A quick profile of Scott B. Weingart, Carnegie Mellon's new digital-humanities specialist. Read More at The Chronicle of Higher Education »
Writing
“At U. of Kansas, Social-Media Policy Leads to More Conflict”
The policy is an attempt to protect the university from the consequences of employees’ controversial behavior online. But such attempts can have unintended consequences. For instance, professors might decide not to venture onto Twitter, or they might become reluctant to publicly associate themselves with their university. Read More at The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription) »
“Social-Media Skirmishes”
Can colleges regulate what faculty members say online--or punish them for saying offensive things? Many observers argue that guidelines work better than rules. Administrators sensitive to the sometimes competing issues at stake should recognize that attempts to control what scholars do online may be more damaging to a college’s reputation, and to the campus community, than isolated cases of offensive behavior. Some are finding that accentuating the positive aspects of social media is a more compelling approach than attempting to eliminate the negative. Read More at The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription) »
“Big-Data Project on 1918 Flu Reflects Key Role of Humanists”
A team of humanists and computer scientists has combined early-20th-century primary sources and 21st-century big-data analysis to better understand how America responded to the viral threat in 1918. It’s a study in the possibilities as well as the pitfalls of interdisciplinary work, and a model-in-progress for how data-driven analysis and close reading can enhance each other. Read More at The Chronicle of Higher Education »
“Once a Month, a Philosopher Uploads His Discipline to the World”
Jack Russell Weinstein, a professor of philosophy at the University of North Dakota, hosts a regular talk show about philosophy on the state's public-radio network. Mr. Weinstein’s philosophy about philosophy—that it’s both an academic and an extra-academic set of activities—reflects a growing awareness among humanists that they need to move beyond the rhetoric of crisis to share what they do with the wider world. In an era of never enough money, especially for the humanities, going public can be both satisfying and a survival strategy, a way to demonstrate to college administrations and state legislatures that disciplines like philosophy are worth investing in. Read More at The Chronicle of Higher Education (subscription) »
