DC Public Library Incubation Workshop
PWW’s fourth and final incubation workshop was held on June 15, 2018 in the downtown headquarters of the DC Public Library in Washington. It was combined with an invitation to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture that was attracting record crowds to the National Mall. Participants included colleagues from Temple University’s Charles Blockson African American Collection in Philadelphia, Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum, and other institutions and initiatives. In addition to presenting the platforms that were being used in digital publishing, considerable time was spent in discussions of the exciting range of possibilities and projects under development in the region.
Savannah State Incubation Workshop
The third workshop in our series was held at Savannah State University on March 17, 2018. We are grateful for all our attendees who spent their Saturday with us learning about digital publishing approaches and platforms. Thank you for your engaging questions and discussion which will be invaluable in preparing for our final workshop and beyond. Special thanks to Dr. Peggy Blood, co-director of the Confucius Institute for securing facilities, assisting with catering, and providing lodging for staff.
2018 NCBS Roundtable
On March 16, 2018, PWW Co-PI Dr. Ronald W. Bailey and Joshua Lynch led an introduction to Dr. Kenton Rambsy’s inaugural AFRO PWW publication, #TheJayZMixtape. We are grateful for our attendees for making for a lively and engaging event. We express our thanks to NCBS for facilitating us on short notice.
2017 ASALH Panel
On September 29, 2017, three of the authors participating in AFRO PWW presented their projects. Thanks goes to our wonderful panelists, Dr. Felicia Harris of the University of Houston Downtown, Dr. Kenton Rambsy of the University of Texas at Arlington, and Dr. Tyechia Thompson of Howard and to our audience who engaged in thought-provoking discussions after presentations. Special thanks to ASALH executive director, Sylvia Cyrus for making our panel possible.
North Carolina Incubation Workshop
AFRO PWW’s second workshop was held in Raleigh, North Carolina on September 15, 2017. We thank the attendance and lively participation of our guests from around the region as well as the Jackson State attendees whose feedback allowed us to improve upon our material and delivery. Special appreciation goes to Dr. Jon P. Gant of North Carolina Central University’s School of Library and Information Sciences for offering facilities and to the Friday Institute for hosting.
Jackson State University Incubation Workshop
On May 19, 2017, AFRO PWW held our first incubation workshop at Jackson State University(JSU) in Jackson, Mississippi. Thanks to the attendance and participation of more than 25 scholars, librarians, and university staff from around the region, this workshop was a tremendous success. Special appreciation goes to Dr. Robert Luckett of the JSU Margaret Walker Center for hosting.
JSU Workshop Flyer
JSU Workshop Information
Black Book Interactive Project
AFRO PWW outreach coordinator, marilyn thomas-houston attended the Black Book Interactive Project’s (BBIP) October 2016 presentation. The project aims to redress the very small body of digitized African American texts accessible to and discoverable by digital humanities scholars. The presentation provided a unique opportunity for an introduction to the BBIP project. The event was a valuable opportunity for AFRO PWW to interact with leading scholars and to understand an important project intertwining African American studies and the digital humanities. thomas-houston extends special thanks to the presenters for their inspiring discussions of the project.
2016 HBCU Library Alliance Conference
On October 10-11, project co-principle investigator, Dr. Ronald Bailey attended the 2016 HBCU Library Alliance conference. The event provided an opportunity to speak with representatives of HBCUs so that AFRO-PWW may be able to forge collaboration. Thanks to all those who spoke with Dr. Bailey.
2016 ASALH Convention
On October 5-8, the AFRO PWW outreach team attended the 101st conference of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. In the panel, “Preserving Hallowed Grounds: Digital Publications as 21st Century Sites for African American Memories,” we presented on the AFRO PWW project and its goal of helping to redress the digital divide, on digital publishing methods, and technologies.
Project and Publications Manager and University of Illinois digital humanities librarian, Harriett Green also presented on the panel, “Synergies among Digital Humanities and African American History and Culture.” The panel contextualized the PWW project along with the African American History, Culture, and Digital Humanities (#AADHum) project at the University of Maryland and Digital Howard. We are grateful for the opportunity to present with Dr. Johnnieque Love and Dr. Trevor Munoz of the University of Maryland and Lopez Matthews of Howard University.
August Webinar 2016
On August 9th, 2016 AFRO PWW held its first digital publishing webinar. Hosted by the University of Illinois, the event brought together a wide range of Black Studies scholars from different universities across the country. The attendees of the webinar consisted of participants and observers. Designed to acquaint scholars with the digital publishing toolssupported by the project, the online seminar also offered an understanding of the strengths and drawbacks of each tool.
Participants discussed the feasibility of their project proposals for digital publishing with AFRO PWW. A brief presentation summarizing the project’s structure and goal of bridging the digital divide was offered at the beginning of the session. A portion of the seminar was devoted to participants independently exploring examples of the publishing tools. The session concluded with all attendees participating in a lively Q and A session. A special thanks to all of our attendees who helped make the event a success.
2016 College Language Association Convention
On April 6th through the 9th, the AFRO PWW outreach team attended the 76th annual College Language Association Convention in Houston, Texas. We hosted a two-hour luncheon in which we presented our project and received thought-provoking questions and feedback from our guests. A special thanks goes to the scholars who attended and helped to make our animated discussion possible! We are pleased to announce that the event at CLA was a resounding success and we have received a number of enthusiastic responses and ideas for projects from interested scholars.
2016 NCBS Convention: AFRO PWW Kicks Off Its 2016 Outreach Initiatives
The AFRO PWW Outreach Team attended the 40th Annual National Council for Black Studies (NCBS) Conference in Charlotte, NC. The first of several introductory presentations for this year took place on March 17th. Invited attendees met the team and learned about the project.
The team members presented formal papers on the panel, “Publishing Without Walls (PWW): Digital Publishing as a 21st Century Black Studies Initiative.” The papers will be published in a special topics issue of Fire!!!: The Multimedia Journal of Black Studies.
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