PDH4L, or Public Digital Humanities for Lunch, is a new series sponsored by the Digital Studio for the Public Humanities to explore how digital technology is changing humanities,  and explores some of the promises, challenges and surprises of digital learning. The talks are all in Room 3052 of the Main Library.

Two talks are forthcoming in November. On November 15, UI HASTAC Scholar Audrey Altman (Library & Information Science, Graduate College) will present “Attack of the Digital Map! The Wonderful Monsters We Create When Humanities and Technology Collide.” Altman will guide audiences through her research into how historical analysis and digital mapping affect projects that the public accesses and uses.

Altman began to explore these issues while she was working with Nuestra Iowa, a project where university undergraduates created a digital exhibit of archived documents that relate to Iowa’s Latino and Latina history. The project uses interactive digital maps to explore the history of Latinos and Latinas in Iowa. Nuestra Iowa involves the Iowa Women’s Archives, the History department, and the School of Library & Information Science. Altman’s research interests include digital literacy, human-computer interaction, and the impact of new technologies on libraries and education. 

James Elmborg, who serves on the Obermann Center Advisory Board, and Bennett Magnino (both of Library & Information Science, Graduate College) will give the next talk on November 29, "Literary Ephemera and the Collector's Impulse:  The Case of the Little Magazine."