The minor in Textual Studies and Digital Humanities requires a capstone experience, taken as TXTDS 405. This is a 5 credit course, which can be taken in any quarter, including the summer.
The capstone entails a sustained project or experience relevant to the learning goals of the minor. This can be a traditional research paper; a digital project, such as the creation of a digital exhibit or a digital edition, potentially working with materials held in the UW Libraries (say, in Special Collections) or in another collection; a digital humanities or humanities data science project (creating and/or working with large text-related databases or catalogue data); or a portfolio of some kind. The capstone can also be other types of experiences pertinent to the minor’s learning goals, such as undertaking research for a faculty project or an internship with an organization (a library or archive; a bookstore; a publishing house). Students have completed capstones by working on exhibitions in Special Collecitons or with the local letterpress printing non-profit, Partners in Print.
The capstone is undertaken under the guidance of a faculty, a librarian or a supervisor, if undertaken with an organization as an internship. There are many possibilities for the capstone. Reach out as soon as you can, at the latest, by the beginning of the quarter prior to when you plan to complete your capstone (eg. if you plan to take TXTDS 405 in Spring, reach out at the beginning of Winter quarter) to discuss and define your capstone. We’ll need to articulate tasks, learning goals, and expected outcomes. You can reach out either to the faculty member you’d like to work with or to Geoff Turnovsky or by writing to text@uw.edu.
Examples of recent capstones include:
-
Digitizing materials for upcoming exhibits in Special Collecitons. Exhibits and topics include:
- The Medium is the Message (link)
- The Mountain is Out
- Anatomy
- The Language of Flowers
- Seattle in the 20s
- Report on accessibility in digital and physical exhibits
- Using data science methods to investigate the history of New York Times coverage of the NYC Ballet’s The Nutcracker (link)
- Interning at Partners in Print, a non-profit promoting letterpress printing, and writing a paper about the history of typeface
- Creating a database of the 19th-century publishers’ bindings in UW Special Collections (link)
- Annotated bibliography and exhibit of William Morris books in UW Special Collections (link)
Some possible opportunities for those looking for capstone projects:
- Experiences in UW Special Collections and in UW Libraries. Students have worked on exhibits as well
as in other
capacities. Tasks have involved developing accessibility strategies; digitizing materials and prototyping
digital exhibits. Current opportunities include:
- Collection Development (Book Buying) in a College Library: Study resource needs of the UW Dept. of English, other Washington State English departments, and English departments in the Big 10 academic alliance and beyond. Generate list of 50-100 print books/ebooks to buy, consulting resources like the UW Libraries catalog, the MLA International Bibliography database, Choice Reviews Online, WorldCat, and others. Reflection paper and presentation. Work with UW Libraries English Studies Librarian.
- The Humanities Data Science Summer Institute. A summer program organized by the Data Science Minor, which offers undergraduates the opportunity to work on a faculty project that uses data science techniques to explore humanistic, literary and cultural questions. Students can potentially be given credit for TXTDS 405 for their work during the summer.
- Interning for a quarter at Partners in Print, a Seattle non-profit promoting letterpress printing. Learn letterpress printing; help facilite printing workshops; acquire experience working with a culturally-focused non-profit, helping with outreach and fundraising; develop a printing project of your own.
- Working with faculty on research, editorial and archival projects. TXTDS-affiliated faculty
are
currently looking for help with the following:
- Transcription and archiving of a family collection of handwritten letters from doctors, officials, and missionaries of the late 1800s serving in the Ottoman Empire. Students will learn to use Transkribus. Students should be detail-oriented and should have some ability to read English cursive.
- Research assistance on project exploring historical translations of Dante. Assessment and comparison of translations of Dante, from the early modern period to today. You’ll read and summarize translator notes and prefaces; undertake research; and determine which previous editions, copies, and translations of Dante were prioritized.
