PULLMAN — The WSU Department of English and the WSU Libraries are sponsoring THATCamp Pacific Northwest, a humanities and technology “unconference,” on Saturday, Oct. 17.
The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the ground floor of Wilson-Short Hall. It is open to anyone interested in studying, supporting, teaching, researching, creating or otherwise shaping digital humanities, new media and allied fields. An “unconference” is a facilitated participant-driven conference centered around a theme but without the formality of prepared papers.
THATCamp Pacific Northwest is a regional version of THATCamp (“The Humanities and Technology Camp”) created in 2008 by the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. Dave Lester, who helped organize the original event at GMU, believes openness and collaboration makes the event stand apart from traditional academic conferences.
“We consider it a working weekend where everyone participates – there are no bystanders,” Lester said. “It’s the active and collaborative spirit of an unconference that brings people together and engages them in a conversation rather than lecture. People are looking for that.”
Currently more than 40 participants are registered for this free event. Jentery Sayers will be making the trip from University of Washington because, as he said: “In the humanities, we spend a lot of time in front of books and screens. I am privileged to be able to meet colleagues in my field face-to-face, and am looking forward to listening to others speak about their work at the intersection of humanities and technology.”
Patricia Ericsson, director of the WSU DTC program, said this event provides students and faculty at all stages with a “unique opportunity to see how their coursework fits into the larger work of technology and the humanities.”
To register for the conference, please visit the Pacific Northwest THATCamp website. For additional questions about the format or the conference in general, please e-mail THATCampPNW@gmail.com.
