Guide to Programming for the Digital Humanities

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-viii

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Brian Kokensparger

   Pages 1-4

3. Introductory Programming—Common Topics

   • Brian Kokensparger

   Pages 5-13

4. Digital Humanities—Special Considerations for the Programmer

   • Brian Kokensparger

   Pages 15-19

5. Introduction to the Digital Humanities Assignments

   • Brian Kokensparger

   Pages 21-26

6. Change Over Time: Burials in an Historic Cemetery

   • Brian Kokensparger

   Pages 27-36

7. Visualizing Change Over Time: Simple Visualization of the Burials in an Historic Cemetery

   • Brian Kokensparger

   Pages 37-46

8. Textual Analysis: Frequencies and Stop Words in Dirty Text

   • Brian Kokensparger

   Pages 47-57

9. Code Transformation: From XML to Stylized HTML

   • Brian Kokensparger

   Pages 59-68

10. Art Stylometry: Recognizing Regional Differences in Great Works of Art

    • Brian Kokensparger

    Pages 69-78

11. Social Network Analysis: Historic Circles of Friends and Acquaintances

    • Brian Kokensparger

    Pages 79-89

12. Conclusion

    • Brian Kokensparger

    Pages 91-93

As an introduction to programming for the Digital Humanities (DH), this book presents six key assignments oriented on DH topics. The topics include Computing Change Over Time (calculating burials at a historic cemetery), Visualizing Change Over Time (visualizing the burials at the historic cemetery), Textual Analysis (finding word frequencies and “stop words” in public domain texts), XML Transformation (transforming a simplified version of XML into HTML styled with CSS), Stylometry (comparing the measured features of graphic images), and Social Network Analysis (analyzing extended relationships in historic circles). 
 
The book focuses on the practical application of these assignments in the classroom, providing a range of variations for each assignment, which can be selected on the basis of students’ specific programming background and skills; “atomic” assignments, which can be used to give students the experience they need to successfully complete the main assignments; and some common pitfalls and gotchas to manage in the classroom. 
 
The book’s chief goals are to introduce novice computer science (CS) students to programming for DH, and to offer them valuable hands-on experience with core programming concepts.

• Introductory Programming
• Python Language
• Digital Humanities
• Visualization
• Stylometric Analysis

“Guide to programming for the digital humanities: lessons for introductory Python is written in a voice that is clear, easy to read, and simple to understand. This fantastically well-organized book first gives the reader a series of progressively more detailed top-down views of its content … and some observations regarding the author’s revisions--which are based on (still ongoing) years of teaching Python for DH to future-oriented undergraduates.” (Chaim Scheff, Computing Reviews, July 29, 2019)

“Kokensparger (Creighton Univ.) uses assignments for a digital humanities Python course as a guide to teaching an introductory computer science course to students with diverse interests. Kokensparger's strong background in instructional technology informs the design, rationale, and presentation of a sequence of six programming assignments.” (C. Vickery, Choice, Vol. 56 (10), June, 2019)

• Department of Journalism, Media and Computing, Creighton University, Omaha, USA

  Brian Kokensparger

Brian Kokensparger is a faculty member in Computer Science at Creighton University, where he teaches introductory programming courses, as well as courses in database design, computer organization, and software engineering.  Brian is also a faculty mentor in Creighton's Digital Maximilian–Bodmer Archive digital humanities project, and works with the Prospect Hill Cemetery board in digitization and analysis of its burial permit records.

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