Proposal for National forum on reform of the Humanities
Stephen Rachman
Abstract of Presentation
We agree that the improvement of educational experiences toward those that maximize student excitement and the cultivation of skills through active engagement is a laudable goal as is finding ways to develop graduate training that fosters these objectives. There have been many interesting literary projects that have involved digital humanities but, in general, not been the case that digital projects have become part of graduate studies in English. At MSU, we are seeking to change that by building an integrated approach to the digital study of literature.
One obstacle to growing it has been the question of faculty training and expertise. The Department of English is populated with graduate students ready to experiment with pedagogy in productive ways and digital technology is an area well-suited for integration into the English classroom, and the Tech GA has been facilitating the incorporation of digital technologies. With faculty guidance by myself, as Associate Chair for Graduate Studies and Co-Director of the DHLC, and Steve Arch, as faculty mentor on summer online courses, and Steve Grandchamp transforming the pedagogical culture of our graduate students and our faculty. xix