I became interested in the Digital Scholarship Summer Research Fund because I can explore the humanities through digital platforms. Humanities research have always been recorded mostly through analog and print mediums, so this program juxtaposes that idea that those are the only forms of recording and conducting research. It became an assimilation to digital technology because it still prevails within this modern generation. I also became interested in the idea that there could be an archive of our digital projects; I liked the idea that this can be a way of looking back on previous projects and getting inspiration and permission to improve and change projects from past cohorts. I advocate for constructive criticism and to have comments and feedback on this will only make the project more sufficient.
The project I’m referring to is one I’m doing research on about media representation. Specifically, the research will highlight the rarity of non-white characters that deal with mental illness and how this directly correlates to the amount of assistance that these individuals receive for mental health diagnoses. Something I noticed with films, television and even commercials is that there seems to be a lack of diversity regarding people who suffer from mental illness, but the opposite is true in reality. My goal and my research will center around that idea that there is a lack of diversity, but that’s because there happens to be less attention on the the communities that are predominantly non-white that have mental illnesses. The attention on these communities and the representation they have on film are both minute.
With this, something I’m hoping to gain is more constructive knowledge. Right now, I’m basing my research on personal observation, but also from a small collection journals and articles. I hope to be able to find more sources from books, articles, and journals, and be able to make this topic plausible. I’m hoping to be able to find more about the mental illnesses that I plan to include in the research and also to find more on the correlation between all of these different topics; I’m prepared to take this further if I don’t finish within the 8 weeks that I have. I also want to be able to gain proficiency in some of the tools that we discussed in our groups. I am interested in Tableau because I will need data visualization for the research I’m doing because I will be creating charts and graphs to highlight some data on the forms of media I’m using. I became very interested in Visme, the tool I showed during one of our discussions, because I think it would be cool to have a slideshow that I can add videos and data to.
I became intrigued with the discussions in the group and realized more of how important the study of Digital Humanities can be. I enjoy the print culture and analog mediums and would prefer those forms of technology rather than digital but it’s also nice to see what this discipline can provide. For example, easier accessibility to archival documents, convenience, and portability.