because it is so diverse.

Place

January 26, 2026 / jandeap

I grew up in Downs Illinois, which is right on the border of Bloomington Illinois. In Bloomington I remember a faint memory of going on a field trip to this old house known as the David Davis mansion. When looking at this assignment this house flashed into my head and made me wonder; “why did we go to this random house?” This led to me doing some research online and I realized this was not some random mansion, this mansion belonged to David Davis, the campaign manager of Abraham Lincoln. This is an important piece of history for many reasons, one being that the building acts as a time capsule for the time it was created, back in 1872. This building is also important as it offers a glimpse into the life of a very important individual from that time period. Not only was David Davis the campaign manager of Abraham Lincoln, he was also a close friend of his. Looking back to when me and my class took a field trip there I almost wish I was older, so that I could truly appreciate the history I was surrounded by.

Place-Based Idea Generation

January 26, 2026 / naortiz

I am originally from the southside of Chicago. This is a city that is always doing something. Typically known as the Windy City. Its history was marked by its beautiful transformation from a trading post to a beautiful vibrant and culturally diverse city. That is in regard to the culture we have there. In Chicago we have very diverse cultures that stay alive because everyone has a different story to tell. Every part of Chicago is filled with history. Which is why there are many art exhibits, museums, etc. The history of this city was founded on everyone having a different beginning and ultimately blending together. The multiple of historical landmarks located in our city keep the history of Chicago alive, whether that be the good or bad, it is the truth. Such as the Pullman National Monument and the DuSable Museum of African American History. These cultural institutions and landmarks showcase that everyone has a different side of history; and now have the responsibility of reminding people where it all started at.

The Fountain

January 26, 2026 / pbeltra

In the middle of the city I live in, there lies a fountain. It is in a roundabout called a square, ironic, but what is it doing there? What is its history? This is something I have not known about, even after living here for most of my life in Belleville, IL. Most of the time, it usually stays off, but once in a while, it will turn on, and even at night, it will light up with a colorful glow. It was always exciting seeing the fountain run, but as I mentioned, it was a rare sight to see. The History of this fountain was to be a veteran memorial built in 1937, but the original base of the fountain was later removed and replaced by what it is currently. The original base, though, was not destroyed; it was moved over to a park in Swansea. This is where it still resides today. The fountain was always something that interested me in the area I lived in, and this is why I pondered upon what its real purpose was.

Place-Based Idea Generation

January 26, 2026 / poluseg

I live in Peoria Illinois which serves as a mid-sized metropolitan city with a population of over 400,000. The city has various secluded parks and natural areas, like the rugged trails of Rocky Glen Park, Robinson Park, etc. I have been to the Jubilee College State Park near Brimfield, which I didn’t really enjoy, as there is nothing much to see. Though, I think it is a great place for camping and hiking, since they have trails.

I have always wondered what it would be like to live in a city with national park, so, I did a little research on what makes a national park. First, I learned that the population of a city does not determine if it would have a national park or not. National parks require certain criteria for it to be present in a city or state. They are established based on the massive, pristine or scientifically unique landscape, which Peoria Illinois lacks. So, the city focuses more on local conservation, such as Wildlife Prairie Park and the Peoria Park District.

The closest national park to Peoria is 150 miles away and is located in Missouri. For those visiting Peoria who may not want to visit the state park, and would like something similar to a national park, they could visit the closest nature areas like Wildlife Prairie Park which feature native animals like bison, bears and wolves.

Interest Statement

January 26, 2026 / jandeap

I am interested in where this course will be going in the future and there a few particular assignments/units that interest me the most. One of the sections that interests me is the section about Ai fiction. I have personally not looked into or cared much for AI fiction, but I am interested in what types of work Ai is pumping out. I am also interested in the unit about early computation as I always think the way old computers were operated is so interesting. I love how computers know are insanely smaller than what they were back in the day, its such a cool sign to see how far we have come with technology. The final thing that interests me a lot is the unit about digitizing things from reality. I am not too sure what exactly that entails which is why the topic interests me so much. I look forward to this semester and all the different topics covered.

Jack Anderson

January 26, 2026 / jandeap

I wanted to make this post to share a little about myself. I am a junior at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and I am interested in advertisement and media production as well. Back in my hometown of Downs Illinois I have two cats, a dog, and my brother and sister. I am excited about this class as I want to see what exactly digital humanities is. I wasn’t too aware of this subject in general and I am eager to see if there is any knowledge I can pick up from this course that I can apply in my pursuit of my future career. I ended up joining the class about a week late so I am currently trying to play a bit of catch up but as I have been exploring the different modules and assignments I have been enjoying the different aspects of this class. I am looking forward to having a fun and successful semester. I decided to attach a picture of an old dog of mine named Cooper.

Place-based idea generation – William Hernandez

January 23, 2026 / whernan

The world’s first nuclear reactor is currently buried in a forest preserve in Chicago. I stumbled upon it when I was in High School during a land-navigation competition where we had to find points in the forest using a compass and map. Through one of those runs my buddy and I saw this weird rock in the middle of nowhere with writing on it and eerily enough it said there was radioactive material buried underneath us. That made us go “WHY WOULD THAT BE HERE???”, it felt like a nuclear bomb should’ve been stored at least hundreds of miles away from any city. After reading the description and doing some light research afterwards we found out that the park was the site of University of Chicago’s nuclear reaction testing and wasn’t dangerous at the depth it was buried. I’m sure we couldn’t have been the first or the last to have their hearts drop as soon as they stop to see the funny rock with a paragraph.