A MITH Digital Dialogue
Tuesday, September 12, 12:30-1:45
MITH Conference Room, McKeldin Library B0135
MITH will be hosting its next Digital Dialogue in support of The September Project. Initiated by University of Maryland American Studies (and MITH) alum David Silver, “On or around September 11, 2006, people worldwide will attend activities of discussion, dialogue, and reflection in public, academic, and school libraries. Come together and learn from your community and from your world.” More information about The September Project is available here:
http://www.theseptemberproject.org/
There are over 400 libraries and other institutions participating world-wide.
MITH’s contribution will take the form of a roundtable Digital Dialogue on the September 11th Digital Archive:
http://www.911digitalarchive.org/
According to the site, “The September 11 Digital Archive uses electronic media to collect, preserve, and present the history of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania and the public responses to them.”
A few questions to get us started (please do come with questions of your own): What does it mean to “archive” 9/11 on the Web? What are the boundaries of this particular Web site *as* an archive? What new or unique role do born digital materials–email, cell phone text messages, digital photographs and video, blogs, and mainstream media sites–play in the memory and preservation of 9/11? What are the particular issues and challenges involved: ethical, historiographical, and technical? How else has the Web contributed to an archiving or preservation of 9/11, including the widely viewed alternative history (“conspiracy”) documentaries digitally distributed from YouTube and similar sites?
Please note that this Digital Dialogue will still take place during our regular Tuesday slot, on September *12*.
We have an exciting line up of Digital Dialogues scheduled for the remainder of the semester, *every Tuesday* at 12:30. Highlights of upcoming speakers include Kevin Bertram (CEO, Distributive Networks), who will present “You Can Take It With You: The Nascent Role for Mobile in the Digital Humanities,” as well as visits from Daniel Pitti of the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities at the University of Virginia, Jason Nelson (digital artist and poet) from Griffith University in Australia, and Stuart Moulthrop and Nancy Kaplan from the Information Arts program at the University of Baltimore. Look for our full schedule very soon.
Contact: Neil Fraistat, Director, MITH (www.mith.umd.edu, mith@umd.edu, 5-5896).