# HIST 4XXX: Creating Digital Enchantments for Byzantine Archaeology & Numismatics in Public History. ## Course Overview: ### An Instructor's Brief Anecdote: This course is inspired by my experiences and research in Athens, Greece, during the summer of 2022. I was researching Byzantine (Eastern Roman Empire) coins at the Athenian Agora as well as how coins were curated and exhibited in Greek Museums. I focused on how the museums used coins to present and represent Byzantine identity to the public. It was no surprise to see the coins displayed in glass cases with brief explanations next to them. However, what was surprising was the stark contrast between who visited the Numismatic Museum of Athens, the Byzantine and Christian Museum (Athens), the Museum of Byzantine Culture (Thessaloniki), and the fairly new, architecturally stunning, bright, spacious, and interactive, Acropolis Museum in Athens. Can you guess which museum had more people present? The Acropolis Museum. I asked myself, what was it about the Acropolis museum, besides its modernist architecture, that brought people into it by the thousands? Was it Greek antiquity? No, there were Roman exhibits too. Why was this museum so attractive compared to the other museums? Maybe it was the public access to the excavated site underneath the museum. Were the narratives told through the exhibits more engaging, interactive, and enchanting then Byzantine history and material culture? No, it can't be. Byzantine history and archaeology are super cool...but is it enchanting? Do you even know who the Byzantines are? ### Course Description: This is a course about the power of narrative, knowledge creation, and the digital methods used to facilitate such endeavours to create enchantment around the archaeology of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire within the public sphere. Specifically, we will explore how narrative and knowledge are constructed around Byzantine coins from excavation to exhibition, and how museums use these coins to represent Byzantine history and identity for public consumption. The central question I want to explore in this course is: How can we make Byzantine coins more accessible and enchanting for the public? I want us to explore this question by integrating digital methods into our analysis. However, you may be asking, why bother going through all this effort to make Byzantine coins more engaging, accessible and enchanting? A coin is a coin, right? Nope! Besides my personal bias, coins have been, and continue to be, to some degree, isolated from historical and archaeological narratives in museums. Each ancient and medieval coin is unique. They were hand-struck which makes no two coins alike. Furthermore, Byzantine coins are tangible objects that link our modern world to the ancient and medieval world as many of our modern coin designs are inspired by Greek and Roman coins (Balaskas 2019). Unfortunately, Byzantine coins have generally been presented to the public in a disenchanted manner; distant, dis-engaged, sensorially abstract, void of their primary form of engagement: Touch and Feel. The sensorial is very much removed and this distorts the affective nature Byzantine coins have on the public. We generally display coins behind glass-encased exhibits (with written descriptions either next to the coin or on panel outside of the display) forbidding the experience of touch and, in many situations, in order to see the intricate artistic, linguistic, and iconographic details you must lean in as close as possible to view the coins on display. But not too close where you set off the alarms (I did this at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki). Because of the way coins are presented, inevitably, we do not see many of the finer details altogether. Is it any wonder that the monotonous, chronologically ordered, sensorily-abstract methods used to exhibit many Byzantine coins has created an aura of disenchantment. To address the above problems, we need to understand how Byzantine history developed as a discipline and how coins, within this disciplinary framework, are excavated, analyzed, curated, represented and presented for public consumption in museums. After which, we will explore different digital methodologies to (re)approach Byzantine coins in, I hope, a more enchanting manner. The objective of the course is to expose students, in a pedagogical environment that does not frown upon failure but openly embraces its inevitability for its learning potential, to a variety of skills and tools to critically assess the intersection of Byzantine history, archaeology, digital humanities and numismatics within public history. The goal is to provide students with the necessary skills that will allow them to critically (re)think how we engage the public with Byzantine coins in public institutions and digital spaces. Furthermore, we address these questions through collaborative digital means, but before we get into the meat of the course, you may be saying: Back that train up. What is enchantment? ### Enchantment: Not just a Disney fairy tale. Enchantment is a 'state of wonder,'' an emotive experience that is generated deliberately or by surprise through the affective nature of the sensorial experience (Bennett 2001; Perry 2006; Graham 2020). During our exploration of Byzantine history, archaeology, numismatics and public history, we will note that discussion surrounding *enchantment* in Byzantine studies is...lacking. Why? One answer may be how archaeologists and numismatists present and discuss our respective fields. Shawn Graham writes, ‘The serious face of archaeology we present to the public is so lifeless: how can we expect government and the public to be excited about our work if we ourselves give every indication of not being excited either?’” (Graham 2020: 4). In other words, unless scholars get more excited, evocative, animated, provide alternative mediums for narrative creation, create opportunities for public engagement, collaboration, and interaction, and a little less disparaging about how we represent our work to the public, we may indeed be able to create enchantment for and with the public at-large. Graham's observation is pointedly true for Byzantine coins but I am not saying (and I am sure Graham is not) that we go all *Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade* on the archaeology of Byzantine coins. That would require time travel. The question, rather, is what processes and mediums should be explored to facilitate enchantment around Byzantine coins and what could enchantment do for the study of Byzantine history? Enchantment, I argue, can present new, innovative and evocative affective methodologies to critically (re)engage with archaeological legacy data and contemporary materials for creating enchanting narratives that will stimulate wonder and aura around the public facing presentation of Byzantine history. ### Course Structure: First, the course is designed as an intensive seminar course in order to promote intimate debate and dialogues between individuals and small working groups. Registration has been limited to nine students to facilitate three groups of three students in order to promote collaboration for the entirety of the course. The course was developed to simulate how archaeological and curatorial practices are practiced in various collaborative environments. Students are expected to come prepared to class and participate in discussions about the assigned readings and podcasts each week. These class discussions are meant to support and stimulate students in their weekly discussion post contributions. Week one provides a general introduction to the course, with an overview of the course's overarching themes, objectives, goals and assessments. We will discuss and begin to apply *Obsidian.md*, a note-taking manager (details provided in week one's overview), to our course objectives. Phase one (weeks 2 - 4) will expose students to the concepts and themes in academic history, public history, and digital humanities. Through these frameworks, we will discuss the creation of Byzantine studies in the nineteenth century and the effect this had on the development of national and historical narratives for Roman and Byzantine history and identity in public spaces such as museums. We end each phase with an experiential learning tutorial where we apply what we have learned from the previous weeks into a tangible project. By the end of phase one, students should come away with a general knowledge for the development of Byzantine studies, problems associated with the terms Byzantine and Byzantine Empire, as well as how they affect identity representation. Phase two (weeks 5-8) begins our journey into Byzantine numismatics and the archaeology of coins. We will address the many contexts of a coin's existence and how they are excavated, documented, curated and finally placed into exhibition. Themes in cultural heritage and cultural property will be addressed along with how the label Byzantine continues to be incorporated into national historical narratives. Specifically, we explore the creation of 'medieval Hellenism' in the Greek Nation-State's early development and how this affected narrative creation for Byzantine history. By the end of phase two, students will debate whether museums should continue using the label Byzantine to represent the medieval Eastern Roman Empire and hypothesize alternative labels for student's final projects. The experiential learning tutorial will have students explore online numismatic databases where students will consider the processes for what data to record from a coin and its archaeological context, and document their selected data into their group databases for future processing. The last phase (weeks 9-13) centres around digital methods and theory to (re)address how Byzantine (or what label we agree upon) coins and identity can be reinterpreted, re-imagined, and presented to the public in a more informative, inclusive and enchanting format. In phase three, we dive into the meat and potatoes for creating digital enchantment around Byzantine coins. We explore concepts of "agile" objects and how the sensorial creates affective public engagement with emotive intersections to help facilitate the creation of enchantment. We discuss interpretation processes in post-data collection and narrative visualization. Furthermore, we engage with Roman and Byzantine coins in their physical state and with 3D models in order to experience the emotive differences when engaging with coins in these mediums. This leads us into the final project of the course (described in the assessments section) which will be digitally based and collaboratively produced. Week 13 will be a review and final project support week. Projects are due at the end of the week (Friday at 11:59 pm). See Assessments section for due dates and grading breakdown. ### Course Expectations: 1) Complete assigned weekly readings. 2) Come prepared to discuss readings for each class. 3) Participate in discussion posts. 4) Participate and collaborate in class tutorials. 5) Submit a final digital project. ### Learning Outcomes: 1) Discuss and contextualize the development of Byzantine Studies as a discipline. 2) Conduct independent research on Byzantine history and identity. 3) Analyze, evaluate and identify Byzantine coins. 4) Identify cultural heritage and ethical issues concerning material culture. 5) Prepare and create a public-facing project utilizing the digital methods and tools discussed throughout the course. ### Your Success: Your success in this class is dependent on three principles: 1) **Come Prepared**. Do the readings, be prepared to discuss and collaborate with me and your peers. Each class is designed to explore and discuss the assigned readings and podcasts and how they can inform our research objectives and goals. I will not be lecturing for an hour and a half each class. But I might nerd out and gab your ear off. 2) **Be Fearless**. Despite what Yoda might think: "Do, or do not. There is no try." (Starwars, Episode V), I want you to **try** new tools and venture into the swampy unknown. Try and explore new digital methods. 3) **Fail Gloriously**. Words I live by now. Do not be afraid to fail. When we **try** new methods, theories and digital tools, we are bound to mess up, break things, and fail. If "we" fail, then "we" have learned something. --- ### Web Links, Digital Tools and Resources: Click the link below to take you to the Resource page. On this page you will find links to museums, databases, podcasts, tutorial videos, digital tools we will be using and Obsidian.md resources. [[Additional_Resources]] --- ### Epilogue: You will notice that I often use common vernacular and "WE" a lot. Why? First, [H]istory is narrative construction and storytelling that must be engaging and relatable. However, public engagement doesn't mean dumbing down scholarly research (Holtorf 2007). Therefore, I don't want to inundate you with technical jargon and scare you away (that would be counter-productive). Rather, I want to challenge you to think about how *we*, as historians, archaeologists, public historians, and numismatists, can reframe, narrate and make Byzantine history enchanting to the public. We will discuss complex topics without the expectation that you will know all the technical jargon. Secondly, the "We" is exactly what it means. We (you and I) will explore, discuss, and collaborate throughout the course. Western academia/universities are embedded with colonialist structures that have created hierarchal systems that produce power structures. The professor-student relationship is one of those structures which, in some cases, can oppress or discourage the student's ability to be creative and produce new and insightful historical narratives. I want to promote and enable a constructive learning environment that focuses on rigorous creative historical narrative construction. ([My Gothic Dissertation](https://www.mygothicdissertation.com/), by Dr. Anna Williams, provides excellent examples of exploited power imbalances in academia between professor and student over and above the thesis' exploration of the Gothic literary genre.) Moreover, in this class, **I am learning from you just as much as you are learning from me.** I'm not going to lecture you for an hour and a half every class of every week, then tell you to write a paper. Rather, inspired by the book *Failing Gloriously* (Graham 2019), my goal is to create an environment that promotes open dialogue and allows failure to produce constructive outputs and be informative to your success as a student. Things break, and subsequently, things fail because of these breaks. Failing, or as Graham states, _Failing Gloriously_, is not a bad thing. Indeed, it is positive and necessary (Graham 2020: 3). I have failed - **a lot** - and continue to do so, but each failure is a teachable moment for success. I want you to be inquisitive, curious, and daring to try new things and methods without fear of penalty. The opportunity to fail gloriously in a constructive environment produces a learning experience for you and me. Consequently, it provides you with new methodological tools for creating historical narratives while being as academically rigorous as possible. Attempting to create digital enchantment of Byzantine coins is a collaborative effort which we all learn from. Remember, we are not trying to recreate the Big Bang theory or black holes; we are studying Byzantine coins in the public and academic sphere. Equally as dramatic but without the planet Vulcan destroying properties. We will collaborate, create, fail, and succeed together. Each week we will work and support each other as a team to achieve our objectives. Archaeological sites, museums and exhibitions are not one-person shows. They are collaboratively discussed, planned, surveyed, excavated, created and curated in order to reach an end product. Shouldn't we learn in the same manner? --- ### Contacting Your Instructor: ##### Email: [email protected] ##### Twitter: @scottcoleman79 ##### Discord: Herakleios #0531 ##### Blog: www.roguehistory.ca ##### Office Hours: **Enter Date and time** **I try to answer emails within 24hrs and between the hours of 9 am -6 pm, Monday - Friday. Weekends are my puppy time. Be patient. We all have busy lives. I will respond. If you have an emergency during the weekend that cannot wait until Monday, mark your email as urgent and I will do my best to respond.** ## Assessments: ### Overview: The course will be evaluated on participation, weekly discussion posts using Obsidian.md, three tutorial assignments (Weeks 4, 8, and 12), and a final project where students, in their designated groups, will create a virtual/digital essay with Mural.io. The tutorial assessments will focus on the process, not the outcome, while the final assignment focuses on the process and the end product. Your weekly discussion posts are meant to inform your tutorials and final project through collaborative processes with your fellow students. There is no final exam or mid-term. ### Grading: ##### Participation: 10% Constructive participation in class is what I am looking for. Come prepared, discuss readings and podcasts, and voila, you've participated. ##### Discussion Posts: 30% Discussions posts will be evaluated based on 1) the quality and clarity of content, 2) a minimum of two replies each week, 3) how you are linking your ideas, 4) citation requirements, and 5) your group's Canvas mind map. Each week is worth 2.5% of the total grade. ##### Tutorials: 30% Each tutorial is worth 10% of your total mark for a total of 30%. ##### Final Project: 30% The final project will be evaluated on both individual and group criteria. 10% based on your individual contribution to the final project. 10% on the project's content and 10% based on the presentation of the project by your group. ### Discussion Posts: In archaeological fieldwork, teams of individuals excavate designated trenches that may contain material culture and stratigraphy from varying periods. Therefore, archaeological trenches can become extremely complex very quickly, with large amounts of data being recorded daily from different individuals. When this data is combined with data from other trenches, analysis and interpretation are intricate and complicated. Therefore, methodical, clear and concise note-taking is critical to keep data organized and coherent so it can be synthesized, analyzed, and interpreted individually and jointly with data from individual or multiple trenches. Thus, field notebooks are critical tools for archaeologists to interpret and create knowledge about the past. Our discussion posts mimic how archaeologists record evidence/data and synthesize it into a homogenous corpus that reflects all the work undertaken during a field season. A shared Obsidian.md vault for the class will be created and in the vault will be designated files for your group project. All students can see and access these files, so be considerate and **do not tamper with files and notes that do not belong to you.** I will monitor student note creation while creating additional instructor notes to stimulate dialogue and support your learning. Each week, students are required to submit one discussion post and a minimum of two reply posts in Obsidian.md based on the themes for that week (See week one Obsidian lesson overview). Templates will be provided for your posts in the Templates folder in the community vault, as the consistent recording of our ideas is important for the final outcome of this project. Each week you will be given a prompt on which to base your discussion post. Each post will contain a maximum of 400 words (unless otherwise specified) and include relevant citations. Citing is extremely important for this project, and you must provide a minimum of two citations per discussion post and reply post. The citations have two purposes. First, demonstrate and give credit to the sources that aided in generating your thoughts and ideas. Secondly, it is a surprise to be revealed in our final week. You will then link your posts to two of your peers' posts with a reply on why you created this link. Replies will be no more than 150 words. **There is no maximum amount of replies,** and be sure your replies contribute in a rigorous scholarly manner. One reply is to be linked to a member of your group and one to a student outside your group. These posts are meant to stimulate dialogue and collaboration with your colleagues in and outside your groups (just like if you were working in different trenches at the same archaeological site). **They are not meant to be heavily critical or disparaging.** At the beginning of week two, you will be divided into groups and begin collaborating and developing strategies to analyze, interpret and formulate hypotheses from your group's ever-evolving Obsidian.md repository. This exercise aims to force you to think critically about what you and your peers record as data/evidence and how your classmates link ideas together. This is an exercise about significance claims. What is identified and considered as data, and what is not? The goal is not to find a correct or definitive answer but to understand the processes involved in collecting and interpreting archaeological data. Furthermore, discussions are meant to support and inform your final project. For templates, click on the following [[DiscussionTemplate]], [[ReplyTemplate]], and [[17.03 Process Note]] ### Podcasts: The podcasts assigned are meant to stimulate dialogue and expose you to the differences between reading academic work and listening to academics talk about their work. The objective is to get students to think critically about the in-between spaces of academic and public history, and where these two fields intersect. In particular, we focus on the podcast *Byzantium and Friends*. Throughout the course, we will discuss the podcast's themes, target audiences and whether podcasts are a useful medium to present academic work to the public. Podcasts are considered part of the reading requirements for the course, and students are expected to come prepared to discuss the assigned podcasts in class (or discussion posts) when required. Other podcasts have been provided on the resources page for comparison but are not mandatory unless stipulated. ### Tutorial Assessments: There are three tutorial weeks for the course. Each tutorial draws from the previous week's themes and gives students the opportunity for experiential and collaborative learning objectives. For each tutorial, students will work with their assigned groups and discuss, collaborate and accomplish the week's assigned deliverable tasks. Tutorial one (Week 4) gets students to focus on problematizing the term "Byzantine" and "Byzantium" to identify the Eastern Roman Empire on the public-facing side of museum websites. The goal is for students to understand the complexities of accurately representing ancient identities in a consumable manner for the public while avoiding the colonial ghosts which linger in Byzantine studies. Tutorial number two (Week 8) focuses on data collection, specifically how we source, interpret and record data into large databases for current and future use. The objective is for students to excavate data from web-based coin databases, think through which coins they will document in their group databases and why they chose the "identifiers" in their databases. The tutorial's goal is to provide students with the necessary skills to navigate large databases, interpret legacy data and provide data for their group's final project. The final tutorial's objective (Week 12) is to support students and their data analysis. In other words, how to synthesize the data collected in week eight into a readable and useable narrative for museum curators to draw from when creating museum coin exhibits. Students play both roles, as the tutorial's goal is to simulate the dialogues between scholars when creating historical narratives for public consumption. Students will draw from their group's Obsidian notes to support their analysis and the final project. --- ### Final Assessment: Your final project is to create a visual narrative about an assemblage of coins that enchanted you. This project is a team project meant to simulate preparing a virtual exhibition. Each group will select six coins (that's two coins per person) to present in their virtual exhibit. You will also collaborate with the other groups to ensure no one is presenting the same coins (I will create a sheet for you to record which coins you have selected). We will be utilizing [Mural](https://www.getmural.io/docs/intro/) to create our final project. You will utilize the tutorials, Obsidian vault, and discussions to inform your final project. You will present your Mural project via the internet, which will count as your group presentation component for grading purposes. Further details are to be discussed in class. ### Addendum: Do you and your group have an idea for a different final project you would like to explore rather than Mural? Awesome! Pitch it to me. I am open to allowing alternative projects for this class. Nothing is really set in stone. It's *Digital* and malleable. **However**, alternative projects need to be proposed to me by **week seven**. This is to ensure that your group have formulated a plan and know your goals in order to maximize the tutorial in week eight. --- ## Week One. ### Introductions: ##### Course Introduction (Tuesday, January 10th, 2023) We will review the course's overarching themes, objectives, and goals on our first day. We will also discuss assignments and student responsibilities. - No Readings. ##### Obsidian: What is it? (Thursday, January 12th, 2023) In our first full class of the semester, we will explore *Obsidian.md*, a program which can be run on Windows, Mac OS, Linux, and more. I will show you how to install it onto your computer (it's free) and provide a tutorial on its basic functionality. The program uses Markdown (md) language for note-taking and stores files locally on your computer with the option to sync through cloud services (*We will use Dropbox and other free services. I will not force you to purchase services*). Think of Obsidian as your second brain to store your thoughts, ideas, and inspirations. We will use Obsidian to develop notes together and independently and generate weekly discussions amongst our peers. By the end of the term, my goal is for us to have a significant repository of notes compiled that will allow you to think critically and creatively and inform your final project. We will explore the Zettlekasten system (Atomic notes), and what backlinks and outgoing links can do for your note creation. We will also discuss strategic reading and note-taking. Obsidian is relatively easy to learn, and you do not need to be a coder, programmer or techie to learn or use the software. Trust me, I am from the pre-internet era and quickly learned this. We will start by developing notes together in week two, with you starting discussion posts on your own in week three. In the following weeks, you will create a discussion post in Obsidian that will be deposited into a Class Community Vault. Here, you will read your peers' discussions and link your thoughts to other discussion posts that you believe are important to your thoughts or link to your ideas in some way you think is relevant. For the purpose of this class, students will need to use the provided templates to maintain consistent criteria for note-taking as well as equality in the assessment process. The content within these templates is of your choosing. The goal for the end product is a communal repository that we all can use to inform our final projects. Links to your classmates' notes might inspire or change how you think about a particular idea or a note you created. Since archaeological sites and museums are comprised of individuals working as teams to excavate and create knowledge about the past as well as promote knowledge exploration and dissemination to the public, I want us to explore how we create and disseminate knowledge both independently and as a collective in this course. ##### Readings: Sönke Ahrens' book, _How to Take Smart Notes_, is meant for you to skim through for the duration of the course. This is not, strictly speaking, a peer-reviewed academic book, but it is a great source to learn how to create notes or Atomic notes. As Andy Roddick (2022) observes, making notes, not taking notes, forces you to think more critically about the ideas you formulate and record as notes. Ahrens, Sönke. 2017 _How to Take Smart Notes : One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking - for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers._ Place of publication is not identified_. Sönke Ahrens. ##### Discussion: For our first discussion post, I want you to introduce yourself to your peers in Obsidian. In the BioFolder, use the [[BioTemplate]] we have learned to use and share as much or as little of yourself with your peers. There are some questions designed to help you along the way that are centred around your academic interests and goals; not your personal life (but feel free to share if you are comfortable to do so). This exercise is meant to get you comfortable with using Obsidian. Link your Bio to any of your peers that you know from other classes you have taken together. Your bio is due by the next class. ##### Helpful Resources: Videos and Links I recommend watching Dr. Andy Roddicks's workshop on Obsidian note-taking in academia, linked below. I have also provided other useful links that I have used to learn Obsidian in the resources section. You can start around the 18-minute mark to get into the meat of strategic note-taking or the 32-minute mark if you want to get right into Obsidian.md. Roddick, Andy. 2022. _From Info-Glut to Connected Notes: Obsidian and Digital Note-Taking in Academia_ DMDS Workshops. [Obsidian and Digital-Note Taking in Academia](https://scds.github.io/dmds-22-23/Obsidian.html) **Below, there are more resources for you. You do not need to watch all the videos. These are here for your reference. If you find a source not on this list that you believe is better or is more up-to-date, please share it with the class in the Community Vault and me by creating a {linkName](www.example.example) in the community folder named Additional Resources.** [Install Obsidian](https://help.obsidian.md/Getting+started/Download+and+install+Obsidian) [Obsidian Help](https://help.obsidian.md/Start+here) [Obsidian for Beginners: Start HERE — How to Use the Obsidian App for Notes - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgbLb6QCK88) [Obsidian setup for 2023 - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym26gT798lQ) [The FUN and EFFICIENT note-taking system I use in my PhD - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9SLlxaEEXY) [Obsidian Tutorial for Beginner: Version 1 Update - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Vz59TU115M) [My 2020 Comprehensive Obsidian Workflow For Zettelkasten and Evergreen Notes - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ewhfok91AdE&t=1s) [How to get started with Obsidian in 2022 - from scratch! - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUrOfIqvGS4) --- ## Week Two. ### Performing Academic, Public, and Digital History: Before we can address the issues surrounding the enchantment of Byzantine archaeology and coins in the public sphere (museums, public media, books, podcasts, and the internet), we first need to explore what academic history, public history and the digital humanities are and where they are performed. I doing so, the goal is inform our exploration of enchantment and how we can create digital enchantment around Byzantine coins. Therefore, for our first class this week, we will explore the questions: What is academic history, public history and digital humanities (DH) and what are the differences between these fields? Is academic history a public history or vice versa? How does digital humanities contribute to these fields? Can digital humanities provide a deeper knowledge of the past? ##### Academic History, Public History and the Past. (Tuesday, January 17th, 2023) The first class of the week we will ask what *is* the "Past" and what *is* "History"? David Dean notes, “Public history deals with the ways in which the past is created and presented in the public arena as history...[it] is about the ways in which the public engages with the past and about how the past is represented to the public” (Dean 2018: 2). So, if public history examines evidence from the "past" to create "history" for the present and future, then what is the public engaging with? Does the public engage with the past or a constructed historical narrative? Does this matter? What mediums are used to present the past as narrative to the public? We will address the above questions through the following works: David Deans "Introduction," in _A Companion to Public History_, Charles Hedrick Jr., "Monuments and Documents," and Michel-RolphTrouillot, "The Power in a Story." We will discuss how each author defines 'History' and the 'Past' and the implications of these definitions on presenting History to the public. ##### Readings: Dean, D. M. 2018 Introduction. In _A Companion to Public History_, editor David Dean, pp. 1-12. Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Trouillot, Michel-Rolph. 2015 The Power in a Story. _Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History_, pp. 1-30. Beacon Press, Boston, Massachusetts. Hedrick Jr., Charles W. 2006 Preface, Monuments and Documents. In *Ancient History: Monuments and Documents,* pp. viii-xi; 1-26; 126-142. Blackwell Publishing, Malden, Massachusetts. ##### Performing a "Public" History in a Digital World. (Thursday, January 19th, 2023) Our second class this week addresses issues surrounding public history performance and what does it mean to perform public history digitally? We will insert Byzantine history into this dialogue and ask is there a difference between the academic and public performance of Byzantine history and how can/does digital humanities intersect, connect and collaborate with the two. Who determines what histories are "performed" within the public sphere and what is "of value to the public" (Dean 2018)? What digital methods are academic? rigorous? Acceptable to be used under the framework of digital humanities? To aid us in navigating these questions we first discuss Roopika Risam's introductory chapter in *New Digital Worlds* and explore the framework which constitutes digital humanities. We then move onto Alison Landsbery book *Engaging the Past* and explore how the past is represented as [H]istory in television dramas. In particular, we will focus the HBO series *Rome* and how historical narrative is performed. I want us to consider if television series like *Rome*, *Deadwood,* and *Vikings* constitute a public history? And if so, given the how the digital provides ease of access to these series, do these shows fall within the praxis of digital public history? In our last reading, we discuss Darryl McIntyre's chapter "Creating New Pasts in Museums" and the process of changing, creating and performing history in the museum. Do museums create time/space compression in their exhibits and what affects does this have on our reception and perception of history and the past? ##### Readings: McIntyre, Darryl. 2009 Creating New Pasts in Museums: Planning the Museum of London's Modern London Galleries. In _People and Their Pasts: Public History Today_, editors Ashton, Paul, and Hilda Kean, 131-145. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, England; New York. Landsberg, Alison. 2015 Introduction, Waking the Past: The Historically Conscious Television Drama. _Engaging the Past: Mass Culture and the Production of Historical Knowledge_, pp. 1-24; 61-110. Columbia University Press, New York. Risam, Roopika. 2019 _New Digital Worlds: Postcolonial Digital Humanities in Theory, Praxis, and Pedagogy_, pp. 3-22. Northwestern University Press, Evanston, Illinois. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv7tq4hg. ##### Podcast: Byzantium and Friends: [Digital humanities and Byzantium, with Kuba Kabala](https://byzantiumandfriends.podbean.com/e/23-digital-humanities-and-byzantium-with-kuba-kabala/) ##### Discussion: For your first analytical discussion post, I want you to discuss what you believe digital humanities is and how it can contribute to our knowledge of the past. Is DH an analytical tool to be used by historians, archaeologists, numismatists, and public historians? Or is it a discipline in itself that creates intersections between disciplines, or removes disciplinary boundaries that create a more inclusive academic and public historical discourse? **Make sure to cite your sources and reply to two different discussion posts from classmates who are not in your group.** --- ## Week Three. ### Situating Byzantium: ##### Creating Byzantium in the 19th century. ( Tuesday, January 24th, 2023) In short, the Byzantines were Romans (Romaioi) who lived within the ever-fluctuating borders of the Eastern Roman Empire (_Rhōmania_ or Romanland). This is an oversimplified answer, of course. Thus, in week three, our objective is to situate how the labels "Byzantium" and "Byzantine" came into common usage in modern scholarship and the effects on how scholars study medieval Roman identity. In other words, what do we mean when we use the labels Byzantium and Byzantine? What impact do these terms have on our historical and archaeological understandings of the Eastern Roman Empire? We first discuss why the discipline was invented (Aschenbrenner and Ransohoff, 2021) and the possible impacts the discipline's formation had on public understanding of Roman history. We also explore Shephard (2019), Bintliff (2012) and Bellinger (1966) and how historians, archaeologists and numismatists, respectively, periodize Roman history from Byzantine history. The podcast this week is meant to supplement the inconsistencies in how Byzantine history is periodized. ##### Readings: Aschenbrenner, Nathanael, and Jake Ransohoff. 2021 Introduction: The Invention of Byzantium in Early Modern Europe. In *The Invention of Byzantium in Early Modern Europe,* edited by Nathanael Aschenbrenner and Jake Ransohoff, 1-23. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC. Shephard, Jonathan. 2019 Introduction. In *The Cambridge History of The Byzantine Empire: c. 500-1492,* editor Jonathan Shepard, pp. 2-52. Cambridge University Press, New York. Bintliff, J. L. 2012 The Archaeology of Byzantine Greece. In *The Complete Archaeology of Greece: from Hunter-Gatherers to the 20th Century AD,* pp. 281-401. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, West Sussex. Bellinger, Alfred R. 1966 Introduction. In *Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and the Whittemore Collection: Volume One. Anastasius I to Maurice 491-602,* editors, Alfred R. Bellinger and Philip Grierson, ix-xii, 3. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, D.C. ##### Orientalism: Byzantium as the "other." In this class, we will explore and discuss the implications of orientalism, both past and present, on Byzantine studies. Specifically, how the label Byzantium establishes and encourages tropes about the eastern Roman world and what are the dangers? We first briefly touch on Edward Said's book *Orientalism* and discuss the "othering" of the near and far East by primarily western European institutions within the imagined European community (Anderson 2016). Next, we move into Anthony Kaldellis' book *Romanland* and what the author coins (pun intended) as the *substance* of the term(s) Byzantine/Byzantium (Kaldellis 2019) and explore the specificities of Roman denialism in western historical thinking. Furthermore, how Byzantium becomes synonymous with Greek and the need to create disciplinary boundaries (Kaldellis 2021). We draw from last week's readings on the construction of Byzantium as a discipline (or imagined community?) and discuss the implications of denying Roman identity to the so-called Byzantines. We will conclude with a discussion on *Is Byzantinism an Orientalism?* and how the "substance" of the label Byzantine creates the "Byzantine Subaltern" and erases identity. ##### Readings: Said, Edward. 1979 _Orientalism_. pp. 1-30. First Vintage Books edition. Vintage Books, New York. Kaldellis, Anthony. 2019 Preface, A History of Denial. In _Romanland: Ethnicity and Empire in Byzantium_, pp. ix-xv; 3-37. The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Kaldellis, Anthony. 2021 From 'Empire of the Greeks' To 'Byzantium'. The Politics of a Modern Paradigm Shift. In *The Invention of Byzantium in Early Modern Europe,* editors, Nathanael Aschenbrenner and Jake Ransohoff, pp. 349-368. Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, DC. Stouraitis, Y. 2022 Is Byzantinism an Orientalism? Reflections on Byzantium’s constructed identities and debated ideologies. In _Identities and Ideologies in the Medieval East Roman World_, editor Yannis Stouraitis, pp. 19-47. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh. ##### Podcast: Byzantium and Friends: [When does Roman history end and Byzantine begin?, with Marion Kruse](https://byzantiumandfriends.podbean.com/e/15-when-does-roman-history-end-and-byzantine-begin-with-marion-kruse/) ##### Discussion: Reflecting on this week's themes, I want you to respond to Paul Stephenson's question in his Introduction to *The Byzantine World*: "Why concern ourselves with the Byzantine world?" (Stephenson 2012: xxi). I want you to think about the implications the term Byzantine may have on how the public consumes Byzantine history and those who lived within the 1100-year disciplinary framework which was created. --- ## Week Four: Tutorial. ### Problematizing Byzantium on the Web: Who is Byzantine and who is Roman? *"Traditional academic work is often hidden behind subscription-only paywalls or written in the jargony language of the academy; [Douglas] Galbi's (and his fellow travellers’) posts, by contrast, are freely and widely available on the internet and written in a plain and easily accessible style. It is almost certain, therefore, that their works have a larger audience than all but the most successful of their scholarly sources" (Goldwyn 2022: 428).* Adam Goldwyn is speaking about the public-facing side of Byzantine history and how alt-right groups are using and manipulating the Christian identity of Byzantium for their ideological goals. Goldwyn's chapter also speaks to the "othering" of Byzantine identity. That is, who is and is not included based on ideological motives. Do scholars create impenetrable barriers that the public can not break through, leading the public to search for alternatives, or does the ambiguity of "Byzantine" allow for identity manipulation? If the term "Byzantine" divides, periodizes, manipulates, colonizes and denies identities, should we not ask who is or is not included in the term "Byzantine" at museums? In this week's tutorial, we problematize Byzantine identity on the web and situate how it is presented on the public-facing side of museum websites. We will excavate identities from four museum websites and explore how museums create identity categories. Who is Byzantine? Who is Roman? Who is "Other"? The four museums are the Byzantine and Christian Museum (BCM) in Athens, the Numismatic Museum (NM) in Athens, the Museum of Byzantine Culture (MBC) in Thessaloniki and the Acropolis Museum in Athens. We will discuss the differences in how the museums present Byzantine History through, if available, the museum's virtual tours, permanent online exhibitions, and material culture databases. The objective of this tutorial is to get a sense of how Byzantine history and identity are presented to the 'digital' public via the web and begin brainstorming ideas to re-imagine the storytelling of Byzantine history to the public. ##### Deliverable: Critically assess and document each museum's webpage and consider how we might re-imagine the public-facing presentation of Byzantine history on the web. How are the museums presenting and narrating "Byzantine" identity to the public? Use the discussion note template to record your observations, and remember to cite the museums with [Hyperlinks](https://www.byzantinemuseum.gr/en/) to the relevant page. Contemplate who is the target audience of each museum. When your discussion note is completed, insert it into your group's Obsidian mind-map tool, Canvas (We will review this tool at the beginning of the week). Next, record and discuss the processes you and your group engaged with to create your mind map in a [[17.03 Process Note]] for this tutorial. What were some of this tutorial's challenges and successes? Link your thoughts to other individuals from other groups. By the end of the week, your group should have a mind map with all your discussion posts that can be added to and evolve over the coming weeks. **This project is separate from your weekly discussion post. Therefore, by the end of the week, you will have completed one tutorial discussion post, a Process Note and one weekly discussion post.** ##### Readings: Filene, Benjamin. 2017 History Museums and Identity: Finding “Them,” “Me,” and “Us” in the Gallery. In _The Oxford Handbook of Public History_, editors Paula Hamilton and James B. Gardner, pp. 327-348. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Stewart, Michael Edward, David Alan Parnell, and Conor Whatelyin. 2022. Finding Byzantium. In *The Routledge Handbook on Identity in Byzantium*, editors Michael Edward Stewart, David Alan Parnell, and Conor Whately, pp. 1-16. Routledge, New York. Foskolou, Vicky. 2008 Byzantium on the Web: New Technologies at the Service of Museums and Educational Institutions for the Presentation of Byzantine Culture. _Byzantinische Zeitschrift_ 100 (2): 629-636. [https://doi.org/10.1515/BYZS.2008.629](https://doi.org/10.1515/BYZS.2008.629). Stouraitis, Ioannis. 2014 Roman Identity in Byzantium: A Critical Approach. _Byzantinische Zeitschrift_ 107 (1): 175-220. [https://doi.org/10.1515/bz-2014-0009](https://doi.org/10.1515/bz-2014-0009). ##### Museum Case Study Links: [Acropolis Museum](https://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/en/) [Byzantine and Christian Museum:](https://www.byzantinemuseum.gr/en/) [Museum of Byzantine Culture (Thessaloniki):](https://mbp.gr/en) [Numismatic Museum of Athens:](https://www.nummus.gr/en/) [Exhibitions & Galleries | Royal Ontario Museum](https://www.rom.on.ca/en/exhibitions-galleries) [Galleries | British Museum](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/galleries) ##### Discussion: For this week's discussion post, choose two non-museum websites (NOT WIKIPEDIA) that present Byzantium and Byzantine identity to the public. Search the web and link the sites in your discussion post. Compare the language and imagery used on these websites to those from the museums we explored this week and discuss if the information available on these sites is more publicly accessible and consumable than the information from the museums. Who are the websites' target audiences? How do they use, if at all, any historical and archaeological evidence? Below are two sources to briefly skim over to get some website ideas. **Make sure to cite your sources and reply to two different discussion posts from classmates who are not in your group.** Goldwyn, Adam. 2022 Byzantium in the American Alt-Right Imagination. In *The Routledge Handbook on Identity in Byzantium*, editors Michael Edward Stewart, David Alan Parnell, and Conor Whately, pp. 424-439. Routledge, New York. Betancourt, Roland. 2021 Why White Supremacists and QAnon Enthusiasts Are Obsessed – but Very Wrong – about the Byzantine Empire. *The Conversation* Accessed 17 November 2021. [http://theconversation.com/why-white-supremacists-and-qanon-enthusiasts-are-obsessed-but-very-wrong-about-the-byzantine-empire-154994](http://theconversation.com/why-white-supremacists-and-qanon-enthusiasts-are-obsessed-but-very-wrong-about-the-byzantine-empire-154994). --- ## Week Five. ### Byzantine Archaeology and Numismatics. ##### Numismatics and Archaeology. We begin with an overview of the basic terminologies and methods in archaeology and numismatics. Our first reading, Philip Grierson's *Byzantine Coinage*, is meant to supplement our discussion on terminologies, typologies and methods and demonstrate how coins have been traditionally studied. I don't expect you to read the whole book (think back to our strategic reading and note-taking discussion). Instead, we will pay particular attention to and discuss these methodological approaches' possible effects on constructing historical narratives with coins. Kris Lockyear notes that there is a "remarkable lack of standardisation (sic), both in the cataloguing of the finds and in their analysis" (Lockyear 2007). Considering Lockyear's comment, how does the lack of standardization impact how coins are identified, dated, and used for dating archaeological sites? Is it enough to catalogue coins in separate analyses? What are the consequences of the isolated studies of numismatic evidence from other material cultures recovered from archaeological sites? We will consider Dr. Tine Rassalle's approach to the analysis of coins collected from synagogues in Israel against Grierson and Lockyear's methods in order to contextualize the evolving methodologies and how this data can be transferred into meaningful and engaging narratives for public consumption (Rassalle 2021). Lastly, in Fleur Kemmers and Nanouschka Myrberg's *Rethinking Numismatics* (A personal favourite), the authors demonstrate that coins are more than just mediums for typology, periodization, and tools for dating archaeological sites. They present an argument for coin agency, which is imposed onto the coin by the individual studying it (research questions, educational background or how they are trained) and, more importantly, how a coin has an agency which affects the "person" who is in possession of a coin. ##### Readings: Rassalle, Tine. 2021 Coins and how to properly excavate, publish, and read them - Ancient Synagogue Coins. *Coin Deposits from Ancient Synagogues in Late Antique Palestine*, pp. 63-74. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. [Coins and how to properly excavate, publish, and read them - Ancient Synagogue Coins](https://www.ancientsynagoguecoins.com/coins-and-how-to-properly-excavate-publish-and-read-them/) Grierson, Philip. 1999 _Byzantine Coinage_. 2nd. ed. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. Washington, D.C. Lockyear, Kris. 2007 Where Do We Go From Here? Recording and Analysing Roman Coins from Archaeological Excavations. _Britannia_ 38: 211–24. [https://doi.org/10.3815/000000007784016494](https://doi.org/10.3815/000000007784016494). Kemmers, Fleur, and Nanouschka Myrberg. 2011 Rethinking Numismatics. The Archaeology of Coins. *Archaeological Dialogues* 18 (1): 87–108. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S1380203811000146] ##### Constructing Byzantine Narratives of Identity from Coins. Can there "be an 'archaeology' of identity, and if so, what does it look like (Pohl 2010)? As we saw in the previous weeks, the Byzantine Empire and its identity are contentious historical constructions rooted in imperialist, nationalist and orientalist discourse. These constructed identities inevitably create problems for historians and archaeologists to understand how the "Byzantines" perceived their own identities through the material culture they produced. Numismatics is no exception to these issues and is problematized more by the field's lack of standardization and antiquarian-based methods from its formation during the eighteenth and into the early twentieth century. However, over the past three decades, scholars have been more cognitive about integrating coins into archaeological and historical discourse, but can they provide tangible evidence for how people identified in the eastern Roman world? Considering Walter Pohl's question, we will discuss how interdisciplinary methods are "fundamentally inherent" in Byzantine studies (Veikou 2022: 236) and if interdisciplinary approaches can aid and diversify numismatic research. We also discuss if a coin is an artifact, historical document or both, and how this affects our analysis of coins (Hedrick Jr 2006). We end the class by exploring Andrei Gândilă's (2018), '*Reconciling the 'step sisters'*, and consider if the author uses Byzantine coins in one of the approaches discussed by Veikou (2022). Gândilă, Andrei. 2018 Reconciling the ‘step sisters’: early Byzantine numismatics, history and archaeology. *Byzantinische Zeitschrift*. 111 (1): 103–134. Pohl, Walter, and Mathias Mehofer. 2010 Archaeology of Identity. In _Archaeology of Identity - Archäologie der Identität,_ editors Walter Pohl and Mathias Mehofer. pp. 9-23. Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. [https://doi.org/10.1553/0x0022e055](https://doi.org/10.1553/0x0022e055). Hedrick Jr., Charles W. 2006 Coins. In *Ancient History: Monuments and Documents,* pp. 126-142. Blackwell Publishing, Malden, Massachusetts. Veikou, Myrto. 2022 Which Interdisciplinarity? Reinvigorating Theory and Practice as an Opportunity for Byzantine Studies. In _The 24th International Congress of Byzantine Studies_, editors Emiliano Fiori and Michele Trizio, pp. 235-256. Fondazione Università Ca’ Foscari, Venice. [https://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-590-2/014](https://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-590-2/014). ##### Discussion: Reflecting on this week's themes and last week's tutorial, I want you to explore the database from one of the largest Byzantine coin collections in the world held at Dumbarton Oaks. Choose three coins from different centuries and discuss how identity is attributed to the coins. Create individual notes for each coin from the [[DOTemplate]] and then insert the notes onto your group's Canvas mind map. Fill out all the fields in the template. There is a section for you to add your personal observations. **Make sure to cite your sources and reply to two different discussion posts from classmates who are not in your group. ** [Dumbarton Oaks](https://www.doaks.org/resources/coins) --- ## Week Six. ### Coins after Excavation. ##### Whose coin? Whose Identity? As we saw in the previous week, the use of coins in archaeology is compounded by standardization practices in documentation, interpretation and curation. Coin analysis is complex, and when we consider the variety of contexts a coin circulates through (Kemmers and Myrberg 2011), the identities of those who resided where a coin was deposited in the archaeological record cannot be easily equated with the coin itself. The readings for this class present us with further considerations with respect to analyzing coins from archaeological contexts. The purpose for problematizing archaeological and numismatic analysis is to highlight that umbrella terms, like "Byzantine", cannot provide scholars, nor the public, with a complete understanding of a coin's relationship with its past. Furthermore, we will consider how each author navigates the complexities of identity when analyzing coins. Motta (2015), presents us with a variety of Greek and Roman iconography on coins recovered from the ancient port city of Dora and how identities were nuanced in border regions of the Roman world. Julian Baker's (2020) article forces us to think about the identities of those who create, distribute, and use coins in the late medieval period of Byzantine Greece. Here we compare how to extract identity from coins that are counterfeited, clipped, and remained in circulation for a century or more. Lastly, Lockyear's (2012) article presents us with the conundrum of dating coins and dating with coins. Reflecting on Baker's analysis, how can we use coins to date archaeological sites if they remained in circulation for over a century? Can we trust a counterfeit coin's supposed minting date and how does this affect our interpretations for dating stratigraphic contexts? By the end of the class, we should be good and confused about how to attribute identities to coins (but not in a bad way). Thus, by problematizing the identities associated with coins, chronologically, spatially, and temporally, we end this class by asking whose heritage do Byzantine coins represent and are coins cultural property to the modern Nation-State? Motta, Rosa Maria. 2015 The Iconography of Dora's Coins. In _Material Culture and Cultural Identity: A Study of Greek and Roman Coins from Dora_, pp. 42-66. Archaeopress Archaeology, Oxford. Baker, Julian. 2020 Control over and Manipulation of the Monetary Stock: Official Minting and Counterfeiting, Injection and Culling, Cancellation and Other Alterations. In _Coinage and Money in Medieval Greece 1200–1430_, pp. 161-176. Brill, Leiden; Boston. Lockyear, Kris. 2012 Dating Coins, Dating with Coins. _Oxford Journal of Archaeology_ 31(2): 191–211. [https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0092.2012.00385.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0092.2012.00385.x). ##### Whose Heritage and Cultural Property? This class's theme is centred on cultural heritage, cultural property and heritage ownership of Byzantine coins. Thinking about the complexities of excavation, documentation, curation and the multiple contexts and identities that a coin passes through temporally and spatially, we will address how do Byzantine coins fit into these hotly debated themes and can nations claim ownership of "Byzantine" material culture? The objective for this class is to force you to think about ethical issues that surround moveable (coins) and non-moveable (an archaeological site) material culture. Since coins are moveable objects both in the past and the present, and have crossed ancient, medieval and modern temporal and geographical borders, who can claim ownership of a coin? Can a Nation, institution or individual own Byzantine coins? How does this affect the presentation of a "Byzantine" coin compared to a "Roman" or "Greek" coin to the public? How does this impact the identities associated to a coin and, thus, effects whose heritage is represented in a museum? What tensions are created with the selling and trade of coins in the modern world? That is a lot to unpack, but don't be scared. Remember, we are not solving these issues, rather, we are thinking about the processes to address such questions. ##### Readings: Hamilakis, Yannis. 2016 From Ethics to Politics. In *Archaeology and Capitalism: from Ethics to Politics,* editors. Duke, P. G., and Yannis Hamilakis, pp. 15-40. Routledge, London. Appiah, Kwame Anthony. 2010 Whose Culture Is It, Anyway? In _Cultural Heritage Issues_, editors James A.R. Nafziger and Ann M. Nicgorski, pp. 207-221. Brill Leiden.[https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004160361.i-466.66](https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004160361.i-466.66). Sayles, Wayne G, and David Welsh. 2010 _Coin Collectors and Cultural Property Nationalism_, 4-21. Topçuoǧlu, Oya, and Tasha Vorderstrasse. 2019 Small Finds, Big Values: Cylinder Seals and Coins from Iraq and Syria on the Online Market. _International Journal of Cultural Property_ 26(3): 239–63. [https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739119000213](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0940739119000213). ##### Podcast: [The politics of archaeological heritage and reclamation](https://open.spotify.com/episode/4HGbxUILcJIbhujOLhsgnL?si=485b97443d75415e), episode 75, *The politics of archaeological heritage and reclamation, with Anthony Kaldellis and Jonathan Hall*. ##### Discussion: Explore what Kaldellis and Hall discuss in the podcast concerning cultural property, significance claims of material culture, and how they relate to this weeks readings. Next, visit the webpages for the auction house [Spinks](https://www.spink.com/department/4) and [Forvm Ancient Coins](https://www.forumancientcoins.com/) and discuss if you agree or disagree with the concepts of National cultural property, local/provincial heritage claims, or claims for private ownership/coin collecting. Should ancient coins be bought and sold through private enterprises? Do you think the sale of ancient coins is a viable means to aid in creating public engagement with "Byzantine" history? **Make sure to cite your sources and reply to two different discussion posts from classmates who are not in your group. ** --- ## Week Seven. ### Inserting Byzantium into National Narrative: A Greek Case Study. ##### Situating Byzantium into Greek National Narratives In 19th-century Greece, Byzantium was used to form a link to the classical *Hellenes* by constructing a medieval Hellenism to supplement this link. In turn, the manipulation of these historical narratives creates problems surrounding Roman identity and how we approach and study the construction of ancient identities as a whole. This week we focus on where Byzantine archaeology and history are performed, represented and presented to the public in nationally operated and funded institutions. We draw from the themes we teased out from the previous class to assess the development of national museums in Greece and the insertion of "Byzantine" narratives into these public spaces. We begin by asking if archaeologists can objectively research ancient identities when funded by national organizations and institutions (Curta 2021). We follow with a discussion on "The Colonial Origins of National Archaeologies" and how a Greek national identity was formed, the effect this had on public perception of the past, and how this "resurrection" and the "rebirth of Hellas" (Greenberg and Hamilakis 2022), informed Greek national discourse which utilized Byzantium to link ancient Greek identities to modern Greece (Christodoulou 2012). Finally, we apply the themes to Andromache's (2011) ‘National Museums in Greece: History, Ideology, Narratives’, and discuss the implications of the label "medieval Hellenism" and state management of the museum had on the presentation of Byzantium in the Byzantine and Christian museum. ##### Readings: Curta, Florin. 2021 Ethnicity, Archaeology and Nationalism: Remarks on the Current State of Research. _Annales Universitatis Apulensis Series Historica_ 25(1): 227–42. [https://doi.org/10.29302/auash.2021.25.1.11](https://doi.org/10.29302/auash.2021.25.1.11). Greenberg, Raphael, and Yannis Hamilakis. 2022 The Colonial Origins of National Archaeologies. In _Archaeology, Nation and Race: Confronting the Past, Decolonizing the Future in Greece and Israel_, pp. 8-41. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge; New York. Gazi, Andromache. 2011 National Museums in Greece: History, Ideology, Narratives. In *Building National Museums in Europe 1750-2010.* Conference proceedings from EuNaMus, European National Museums: Identity Politics, the Uses of the Past and the European Citizen, Bologna 28-30 April 2011, editors Peter Aronsson & Gabriella Elgenius, pp. 363-39. Linköping University Electronic Press. Despina Christodoulou. 2012 Byzantium in Nineteenth-Century Greek Historiography. In *The Byzantine World*, editor Paul Stephenso, pp. 445-461. Routledge, London; New York. ##### Byzantium's Substance: A Debate Class. For this class, listen to the assigned podcast and watch the speaker series, and prepare notes for a class debate on the "substance" of the term(s) Byzantine/Byzantium. During the class debate, you are to take notes and use these to inform your group's mind-map and discussion post. At the end of the class you will convene with your group and come to an agreement of whether to keep the label Byzantine/Byzantium for your final project or change the name. You do not need to have a new label/term by the end of class. Our objective is to critically asses how you want to present your final project to a digital public and with the goal to come to a group consensus about how to address the terminology for your final project. Like many group projects, and exhibitions, you may need to compromise on a position or idea to ensure the final project is delivered. ##### Podcast: [Is it time to abandon the rubric “Byzantium”?, with Leonora Neville](https://byzantiumandfriends.podbean.com/e/43-is-it-time-to-abandon-the-rubric-byzantium-with-leonora-neville/) [Is It Time to De-Colonize the Terms "Byzantine" and "Byzantium"?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMIwE3DoU3U&list=PLkocuYd2ADmhdt3emdhs-7V_IGV1BjthL) ##### Discussion: For your discussion post you will discuss why your group chose to continue using the label Byzantine/Byzantium for your final project or why you rejected the term Byzantine and agreed to use different terminology. Was there resolute agreement in your group or was there disagreement? How did you resolve these disagreements? **Make sure to cite your sources and reply to two different discussion posts from classmates who are not in your group.** --- ## Week Eight: Tutorial. ### Applying Numismatics: Digital Data Collecting. Reflecting on what we have learned thus far, this week, we will explore online numismatic databases together and discuss how they represent and present Byzantine coins. Think about these sites' language, the images displayed, how the coins are periodized, their iconography, and what historical narratives, if any, are told with the coins. Think back about the various ways coins are documented after excavation and look to see if you can find similarities or contrasts. Thinking ahead, in order for us to create enchantment around Byzantine coins, we first need to collect and analyze the data available and re-imagine how to present coins to the public. Coins are not thrown into a display or exhibit, nor are they recorded into a database and displayed on a webpage haphazardly. There is intention, but what that intent is varies from site to site, exhibit to exhibit. Moreover, data and evidence must be assessed, considered, compared, and presented in a manner that allows narratives to be created. Therefore, this week, we are excavating digital data to aid us in considering a new label for "Byzantine" coins which you will use in your final project. ##### Deliverable: Using Google sheets, each student will document fifteen coins from the fourth to the fifteenth centuries and think about what data/evidence is or is not "significant" in order to support your research question for your final project. This tutorial is about the **PROCESS** of utilizing what you have learned to this point and critically thinking through your research questions and how to assess online/digital databases. You will need to create a data set of fifteen coins to be used by you and your classmates, so think carefully about how you record and label your data. Furthermore, you will need to document your thinking, processes and reasoning for choosing the data you selected via the [[17.03 Process Note]] template. Be as detailed and concise as possible. Think about why you choose particular identifiers to describe the coins. Refer to this weeks readings and how the author's discuss capturing and documenting data. I have provided four websites for you to draw from. Remember to cite the sources and use hyperlinks to link your data to appropriate sites. Don't stress; we will work through the processes together during both classes. [WildWinds.com](https://www.wildwinds.com/) [Nomisma](http://nomisma.org/) [American Numismatic Society](https://numismatics.org/collections/) ##### Google Sheets Tutorials: Below are four videos I have used to learn some of Google Sheets functionality. Some discuss basic functionality while others demonstrate more complex formulas. You may have better resources than these, and if you do, please share them with the class via our Obsidian vault in the Resource file. Place the hashtag #GoogleSheets and your initials #SC next to the resource/links you provided. [Google Sheets Tutorial for Beginners 🔥 - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIkZ1sPmKNw) [Quick Data Analysis with Google Sheets | Part 1 - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8jhi_yZKOg&t=1s) [Introduction to Formulas in Google Sheets | Part 2 - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXLXXSXhQqo&t=1s) [Google Sheets Beginner Tutorial - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UWPaPer1MY&t=1s) ##### Readings: Gruber, Ethan, and Andrew Meadows. 2021 Numismatics and Linked Open Data. In  _Linked Open Data for the Ancient Mediterranean: Structures, Practices, Prospects_. ISAW Papers 20, editors Sarah E. Bond, Paul Dilley, and Ryan Horne. http://dlib.nyu.edu/awdl/isaw/isaw-papers/20-6/ Huggett, Jeremy. 2020 Capturing the Silences in Digital Archaeological Knowledge. _Information_, 11(5), art. 278. [https://doi.org/10.3390/info11050278](https://doi.org/10.3390/info11050278). Turner, Hannah. 2020 Object, Specimen, Data: Computerization and the Legacy of Dirty Data _Cataloguing Culture: Legacies of Colonialism in Museum Documentation_, 157-181. UBC Press, Vancouver. Kansa, Eric C., and Sarah Whitcher Kansa. 2022 Promoting Data Quality and Reuse in Archaeology through Collaborative Identifier Practices. _Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences_. 119(43) e2109313118. [https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2109313118](https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2109313118). ##### Discussion: Reflect on the process of collecting data from this week's tutorial. What were some of the difficulties you encountered and what surprised you about the data you found from the websites? Remember to link your thoughts with your peers, as they may have solutions or alternative perspectives related to your experiences. **Make sure to cite your sources and reply to two different discussion posts from classmates who are not in your group.** --- ## Week Nine. ### Moving Past Byzantium: Museums, Coins and Exhibition ##### The Enchantment of Museums? The theme for this class is drawn from the "Introduction" of Laurajane Smith's (2020) book *Emotional Heritage*. It is necessary to ask ourselves why we (the public) visit museums and what are our expectations. Smith notes two possible reasons: To learn and to recreate (a theme that reappears from our week two classes). Smith also notes it is more complicated than just learning and recreating. Visitors are also Heritage-making, but what does this mean? How do we make heritage? Who is actually making heritage or heritage claims? In other words, who provides the material culture and the associated narratives that will influence heritage-making? How does the curator choose what is deemed more significant, more important, and more enchanting than other forms of material culture (say, the Parthenon marbles versus bronze Byzantine coins), and how do these choices affect public heritage-making? And, lastly, can we trust museums to provide objective exhibitory displays of the past? Is objectivity in a National museum even possible? ##### Readings: Smith, Laurajane. 2020 Introduction, Reconsidering heritage and identity: the politics of recognition and the affective practices of heritage. In _Emotional Heritage: Visitor Engagement at Museums and Heritage Sites_, pp. 1-16, 38-61. Routledge, New York. Dubinsky, Lon and Del Muise. 2016 Museums as In-Between Institutions: Can They Be Trusted? In *Museums and the Past: Constructing Historical Consciousness*, editors Viviane Gosselin and Phaedra J. Livingstone, pp. 142-161. UBC Press, Vancouver. Bennett, Tony. 2014 Museums, Nations, Empires, Religions. In _National Museums and Nation-Building in Europe 1750–2010_, 1st ed., editors Peter Aronsson and Gabriella Elgenius, pp. 66–86. Routledge, London. [https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315737133-5](https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315737133-5). ##### Museums as Erasure: Museums and the Subaltern. Do museums erase identities in order to allow historical narratives to be more consumable by the public? This week we discuss how to allow the subaltern to speak in museums. We will explore the concept of the subaltern (Spivak 2010), "third spaces" (Hall 2013) and the colonial presence that continues to make the "other" difficult to witness in museums (Pieterse 1997). How can we extract the voices silenced by the label "Byzantine," and what process can be implemented to excavate the subaltern voices who used the coins that are exhibited in museums? Do the repetitious display of coins behind cabinets and glass create power dynamics that promote authority and erase identities? Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. 2010 “Can the Subaltern Speak?” revised edition, from the “History” chapter of Critique of Postcolonial Reason. In _Can the Subaltern Speak? Reflections on the History of an Idea_, editors Rosalind C. Morris and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, pp. 21-78. Columbia University Press, New York. Hall, Marin. 2013 Subaltern voices? Finding the spaces between things and words. In _Historical Archaeology: Back from the Edge_, editors Funari, Pedro Paulo A., Martin Hall, and Sian Jones, pp. 193-203 Routledge, New York. [https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203208816](https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203208816). Pieterse, Jan Nederveen. 1997 Multiculturalism and Museums: Discourse about Others in the Age of Globalization. *Theory, Culture & Society* 14(4): 123–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/026327697014004006. ##### Discussion: For this week's discussion, we explore *The Coin Cabinet* of [PalazzoBlu](http://vcg.isti.cnr.it/PalazzoBlu/) an online Museum/exhibition that uses Reflective Transformation Imaging to engage public interaction with the museum's online coin collections. Considering this week's readings, you need to reflect on digital methods to present the past and consider who the audience is for this particular collection. I want you to select a coin from the museum's collection and describe it. What do you see and how would you interpret the coin's "History"? The objective is for you to provide your own interpretation of the coin and think critically about what information you think is important to include in your description of the coin for public consumption. Don't worry about technical jargon. If you know it, use it; if you don't, I want you to use your own words. We will compare the languages used at the beginning of our next class. Use this template [[DiscussionTemplate]] to describe your coin **with the hashtag** #PalazzoBlu. **Make sure to cite your sources and reply to two different discussion posts from classmates who are not in your group.** --- ## Week Ten. ### Is Enchantment Created or Stimulated? ##### Agile Objects and Visitor Engagement. What happens when the public is "allowed" to touch an object (material culture) in a museum? How does this affect the public experience with the past, archaeological and historical narratives, and the construction of heritage-meaning to the individual? Cornelius Holtorf notes a disconnect between academic archaeology and public inclusion in archaeology, as motives do not necessarily align (Holftorf 2007). We can push Holtorf's observation further and into the museum realm. What is intriguing for the public versus what the museum believes to be significant can differ on many levels. Engagement with objects is one of these disconnects where public and academic alignment do not agree. Therefore, we will explore the above questions and discuss the possible implications of allowing the public to engage and interact with ancient coins beyond the traditional visual exhibit that promotes a no-touchy policy. We discuss the *Pack It Up!* project and how 'experiential abundance' leads to more evocative engagement, or enchantment, of material culture, narrative, and heritage interpretation (Zinn 2022). The agility of objects (German and Harris 2017) provides an opportunity for museums and the public to learn from each other and create learning experiences that can re-imagine what heritage interpretation is and means to the public. What criteria need to be considered in order to choose objects that can be "agile" and moved beyond their protective case/vault to be touched, felt, seen up close, and exchanged by the public? Should it be aesthetically pleasing to the eye? Beautiful? Or publicly informative yet, scholarly disposable? Should museums play the role of gatekeeper to material culture? Zinn, Emily. 2022 Please Touch the Artifacts: Education and Collections Departments Co-Design an Exhibit for Family Audiences to Practice Primary Source Inquiry. _Journal of Museum Education_ 47(3): 353–65.[https://doi.org/10.1080/10598650.2022.2069217](https://doi.org/10.1080/10598650.2022.2069217). German, Senta, and Jim Harris. 2017 Agile Objects. _Journal of Museum Education_ 42(3): 248–57. [https://doi.org/10.1080/10598650.2017.1336369](https://doi.org/10.1080/10598650.2017.1336369). Holtorf, Cornelius. 2007 Can You Hear Me at the Back? Archaeology, Communication and Society. _European Journal of Archaeology_ 10 (2–3): 149–65. [https://doi.org/10.1177/1461957108095982](https://doi.org/10.1177/1461957108095982) ##### Enchanting the Senses: Coins and the Sensorial: "This is an overwhelming amount of coinage, which in sheer quantity represents a collection comparable to many in the numismatic museums of the world. *Unfortunately very few of the Agora coins are museum pieces, but lamentable as is their general condition to the eye of the coin collector or the cataloguer* (emphasis added), they do provide for the historian an invaluable record of the money circulating in one of the chief cities of antiquity from the time of Sulla to our own present" (Thompson 1954: v). For this class, we will be performing a sensorial exercise. Reflecting on the concepts from the previous class on agile objects, visitor interaction and engagement with artifacts, and re-imagining how heritage interpretation is performed. We will reflect on Russel Staiff's overview of Western responses to 'beauty' and consider how 'pretty' objects are used to construct museum narratives. For this class, I will provide coins from my personal collection for you to experience. Your objective is to document your sensorial experiences with these coins and compare them to how you have experienced numismatics in this class thus far. You are to record any and all sensorial experiences. Refer to the readings and think about how the authors discuss sensorial experiences and how it informs your knowledge of the past. You are to take all the information collected from the class and document it in your discussion post. Peers, Glenn. 2020 *Animism, Materiality and Museums How Do Byzantine Things Feel?* Arc Humanities Press, Leeds. Hamilakis, Yannis. 2015 Western Modernity, Archaeology, and the Senses. In *Archaeology and the Senses. Human Experiences, Memory, and Affect,* pp. 16-56. Cambridge University Press, New York. Staiff, Russell. 2014 The Somatic and the Aesthetic: embodied heritage experiences. In *Re-Imagining Heritage Interpretation : Enchanting the Past-Future*, pp. 43-70. Ashgate Publishing, Farnham, Surrey, England. ##### Discussion: Thinking about this week's classes, answer the following questions: 1) Did you feel enchanted by the coins and did touching and interacting with the coins enhance your experience learning about the past? Why or why not? 2) What risks are involved when using material culture for pedagogical exercises? 3) Explain what you thought was 'beautiful' about the objects and the experiences. How will this inform your re-imagining of heritage interpretation and stimulating enchantment around coins? 4) If museums are the "gatekeepers" of material culture, can they be trusted to be objective with historical representations? 5)Think back to week six's discussion on heritage and cultural property, and discuss if you changed your mind about the ownership of private coin collections. What if it promotes knowledge creation and enchantment? **Make sure to cite your sources and reply to two different discussion posts from classmates who are not in your group.** --- ## Week Eleven. ### Digitizing Enchantment, Engagement and Coins: ##### Visualizing Digital Enchantment. What does digital visualization mean, and can it be enchanting? How do we relay the enchantment of the archaeological record into a digital enchantment? What effect does digital visualization, compared to physical interaction, have on the public's emotive experience with material culture? As we approach the end of the course, it is time we start thinking about how to begin the process of creating digital narratives for our final projects. We will engage with visual representations of the past through two public-facing, but with very different business models, SketchFab and Global Digital Heritage. These two platforms are excellent sources to explore how 3D models are used to present ancient material culture to the public. The week's first class will be dedicated to the readings, situating how data becomes visual representations and narratives and considering the power dynamics behind visuality and the gaze (Staiff 2014). We consider the differences between aesthetic qualities in digital objects versus physical coins and affective practices to develop strategies for creating enchantment around coins (Perry 2019). What types of meta-data should be included in the creation of 3D models of coins, and how to synthesize complex processes into meaningful and informative digital visualizations for scholars and the public (Hess et al., 2018; Sopracasa et al., 2020)? Furthermore, think back to the museums we explored earlier in the semester and compare the differences between the interfaces and the ability to interact with the coins to this week's exercise (Gortana et al., 2018). How do these differences inform your strategies for developing an inclusive and engaging visual exhibit? In the following class, we will interact with a few 3D and 2D Digital visualizations of coins and compare this experience to last week's sensorial exercise. Reflect on your data collection from week eight, and consider how we can incorporate big databases into more engaging and interactive visual databases. ##### Readings: Hess, Mona, Lindsay W MacDonald, and Jaroslav Valach. 2018 Application of Multi-Modal 2D and 3D Imaging and Analytical Techniques to Document and Examine Coins on the Example of Two Roman Silver Denarii. *Heritage science* 6(1): 1–22. Gortana, Flavio, Franziska von Tenspolde, Daniela Guhlmann, and Marian Dörk. 2018 Off the Grid: Visualizing a Numismatic Collection as Dynamic Piles and Streams. _Open Library of Humanities_ 4(2): 30, 1-25. [https://doi.org/10.16995/olh.280](https://doi.org/10.16995/olh.280). Staiff, Russell. 2014 Visual Cultures: Imagining and knowing through looking. In *Re-Imagining Heritage Interpretation : Enchanting the Past-Future*, pp. 71-94. Ashgate Publishing, Farnham, Surrey, England. Perry, Sara. 2019 The Enchantment of the Archaeological Record. _European Journal of Archaeology_ 22(3): 354–71. [https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2019.24](https://doi.org/10.1017/eaa.2019.24). Graham, Shawn. 2020 Introduction, Imagine a Network. In _An Enchantment of Digital Archaeology: Raising the Dead with Agent-Based Models, Archaeogaming and Artificial Intelligence_. 1st ed., pp. 1-33. Berghahn Books. [https://doi.org/10.3167/gra7866](https://doi.org/10.3167/gra7866) Sopracasa, Alessio, Martina Filosa, and Simona Stoyanova. 2020 The Digital Enhancement of a Discipline Byzantine Sigillography and Digital Humanities: Byzantine Sigillography and Digital Humanities. _Magazén_, (1): 101-128. [https://doi.org/10.30687/mag//2020/01/006](https://doi.org/10.30687/mag//2020/01/006). ##### Discussion: Click on [[3D Model Roman Coin]] and play around with the two 3D models of Roman coins. Discuss the positives and negatives of 3D coin models to represent Roman identities. Furthermore, discuss and compare your experience with the 3D coins with those you handled in week ten. Did one experience provide a more evocative and emotive experience? Did the 3D coins create a feeling of enchantment? **Make sure to cite your sources and reply to two different discussion posts from classmates who are not in your group.** The links below provide more 3D examples for your viewing pleasure. [Sketchfab](https://sketchfab.com/) [Global Digital Heritage](https://globaldigitalheritage.org/) --- ## Week Twelve: Tutorial. ### What To Do With All That Data? Our final tutorial will explore how to manage, organize and interpret the data collected from week eight and the links and connections made from your discussion posts and mind-maps in Obsidian. We will discuss network analysis and how we can apply the Obsidian graph view to inform the construction of your digital exhibit. We will critically assess the data you collected in week eight and discuss the problems with the use of legacy data in your analysis. Furthermore, we will debate the implications of too much data and how this may impact your analysis. Can there be too much data and how you will relay all this data we collected over the semester into an understandable, consumable, visual, and enchanting narrative for the public? Lastly, my secret Obsidian.md objective will be revealed. ##### Deliverable: The deliverable for this week will be assessed on your ability to manage your data collection in class with your groups. By the end of the week, your group will have completed a proposed outline for your virtual exhibit via the mind map tool Canvas by Sunday, 11:59 PM. Using the [[DiscussionTemplate]] discuss how the readings informed your analysis of the data and the methods you use to present an enchanting digital exhibit. How did you organize and mitigate all the data collected? How did you adjust your analysis to account for any embedded biases from either the data's source or your own? I will review your mind maps and provide suggestions and feedback on your proposed exhibit in the next class. ##### Readings: Huggett, Jeremy. 2020 Is Big Digital Data Different? Towards a New Archaeological Paradigm, _Journal of Field Archaeology_, (45): S8–S17.[https://doi.org/10.1080/00934690.2020.1713281](https://doi.org/10.1080/00934690.2020.1713281) Caraher, Bill. 2019 Legacy Data, Digital Heritage, and Time. _Archaeology of the Mediterranean World_ 9th December 2019. [https://mediterraneanworld.wordpress.com/2019/12/09/legacy-data-digital-heritage-and-time/](https://mediterraneanworld.wordpress.com/2019/12/09/legacy-data-digital-heritage-and-time/) Jarrett, Jonathan. 2009 Digitizing Numismatics: Getting the Fitzwilliam Museum’s Coins to the World Wide Web. *The heroic age*, (12). Ahnert, Ruth, Sebastian E. Ahnert, Catherine Nicole Coleman, and Scott B. Weingart. 2020 Visual Networks. In _The Network Turn: Changing Perspectives in the Humanities_. 1st ed., pp. 57-70. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. [https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108866804](https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108866804). Collar, Anna, Fiona Coward, Tom Brughmans, and Barbara J. Mills. 2015 Networks in Archaeology: Phenomena, Abstraction, Representation. _Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory_ 22(1): 1–32. [https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-014-9235-6](https://doi.org/10.1007/s10816-014-9235-6). ##### Podcast: [How to Organize a Museum Exhibition](https://byzantiumandfriends.podbean.com/e/86-how-to-organize-a-museum-exhibition-%e2%80%93-and-bring-the-holy-land-home-with-amanda-luyster/) ##### Discussion: For your last discussion post, discuss how obsidian informed your final project and if you found the software pedagogically useful to your learning experience. Don't be shy. Tell me the good, the bad, and the ugly. I can handle it. **Make sure to cite your sources and reply to two different discussion posts from classmates who are not in your group.** --- ## Week Thirteen. ### Final Project Support and Obsidian Results. ##### Final Class: We will use the last week to address any issues or problems you may be having with your final projects. ## Common Regulations. #### The following are the University regulations common to all History courses. [Pulled from Hist3814O/Digh3814O](https://craftingdh.netlify.app/docs/5-commonregs/) ### COPIES OF WRITTEN WORK SUBMITTED Always retain for yourself a copy of all essays, term papers, written assignments or take-home tests submitted in your courses. ### PLAGIARISM The University Senate defines plagiarism as “presenting, whether intentionally or not, the ideas, expression of ideas or work of others as one’s own.” This can include: - Reproducing or paraphrasing portions of someone else’s published or unpublished material, regardless of the source, and presenting these as one’s own without proper citation or reference to the original source; - Submitting a take home examination, essay, laboratory report or other assignment written, in whole or in part, by someone else; - using ideas or direct, verbatim quotations, or paraphrased material, concepts, or ideas without appropriate acknowledgment in any academic assignment; - using another’s data or research findings; - failing to acknowledge sources through the use of proper citations when using another’s works and/or failing to use quotation marks; - Handing in “substantially the same piece of work for academic credit more than once without prior written permission of the course instructor in which the submission occurs.” Plagiarism is a serious offence which cannot be resolved directly with the course’s instructor. The Associate Dean of the Faculty conducts a rigorous investigation, including an interview with the student, when an instructor suspects a piece of work has been plagiarized. Penalties are not trivial. They can include a final grade of “F” for the course. #### A Professors Note: I am **completely** ok with you collaborating with a peer in this class or elsewhere on any of the work you do in this class, **provided** that you fully acknowledge who you worked with and that you indicate how you worked together, who did what, and so on. Digital history isn’t created or performed in a vacuum. Unacknowledged help, however, is not cool. ### COURSE SHARING WEBSITES and COPYRIGHT To the degree that I am able, all original content on this course website is released under creative commons license. That means you may copy, share, and reuse it, but you must attribute it [under the following terms - click through.](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). ### STATEMENT ON CLASS CONDUCT The Carleton University Human Rights Policies and Procedures affirm that all members of the University community share a responsibility to: - Promote equity and fairness, - respect and value diversity, - Prevent discrimination and harassment, and - Preserve the freedom of its members to carry out responsibly their scholarly work without threat of interference. Carleton University Equity Services states that ‘every member of the University community has a right to study, work and live in a safe environment free of discrimination or harassment’. [In May of 2001 Carleton University’s Senate and Board of Governors approved the Carleton University Human Rights Policies and Procedures. The establishment of these policies and procedures was the culmination of the efforts of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Human Rights and a Human Rights Implementation Committee.] ### GRADING SYSTEM Letter grades assigned in this course will have the following percentage equivalents: Grade A+ = 90-100 (12) A = 85-89 (11) A - = 80-84 (10) B+ = 77-79 (9) B = 73-76 (8) B - = 70-72 (7) C+ = 67-69 (6) C = 63-66 (5) C - = 60-62 (4) D+ = 57-59 (3) D = 53-56 (2) D - = 50-52 (1) F= 0-49 (0) – Failure: no academic credit The following additional final course grades may be assigned by instructors: _DEF_ Official deferral of final exam (see “Petitions to Defer”) _GNA_ Grade not available. This is used when there is an allegation of an academic offence. The notation is replaced with the appropriate grade for the course as soon as it is available. _IP_ In Progress – a notation (IP) assigned to a course by a faculty member when: At the undergraduate level, an undergraduate thesis or course has not been completed by the end of the period of registration. _WDN_ Withdrawn. No academic credit, no impact on the CGPA. WDN is a permanent notation that appears on the official transcript for students who withdraw after the full fee adjustment date in each term (noted in the Academic Year section of the Calendar each term). Students may withdraw on or before the last day of classes. Standing in a course is determined by the course instructor subject to the approval of the Faculty Dean. This means that grades submitted by the instructor may be subject to revision. No grades are final until they have been approved by the Dean. ### WITHDRAWAL WITHOUT ACADEMIC PENALTY **Enter Date** Last day for registration and course changes for early summer courses **Enter Date**: Last day for a full fee adjustment when withdrawing from early summer and full summer courses (financial withdrawal). Withdrawals after this date will result in a permanent notation of WDN on the official transcript. **Enter Date**: Last day for academic withdrawal. ### REQUESTS FOR ACADEMIC ACCOMMODATIONS You may need special arrangements to meet your academic obligations during the term. For an accommodation request the processes are as follows: **Pregnancy obligation**: write to the professor with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. For more details see [https://carleton.ca/equity/wp-content/uploads/Student-Guide-to-Academic-Accommodation.pdf](https://carleton.ca/equity/wp-content/uploads/Student-Guide-to-Academic-Accommodation.pdf) **Religious obligation**: write to the professor with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. For more details see [https://carleton.ca/equity/wp-content/uploads/Student-Guide-to-Academic-Accommodation.pdf](https://carleton.ca/equity/wp-content/uploads/Student-Guide-to-Academic-Accommodation.pdf) **Accommodation for Student Activities**: write to the professor with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. For more details see [https://carleton.ca/senate/wp-content/uploads/Accommodation-for-Student-Activities-1.pdf](https://carleton.ca/senate/wp-content/uploads/Accommodation-for-Student-Activities-1.pdf) **Survivors of sexual violence**: As a community, Carleton University is committed to maintaining a positive learning, working and living environment where sexual violence will not be tolerated, and is survivors are supported through academic accommodations as per Carleton’s Sexual Violence Policy. For more information about the services available at the university and to obtain information about sexual violence and/or support, visit: [https://carleton.ca/sexual-violence-support/wp-content/uploads/Sexual-Violence-Policy-December-1-2016.pdf](https://carleton.ca/sexual-violence-support/wp-content/uploads/Sexual-Violence-Policy-December-1-2016.pdf) **Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities**: The Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities (PMC) provides services to students with Learning Disabilities (LD), psychiatric/mental health disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), chronic medical conditions, and impairments in mobility, hearing, and vision. If you have a disability requiring academic accommodations in this course, please contact PMC at 613-520-6608 or [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) for a formal evaluation. If you are already registered with the PMC, contact your PMC coordinator to send me your Letter of Accommodation at the beginning of the term, and no later than two weeks before the first in-class scheduled test or exam requiring accommodation (if applicable). After requesting accommodation from PMC, meet with me to ensure accommodation arrangements are made. Please consult the PMC website for the deadline to request accommodations for the formally-scheduled exam (if applicable). ### PETITIONS TO DEFER Students unable to write a final examination because of illness or other circumstances beyond their control or whose performance on an examination has been impaired by such circumstances may apply within five working days to the Registrar’s Office for permission to write a deferred examination. The request must be fully and specifically supported by a medical certificate or other relevant documentation. Only deferral petitions submitted to the Registrar’s Office will be considered. ### ADDRESSES (613-520-2600, phone ext.) - Department of History (2828) 400 PA - Registrar’s Office (3500) 300 Tory - Academic Advising Centre (7850) 302 Tory - Paul Menton Centre (6608) 500 Unicentre - Centre for Student Academic Support – Study Skills, Writing Tutorials, Bounce Back (3822) 4th fl Library Application for Graduation Deadlines - Spring Graduation (June): April 1 - Fall Graduation (November): September 1 - Winter Graduation (February): December 1