AHA Session 180
Sunday, January 5, 2025: 8:30 AM-10:00 AM
Empire Ballroom West (Sheraton New York, Second Floor)
Chair:
Saniya Lee Ghanoui, University of Texas at El Paso and Sexing History
Panel:
Kalani Craig, Indiana University
John Randolph, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Daniel J. Story, University of California, Santa Cruz
Nathan Tye, University of Nebraska, Kearney
Session Abstract
The landscape of history education is undergoing a profound shift, as ubiquitous computing and digital communication transform how history is documented, communicated, and analyzed. “From Pixels to Pedagogy: Exploring Best Practices in Teaching Digital History” examines the challenges and opportunities inherent in this paradigm shift, encompassing online platforms, podcasts, digital documentary editions, and the myriad benefits associated with teaching history in the digital age. As the Covid-19 pandemic illustrated, educators and historians grapple with issues of accessibility, digital literacy, and maintaining a sense of community within virtual classrooms. Engaging students in a meaningful way becomes crucial in a digital space, requiring innovative pedagogical approaches that transcend traditional boundaries. In other words, teaching history in digital spaces becomes itself a mode of understanding digital history. As online instruction and demand for digital history training increase across departments and the discipline as a whole, these challenges will become all the more acute in the future. Yet, online platforms provide flexibility, enabling students to access resources from anywhere, fostering inclusivity in history education. Even when in person, teaching digital history brings about questions of technological and theoretical learning curves with students, the differing ways of incorporating primary sources, and the connection of faculty research to digital history in the classroom. Despite these challenges, the benefits of teaching digital history are undeniable.
This roundtable explores several facets of teaching digital history and discusses the theoretical understandings of the field alongside more practical challenges that we have faced. While we will not focus solely on one specific theory or project, this roundtable will bring our work in conversation with theories that do impact our teaching. For example, when teaching digital history, technological determinism invites educators to critically examine the impact of digital tools on historical narratives, emphasizing the transformative role of technology in shaping the ways history is studied and interpreted. By engaging students in the exploration of digital archives and platforms, instructors can foster a nuanced understanding of the profound influence of technology on historical perspectives.
With the intent of both expanding on the field and sharing our experiences with the audience, we will present on a variety of digital history projects from our respective institutions.
