Friday, November 7, 2008

evolving forum


This blog will be an evolving forum for the discussion of digital scholarship projects by students and faculty at Boston University. Digital scholarship projects (DSPs) should adhere to the following guidelines:

1. DSPs will contain three components: original video, original text, and rigorous citation of at least three types of research materials: primary sources, secondary sources, and print sources hitherto unpublished on the Internet. Electronic sources may also be included if they have been vetted for accuracy, but the inclusion of print sources not yet available on the Internet will be absolutely essential to the completion of every digital scholarship project. Just as most of the best music has never been digitized for consumption as CDs and Mp3 files, the vast majority of the best scholarship has never been digitized for perusal on the Internet. While undeniably cosmopolitan in terms of space, the Internet remains shockingly parochial in terms of time; a key objective of every DSP will be to bring hitherto neglected print sources into the meme pool of the Internet. Producing a DSP will require students to spend at least as much time in the stacks and archives as they do in front of a computer screen.

2. DSPs will be aimed at a general audience via the Internet, but will meet the same high standards of originality, accuracy, and citation that characterize all first-rate academic scholarship. The reasons for this shift away from an exclusive focus on the TF or professor and towards the broader audience of the Internet are threefold. First, students will be less inclined to use the obscurantist language and jargon that characterize so much academic writing when they are addressing a general audience. Second, students will be given the opportunity to create a lasting artifact that will be available to their family and friends in the near term and serve as a compelling addition to their resumes and career portfolios in the long term. And, finally, the production of first rate DSPs will add value to the Creative Commons of the Internet and enhance the online presence and reputation of Boston University.

3. DSPs will be open source and licensed for publication under a Creative Commons license.

RS Deese
History
rsdeese@bu.edu

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