An Invitation to THATCamp Liberal Arts Colleges 2012

Ryan Hoover, Assistant Professor of English Writing and Rhetoric, St. Edwards University and co-planner of THATCamp Liberal Arts Colleges (THATCampLAC) 2012, shares what he learned from THATCampLAC 2011, and why you should come to THATCampLAC 2012.

Minus Sermonis Operis Plus -or- “Less Yack More Hack”

This unofficial motto of the digital humanities has been adopted because of its overwhelming focus on doing digital humanities, rather than simply talking about what could possibly be done. And this pragmatic attitude has been at the heart of both NITLE and the series of THATCamp unconferences. Our overlapping attitudes toward the digital humanities creates an instant connection that has led to a number of new initiatives and collaborations.

Ryan Hoover, St. Edward's University

In my experience, NITLE embraces the pragmatism of Less Yack More Hack through the numerous outreach programs that it provides to Liberal Arts colleges across the nation. Rather than simply talking about what Liberal Arts could do to move toward embracing digital initiatives, NITLE helps them to do it. Combined with the numerous workshops, digital seminars, and impromptu web chats that the institute provides, it is no wonder that so many active in the NITLE network find the series of THATCamps a natural fit.

I proudly include myself as such a cross-over. Rebecca Frost Davis introduced herself to me in Fall 2010, when I started my position as an Assistant Professor of English Writing & Rhetoric at St. Edward’s University. Since then I have made it a point to attend all of NITLE’s virtual seminars and meet-ups that I can. And it was largely because of my relationship with Rebecca that I attended my first THATCamp – THATCamp LAC 2011, a special version dedicated to increasing the digital humanities presence at Liberal Arts Colleges.

Campers at THATCamp Liberal Arts Colleges, photo by Quinn Dombrowski

I had always benefited from NITLE’s digital seminars. And for me, THATCamp LAC was a two day long NITLE seminar. The attitude of collaboration and sharing that exemplified THATCamp LAC was heartwarming. And the knowledge that was shared, from getting undergraduate students to do real research to using ArcGIS, has had a major influence on my past academic year. In fact, by the time that THATCamp LAC 2011 was wrapping up, I found myself committing to make sure that the unconference would happen again in 2012. After a conversation with Ryan Cordell on the last day, I volunteered to explore hosting the unconference at St. Edward’s the next year.

It’s been a busy 9 months, but my colleagues and I are happy to say that THATCamp LAC 2012 is going to happen. St. Edward’s University will host it on June 1-3 in Austin, TX. This year, we are going to continue the theme from 2011 – finding ways to enable digital humanities scholars at small liberal arts institutions. And we are going to put extensive emphasis on the pragmatism of Less Yak More Hack. Workshops will focus on skills that can be implemented the next day. And sessions will emphasize techniques, strategies, and resources that directly enable digital scholars invested in liberal education.

But there’s another goal that we have for THATCamp LAC 2012 – getting participants to build connections outside of their norm. We strongly believe that true innovation comes from collaborating with people who aren’t “just like you.” That is why THATCamp LAC will have participants from a wide range of backgrounds – humanities and social science academics, librarians, IT liaisons, and industry professionals. And the unconference will have participants with a wide range of technology skills, from serious computer pros to those just exploring the possibilities of new technologies. The only criteria that participants have to meet is an interest in technology, humanities, and a liberal education.

THATCamp LAC will be true to the unconference model – the sessions will be determined at the start of the conference by the participants. And fluidity will be the rule. We are planning some specific workshops ahead of time to complement those sessions. The workshop schedule hasn’t been decided yet, but it’s looking like participants will have the chance to learn techniques for using ebooks in the classroom, crowdsourcing transcriptions, and e-publishing books and journals.

We have put a lot of effort into minimizing costs for participants. There is no registration fee for THATCamp LAC. Housing options run as low as $54 each night. And St. Edward’s will provide several of the meals.

Registration for THATCamp LAC is currently open. We’re inviting NITLE enthusiasts to apply by going to lac2012.thatcamp.org/apply/. If you have any questions about the unconference or would just like to chat about it potential, feel free to contact Ryan Hoover at ryanh@stedwards.edu.

If the idea of three days talking with fellow digital humanists is appealing to you, if you enjoy NITLE seminars and wish (like me) that they took place much more often, then consider coming to Austin from June 1-3. You’ll be glad you did. I promise.