HIST289

HIST 289 – Digital History: Enslaved Fugitives in Ohio

Fall 2025

Runaway slave advertisement

Professor Frank “Trey” Proctor III

Class: TTh 130-250 Talbot 229

Office Hours: MWF 10:30-1130, Tues 9-10, and by appointment (in person oargumargument, to finalizing a draft. Please visit the Writing Center Website at http://www.denison.edu/writingctr/ for locations and hours.

L2 or Multilingual Support: In addition to theo finalizing a draft. Please visit the Writing Center Website at http://www.denison.edu/writingctr/ for locations and hours.

L2 or Multilingual Support: In addition to theZoom)

Office: 404 Fellows Hall

Telephone: 587-5791
Email: proctorf@denison.edu

Preferred pronouns: he/him/his

This course is a hands-on, experimental, learn-as-we-go experience that introduces both students and the faculty members to the use of digital tools and sources to conduct original historical research, formulate historical arguments, and communicate historical ideas in digital formats (audio, visual, textual). In order to focus our efforts, we will apply what we learn to a particular area of historical study: runaway slave advertisements from nineteenth-century newspapers and runaway slave narratives from Ohio.

You are being provided the sources – runaway slave ads and narratives – and some experience with some digital tools. You are then being asked to initiate a final, open-web project that illustrates the promise and the limits of digital methods to study the past.

Tools/approaches will include XML (text encoding), visualizations (Tableau), network analysis, and digital mapping or spatial history (QGIS). Together we will begin to create a corpus of online sources by collecting, transcribing, encoding, and posting runaway slave ads. In addition, at the end of the semester, you will produce a piece of digital history of your choosing based on those sources using one or more of the tools we have explored together. That project can either be a team-based project or an individual one.

In the end, we will create a class website project that will allow us to bring together a variety of different visualizations and digital storytelling methods into a single website. That site will include maps, tables and graphs, digital stories, and textual information.

Power and Justice: This course fulfills the Power and Justice General Education Requirement. As such, we will pay special attention to the nature of power in the slaveholder-enslaved relationship (which some scholars identify as the single most unequal social relationship in human history), and how such power relations both informed, and were informed, by other systems of power such as race, class, and sex/gender.

Similarly, we will explore how such systems of power permeate the digital world and consider how we might avoid perpetuating them as we create our own digital exhibition related to runaway slave narratives and ads.

Learning Goals:

1) Gain an introductory knowledge of some of the digital tools or methods that can be useful to historians (such as mapping, social network analysis, distant reading, text encoding, etc.)

2) Gain knowledge of and experience with the applications of genAI for Digital History work

3) To consider the meaning of DATA; and, to explore how to treat historical sources as such

4) Historical Thinking; or, Sharpening your ability to

- Ask complex yet answerable historical questions

- Articulate and communicate complex historical theses/arguments

- Identify, locate, and marshal both *primary* and *secondary* forms of evidence in support of those arguments in written, oral, and visual forms in order to prove your position

- Hone your skills at interpreting various types of written and visual primary sources and historical literature, to reinforce your ability to identify and critique the various explicit and implicit arguments within such sources, and to employ such sources in the service of making your own arguments.

5) Digital Power and Justice

- Seek a deeper understanding of the systems of power that underwrote enslavement including those of race and gender

- Examine how the digital world can both perpetuate, and challenge, some of those systems of power in contemporary society

- Consider how best to actively avoid internalizing such systems of power in our own knowledge creation and digital presentation

6) Failing Productively

7) Learn to apply technical knowledge about digital history to a substantive and complex historical subject

8) Think explicitly and critically about how digital technologies change and potentially help the communication of historical narratives and interpretations.

9) Acquire experience managing a team-based digital humanities project

10) Help construct a public-facing digital exhibition/project

What to Expect

The unexpected! This class will likely (hopefully) feel different than a usual history class. First, rather than just reading, discussing, and writing history you will be asked to apply those skills and content knowledge to make new things. You will decide what we produce collectively, and you will carry most of the responsibility for creating the final product(s).

Second, and relatedly, the class focuses equal time on technical skills as on reading and discussing history. As such, nearly every Thursday will be a lab wherein the instructors will lead you through a tutorial and you will then apply your new skills to new problems.

Thirdly, this will likely be the one of the most collaborative classes you will take at Denison. The team who is coming together to teach the class (six people in all) should be a signal about the collaborative nature of the generation and presentation of knowledge in digital forms. No one can know everything, and often the best work is produced by a team of specialists with particular skills. Hopefully, then, this class will help sharpen your teamwork and project management skills in addition to the digital and historical skills you will hone.

Finally, the goal of the class is to create a “semi”-public facing, iterative project. The hope is that you will create the foundation of a public-facing website that will grow and expand every time I offer this course. You will generate content to populate that site, you will begin the process of collecting, sorting, and presenting the data that future classes will add to. This also means that we have to be attentive to our audience(s). This should be a different experience, and product, then a research class or readings colloquium.

Office Hours

The purpose of office hours is to make myself available to my students to discuss our class, their assignments, and perhaps even their larger Denison experience. I am here and ready to help/talk/listen.

I would strongly encourage you to take advantage of office hours, or to set up an appointment. I can promise that doing so will help you be your most effective and successful in my course.

Readings

All assigned readings will be available from the Course Schedule in Canvas for download and printing. Please bring printed copies of all assigned readings to class on the day for which they appear on the syllabus.

Assignments and Grades

Weekly Work (10%) –

Throughout the semester we will complete various homework assignments that will have a series of assignments with technical, non-technical, and data development dimensions aimed at developing the dual habits of thinking computationally and historically at the same time.

Labs (15%)

In addition to in-class “weekly work” in some instances you will be assigned a separate set of analyses that ask you to apply some of the techniques we have been learning.

Website Assessment (10%)

At various points throughout the semester you will be required to analyze a Digital History Website

Reading Responses (10%)

Throughout the semester, I will post questions to Canvas for most of the readings. At times these might be discussion boards, in other instances they will be informal writing assignments. The goal is to demonstrate that you are completing the readings; thinking critically about the arguments therein; and, how they might impact our class/project. (Students will be allowed to drop the lowest 10% of scores)

Final Project (40%)

Attendance and Contribution (15%)

Denison, and History at Denison, are about the exchange of ideas. Rather than thinking about contribution as something for you (an assignment), think of it as an obligation to your classmates. They deserve for you to be prepared, engaged, and to share your ideas so that they can more thoroughly engage the material and the major questions we are considering.

You are expected to attend class, to have completed the assigned reading beforehand, and to contribute to our classroom conversations. Share your ideas, questions, thoughts and respond thoughtfully, empathetically, and meaningfully to the ideas of others. No small task.

Contribution and Device Use Rubrics - Attendance, contribution to in-Class learning, and Appropriate Device Use

A-range - Attends all classes, arrives on time, and stays for the entire duration. Consistently contributes to discussions in every class with insightful, thoughtful, and relevant contributions that enhance the discussion. Actively listens, responds to, and engages with others' comments, and is always respectful, encouraging, and supportive of classmates.

B-range - Misses a few classes, generally punctual and present for the full class. Regularly contributes but may not speak in every class; contributions are relevant and show understanding of the material. Generally listens and occasionally engages with others' comments, usually respectful and sometimes supports others.

C-range - Regularly attends but participates rarely and may be frequently tardy. Speaks infrequently with minimal, sometimes off-topic contributions showing basic understanding. Listens but rarely responds to or acknowledges others, is respectful but passive and does not actively support or collaborate with others.

D-range - Frequent unexplained absences, often late or leaves early. Participates only very rarely with contributions that are often off-topic, disruptive, or show lack of preparation. Occasionally listens to others, may interrupt, and shows signs of disengagement. Sometimes disrespectful or minimally collaborative.

F-range - Multiple unexplained absences, frequently late or leaves early. Does not participate at all with contributions that are off-topic, disruptive, or show a complete lack of preparation. Does not listen to others, interrupts, or is completely disengaged. Disrespectful or significantly disruptive to the class environment.

Device Use Rubric for Computers, Phones, Tablets, and Smartwatches

The rubric below outlines my expectations for device use in this classroom. Unacceptable and below expectations device use will negatively impact your contribution grade.

1. Unacceptable 2. Below Expectations 3. Meets Expectations 4. Exceeds Expectations
Use is inappropriate. Device is a distraction to others. Examples: A student uses their device to play games, view material unrelated to the course, OR hold social conversations. Use is distracting to the student, their colleagues, and/or the instructor. Student frequently checks devices for information unrelated to the class. Example: A student takes out their phone to look at text messages several times in one class period. Device is not used except during designed times, or device use is limited to quick checks during times of transition. Example: a student receives an important text from a parent, which they check quickly during our transition between group work and full-class discussion, but waits to respond until an appropriate time. Device only used as an efficient academic tool for a direct purpose. Device is not a distraction. but used at appropriate times as an extension of work or learning. Examples: A student uses their phone to do research during a research project, or uses their laptop to create a collaborative document for a group project.

Final Project Assignment –

Collectively, we will create a working prototype of a digital history website devoted to runaway slave advertisements from Ohio newspapers. The content of that website will be determined by the class, working as individuals and/or teams, but will be primarily shaped by the techniques and tools that we learn together in class.

That website will house three types of student work.

1) DATA – The first will be the data, students will encode a number of runaway ads throughout the semester, you will generate and populate a database that holds the structured data you deem important from the ads you select and encode.

2) Interpretive Digital History projects – working in teams, or even in one big team, you will build a piece of digital history using the data and skills we have developed over the course of the semester. Students can elect to identify a new digital tool and apply it to their historical problem. This will require you to pose a historical question and to answer it in digital form using digital tools/techniques.

3) Collective Work on introducing the site.

Grading of Final Project

Collective Work (5%) – The quality of the ads that you are responsible for transcribing AND the quality of your team’s section of the class-site will be considered here.

Final Report (7.5%) – Your Final Report will consist of two parts:

1) Critically evaluates the prototype website that we construct throughout the final weeks of the semester. Your essay will assign and defend a “grade” for our project, explaining your reasoning for your assessment of various elements of the project. If you had collaborators on your project, you will assess their work as well.

2) Write a short essay, or podcast, wherein you reflect on your growth as a (digital) historian. Identify your greatest strength and greatest weakness that you have discovered as a result of taking this course. Describe your greatest achievement and your most epic fail from the semester. Detailed instructions will follow.

3) You may also take the time to make substantive suggestions on how to refine or improve course? Does the 2X80mins work? Would you prefer a different schedule? Would you prefer to do the technical tutorials as homework and to focus more class time on content? Did you have sufficient time to complete your digital creative work? What other questions should I be asking you to consider relative to the class?

4) Reflect on the role of genAI in your work as a digital historian. Has our class altered your vision of or your approach to genAI?

Final Project (20%) – The exact form of this element of the assignment is largely up to students and or teams of students. Students will be expected to produce digital history. This could take the form of an extended podcast, an extended non-linear or “gamed” history, a series of visualizations. Each of these will require a narrative component, a write-up of your findings in a more traditional “history paper” format.

Project Presentation (7.5%) - During the final week of the semester (format TBD), each student group will present their final digital project to the class and invited guests. This will also be an opportunity to reflect on your experiences. This will likely take place outside of class.More specific instructions will follow.

Acknowledgements – As a relative novice in Digital Humanities, one who wholeheartedly embraces William Cronon’s notion of being a “lifelong” learner, this course is the product of work of others; my Digital Humanities Summer Institute instructors Anastasia Salter and John Murray, Ian Gregory, Jessica Otis and Jon Simpson, and Ryan Cordell; my European Summer University in Digital Humanities instructors Simone Rebora and Giovanni Vitale; Educational Technology Specialists at Denison who have put up with me along the way, Donnie Sendelbach, Trent Edmunds, Debra Andreadis, Kelli Van Wasshenova, and Cheryl Johnson; and, the work and syllabi of other practitioners and experts – particularly historians Cameron Bievins, Caleb McDaniel, Shawn Graham, and Sarah Purcell who have made their classes available online, and the many people who contributed tutorials to the Programming Historian website.

Policies and Procedures

AI USE

We will be actively using various LLMs throughout the semester to do Digital History. You will have access to the most powerful models through DenAI denai.denison.edu

AI Policies

The development of generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are transforming the landscape of higher education. With that reality in mind, here are some guiding principles for the use of AI in our course (other faculty may have different policies, and it is YOUR responsibility to know what each of your professors determine is the acceptable and ethical use of AI in their courses).

AI can be a powerful tutor and instructor for many of the tools we will be exploring this semester. It is acceptable to you to use AI as an assistant in this regard, but it is extremely important that you clearly state how and why you used AI in your assignments.

In our class, AI will serve as a technical tutor, but should not be used to generate ideas or arguments. Please do not use AI for reading responses or other writing we may do.

Late Work: Deadlines matter! This is an important thing to recognize. However, life happens and I want to be as supportive and flexible as I can relative to your ability to complete your assignments to the best of your ability and in a timely manner.

Proactivity also matters! So, rather than a formal Late Policy, I am going to require that you be proactive. If you contact me BEFORE a deadline to let me know that you need extra time (for whatever reason) AND provide a reasonable alternative deadline I will not impose late penalties.

However, if you are not proactive, and simply turn in an assignment late, I will impose late penalties as follows - unexplained late assignments will be penalized one full letter grade on the day following the due date (A to B) and one third of a letter grade (B to B-) for each day after that.

Reading Responses will not be accepted late after you participate in the discussion of the reading.

Missed assignments will be assigned a score of zero.

Late informal assignments will not be accepted.

Academic Integrity: Please do your own work. Plagiarism will not be tolerated in any form. The students and faculty of Denison University are committed to academic integrity and will not tolerate any violation of this principle.  Academic honesty, the cornerstone of teaching and learning, lays the foundation for lifelong integrity.

Academic Integrity

Academic dishonesty is, in most cases, intellectual theft. It includes, but is not limited to, providing or receiving assistance in a manner not authorized by the instructor in the creation of work to be submitted for evaluation. This standard applies to all work ranging from daily homework assignments to major exams. Students must clearly cite any sources consulted—not only for quoted phrases but also for ideas and information that are not common knowledge. Neither ignorance nor carelessness is an acceptable defense in cases of plagiarism. It is the student’s responsibility to follow the appropriate format for citations. Students should ask the professor for assistance in determining what sorts of materials and assistance are appropriate for assignments and for guidance in citing such materials clearly.

Proposed and developed by Denison students, passed unanimously by DCGA and Denison’s faculty, the Code of Academic Integrity requires that instructors notify the Associate Provost of cases of academic dishonesty, and it requires that cases be heard by the Academic Integrity Board. Further, the code makes students responsible for promoting a culture of integrity on campus and acting in instances in which integrity is violated. The punishment for plagiarism/academic dishonesty in this class will be a grade of zero for the assignment in question and potentially a failing grade for the course in egregious cases.

Special Note - Digital History is a decidedly collaborative exercise. With that in mind, please be mindful to give credit where credit is due, and clearly articulate the work of others.

Disability Statement: Any student who feels he or she may need accommodations based on the impact of a disability should contact me privately as soon as possible to discuss his or her specific needs. I rely on the Academic Support & Enrichment Center in 104 Doane to verify the need for reasonable accommodations.

Writing Center: The Center is a free resource available to all Denison students.  Student writing consultants from many majors help writers one-on-one in all phases of the writing process, from deciphering the assignment, to discussing ideas, to developing an argument, to finalizing a draft.  Please visit the Writing Center Website at http://www.denison.edu/writingctr/ for locations and hours.

L2 or Multilingual Support: In addition to the academic support services available to all Denison students, students who use English in addition to other languages can meet with Denison’s Coordinator of Multilingual Learning, Kalynda Thayer. If English is not your first or only language, please consider utilizing this resource, which is available to ALL Denison students. Ms. Thayer offers a variety of support for L2 students, including consulting with you about your written language (grammar, syntax, word-choices), strategies to manage your reading assignments, assistance with class conversation and presentations, and to help devising ways to develop and effectively use all your skills in English. You can email her at thayerk\@denison.edu to schedule an appointment.

The course adheres to Denison’s Academic Credit Policy. Significant feedback on writing is a core component of this course. Students are expected to review instructor feedback and reflect on how to incorporate that into their future work. Students will be required to complete pre- or post-writing assignments before and after official course meetings.

Classroom Etiquette: Please arrive to class on time, and please turn off and put away your phones. Any student found using any form of social media on their phones during class will be asked to leave.

Course Schedule - Fall 2025 (Subject to Change)

Week 1

Thursday, August 28
Introductions and Course Overview

Week 2

Tuesday, September 2
What is History? Digital Humanities? Digital History?

Readings:

Thursday, September 4
Slavery - how bad was it?

Readings:

Week 3

Tuesday, September 9

Mapping - Points

Reading:

Website Review: Medieval Murder Map

Exercise: Mapping Lab - Points

Thursday, September 11
Our Data?

Readings:

Exercise

Week 4

Tuesday, September 16
Slavery and Freedom in Ohio / XML

Reading:

XML Readings:

Exercise

Thursday, September 18
Slavery and Freedom in Ohio cont. / XML

Reading:

Week 5

Tuesday, September 23

Website Review: Freedom on the Move

Thursday, September 25
XML/PEI (Proctor Encoding Initiative)

LAB

Week 6

Tuesday, September 30
Runaway Slaves in the US

Readings:

Thursday, October 2
Interpretations of Runaways

Readings:

Week 7

Tuesday, October 7
Runaway Slaves in US, cont / ARC StoryMaps

Readings:

Exercise - ESRI StoryMaps and StoryMap.JS

Thursday, October 9
Advanced Mapping / QGIS

Website Review Mapping Inequality

Week 8

Tuesday, October 14
Advanced Mapping cont. / QGIS

Reading:

Thursday, October 16
FALL BREAK - NO CLASS

Week 9

Tuesday, October 21
Cool DH Reading / Mapping with AI

Readings:

Thursday, October 23
Distant Reading Primer

Website Review - “Mining the Dispatch” to

Tutorial - Distant Reading with Voyant and nocodefunction.com

Week 10

Tuesday, October 28
Runaway Slave Narratives / Distant Reading with LLMs

Readings:

Tutorial -
Reading Across Texts

Thursday, October 30
Distant Reading with AI Code Assistant

Tutorial

Week 11

Tuesday, November 4
Digital Humanities and Data

Readings:

Thursday, November 6
Visualizations / Tableau

Readings:

Week 12

Tuesday, November 11
Digital History - A Critique / Tableau

Readings

Thursday, November 13
Visualizing Data II - Humanities Provocations / Final Projects

Readings:

Website Review (Un)Silencing Slavery

Week 13

Tuesday, November 18
Other cool tools - Inky, OpenRefine, and GEPHI

Thursday, November 20
Final Project Workday

THANKSGIVING BREAK (Nov 24-28)

Week 14

Tuesday, December 2
Final Project Workday

Thursday, December 4
Final Project Workday

Week 15

Tuesday, December 9
Presentations and/or Final Project Workday

Thursday, December 11
Presentations

Course Evaluations

Final Project Due: Sunday, December 14, 2025 @ 8:30pm