This fall we’re welcoming Anne Ladyem McDivitt to Stanford, the History department, and the Center for Interdisciplinary Digital Research (CIDR) in the Library! Inspired by the Princeton CDH’s interviews with their new staff, I’m delighted to bring you an interview with Anne Ladyem.
– Quinn Dombrowski, DLCL ATS
Tell us about your role at Stanford
I’m the Academic Technology Specialist (ATS) for the Department of History, and I am a part of the Center for Interdisciplinary Digital Research (CIDR) in Stanford University Libraries. My goal is to work with the faculty and students in the History Department to explore Digital History in exciting, innovative, and accessible ways!
How did you get started with DH?
My entry into digital history/digital humanities is not actually that bizarre or unusual. I was in a MA program focusing on public history, and I have a big interest in making good academic work accessible for broader audiences. Near the end of my program, I took an introductory course to Digital History, and this was a game changer for me. I saw opportunities to do the work I was interested in with new methodologies. With some very minor DH projects under the belt (VERY MINOR!), I took a chance and applied to George Mason University for my PhD. I got in, and I was a Digital History Fellow for two years at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. The rest, as they say, is history!
What is your specialty in DH?
Given my interest in making academic work more accessible, it’s really no surprise that I gravitated towards digital storytelling as a specialty in DH. This can incorporate many types of methods and tools, and the goal is to tell narratives through digital methods. Ultimately, as historians and humanists, we make arguments and tell stories, and digital storytelling can make for innovative and compelling stories in a variety of formats. It’s always exciting to me to see how these stories can be told!
Do you have a favorite project you've worked with?
In my previous position as the Digital Humanities Librarian at the University of Alabama, I worked with an English class that was tasked with recreating locations from Beowulf in the video game Minecraft. I participated as the Minecraft expert. (Leaning into my other expertise as someone who plays video games and a video game historian!) The goal was to research how the architecture historically would look, as well as thinking about the importance of place and space to the narrative of Beowulf. The students were so creative with what they came up with for the final products, and several folks who were hesitant at first put so much love and effort into the project.
Where should I start if I am interested in DH?
It can actually feel a bit intimidating if you’re coming into DH for the first time. It’s such a broad topic, and that can make it overwhelming. Luckily, Stanford has a lot of support for people who might be interested in getting started with DH! If you’re in the Department of History, I have open office hours on Wednesdays (9-10am/2-3pm), you can email me any time, and I also have a QR code on my office door (Lane History Corner, Room 316) with a resource list for getting started. I am always happy to try and point you in the right direction. There are also many opportunities for learning through workshops and events through CIDR and CESTA.