The Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) is seeking to hire an Assistant Director to join our management team, which currently consists of Neil Fraistat, Matt Kirschenbaum, and Doug Reside.

Made possible by a major Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH) is a collaboration of the University of Maryland’s College of Arts and Humanities, Libraries, and Office of Information Technology. In the ten years since its founding, MITH has become internationally recognized as one of the leading digital humanities centers in the world. As the host of the 2009 Digital Humanities conference and the co-organizer of centerNet (an international network of similar centers), MITH is one of the centers at the heart of the now burgeoning international field of digital humanities.

MITH is generously supported by the University administration and enjoys productive collaborations with allied campus units, including the University Libraries, the College of Information Science, and the Human Computer Interaction Lab. Geographically situated within the Washington DC Beltway, MITH is perfectly positioned for its frequent collaborations with the world-class libraries, museums, and cultural institutions in the metropolitan area, but our partnerships have also extended around the world. Recent projects include a collaboration with several major libraries in the U.K. and the United States to create an online archive of all extant pre-1642 quartos of Shakespeare’s plays and participation on a national research team charged by the Library of Congress with the preservation of virtual worlds (e.g. Adventure, DOOM, and Second Life). This latter project is part of MITH’s larger focus on the preservation of born digital creative work, also represented by our hosting of the Electronic Literature Organization and the Deena Larsen Collection–one of the world’s largest publicly held collections of electronic literature.

The Assistant Director will bear primary responsibility for project management and oversight of all MITH projects, including creation of deadlines for all deliverables and project tracking; the supervision of MITH’s development team, that includes programmers, web designers, graduate assistants, and interns; and computer programming services, data, and application architecture design and modeling for MITH projects. We are therefore seeking a web programmer experienced with web scripting languages (JavaScript, PHP, Ruby) and with some knowledge of compiled languages (Java, C++). Ability to work with Unix/Linux based applications is required, and preference will be given to candidates with database and XML expertise. Strong organizational and project management skills are also mandatory, as are excellent communication skills. A humanities background is especially desirable. Bachelor’s degree required; MA, MLS, or Ph.D. preferred.

The Assistant Director is a full-time, 12-month staff position at the University. Salary is commensurate with experience, ranging from $51,304-$64,131. The University also offers a competitive benefits package. To apply, please send a letter of application, CV, and contact information for three references to Doug Reside, Search Chair, via email: dreside@umd.edu. For best consideration, apply by close of business on October 9, 2009. The University of Maryland actively subscribes to a policy of equal employment opportunity and will not discriminate against any employee or applicant because of race, age, gender, color, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, religion, national origin, or political affiliation. Women and Minorities are strongly encouraged to apply.

A MITH Digital Dialogue
Tuesday, September 29, 12:30-1:45
MITH Conference Room, McKeldin Library B0135

“The Harlem Rennaisance in Second Life”
By Zita Nunes

This talk will address various aspects of teaching in Second Life. Drawing on their two-year experience co-teaching courses on the Harlem Renaissance that have brought together students from the University of Maryland, the University of Central Missouri, and the Sorbonne, Bryan Carter and Zita Nunes will discuss the pedagogical opportunities afforded “in-world.”

Bryan Carter is an Associate Professor of literature at the University of Central Missouri. He specializes in African American literature of the 20th Century with a primary focus on the Harlem Renaissance and has a secondary emphasis on visual culture. He has published numerous articles on his project, Virtual Harlem, an educational sim in Second Life representing Harlem as it existed during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, and has presented it at locations around the world.

Zita Nunes is Associate Professor of English and Director of the Comparative Literature Program at the University of Maryland. She is the author of Cannibal Democracy: Race and Representation in the Literature and an organizer of the Digital Humanities and African American/African Diaspora Studies Conference.

Coming up @ MITH 10/6: Brad Pasanek (Virginia), “A Dictionary, a Database, and a Desultory Reader: Metaphors for the Mind in Eighteenth-Century Literature.”

View MITH’s complete Digital Dialogues schedule here:
http://www.mith2.umd.edu/programs/mith_speakers_fall_2009.pdf

All talks are free and open to the public!

Contact: Neil Fraistat, Director, MITH (www.mith.umd.edu, mith@umd.edu, 5-8927)

We are pleased to announce that the centerNet steering committee has received a Digital Humanities Start Up Grant from the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities to help it develop a robust and sustainable organizational infrastructure and to run a World Summit of digital humanities centers directors and funders this July in London, immediately preceding DH 2010. centerNet currently has over 200 members from centers across the globe. The grant will enable it to play a larger role on the world stage beginning with the Summit, which is intended to facilitate collaborations on a global level among centers, among funders, and between both groups–with the ultimate goals of building international cyberinfrastructure for the digital humanities and developing centerNet regional affiliate groups in other parts of the world. More information about the Summit and centerNet’s other new initiatives will be forthcoming on this list.

The co-chairs of the centerNet steering committee, Katherine Walter (CDRH, University of Nebraska-Lincoln) and Neil Fraistat (MITH, University of Maryland) are co-principal investigators for the grant. Other members of the steering committee are Dan Cohen (CHNM, George Mason University); Julia Flanders (Brown University Women Writers Project); Matt Kirschenbaum (MITH); Dean Rehberger (Matrix, Michigan State University); Geoffrey Rockwell (TAPoR, University of Alberta); Raymond Siemens (SDH/SEMI, University of Victoria, British Columbia); and John M. Unsworth (University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign).

A MITH Digital Dialogue
Tuesday, September 15, 12:30-1:45
MITH Conference Room, McKeldin Library B0135

“At Glance at the Current State of Video Game Preservation”
by RACHEL DONAHUE

A number of cultural institutions have begun to take an interest in videogame preservation–but before materials make it to the archives, they are managed by their creators. Understanding what the videogame industry itself is doing with the concept art, tools, and other records they create is an important step to ensure that these increasingly important artifacts are preserved for future generations. In this talk Donahue will discuss findings from her preliminary survey of videogame industry (and player community) preservation and records management practices.

RACHEL DONAHUE is a doctoral student at the University of Maryland’s iSchool, researching the preservation of complex, interactive digital objects. She received a BA in English and Illustration from Juniata College in 2004, and an MLS with a specialization in archival science from UMD in 2009. Rachel is a Research Assistant at the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities, currently supporting the Preserving Virtual Worlds and Computer Forensics and Born-Digital Content in Cultural Heritage Collections projects . Additionally, she supports the research and communications activities of the National Archives and Records Administration’s Center for Advanced Systems and Technology.

Coming up @MITH 9/29, Zita Nunes (English and Comparative Literature), “The Harlem Renaissance in Second Life”

Note: there will be no talk next week so as to avoid conflict with the university town hall.

View MITH’s complete Fall Speakers Schedule here:

http://www.mith2.umd.edu/programs/mith_speakers_fall_2009.pdf

All talks free and open to the public!

Contact: Neil Fraistat, Director, MITH (www.mith.umd.edu, mith@umd.edu, 5-8927).

A MITH Digital Dialogue
Tuesday, September 15, 12:30-1:45
MITH Conference Room, McKeldin Library B0135

“A Glance at the Current State of Videogame Preservation”
by Rachel Donahue

A number of cultural institutions have begun to take an interest in videogame preservation — but before materials make it to the archives, they are managed by their creators. Understanding what the videogame industry itself is doing with the concept art, tools, and other records they create is an important step to ensure that these increasingly important artifacts are preserved for future generations. In this talk, Rachel Donahue, doctoral student at the iSchool, will discuss her findings from a preliminary survey of videogame industry (and player community) preservation and records management practices.

RACHEL DONAHUE is a doctoral student at the University of Maryland’s iSchool, researching the preservation of complex, interactive digital objects. She received a BA in English and Illustration from Juniata College in 2004, and an MLS with a specialization in archival science from UMD in 2009. Rachel is a Research Assistant at the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities, currently supporting the Preserving Virtual Worlds and Computer Forensics and Born-Digital Content in Cultural Heritage Collections projects. Additionally, she supports the research and communications activities of the National Archives and Records Administration’s Center for Advanced Systems and Technology.

Coming up @MITH 9/29: Zita Nunes (English & Comparative Literature), “The Harlem Renaissance in Second Life”

View MITH’s complete Digital Dialogues schedule here:

http://www.mith2.umd.edu/programs/mith_speakers_fall_2009.pdf

All talks free and open to the public!

Contact: Neil Fraistat, Director, MITH (www.mith.umd.edu, mith@umd.edu, 5-8927).