The CKL Microlabs engage computational humanities, digital archives, documentary editing, and public humanities and art projects. In these microlabs, DSL members are at work on a range of research, analog as well as digital. The analog artifacts range from publications, conference presentations, murals, museum exhibitions, white papers, and course syllabi. The digital artifacts range from digital archives, documentary editions, online art exhibits, virtual reality sculptures, and podcasts.
Archipelagos of Marronage
…explores Black geographies of fugitivity using sources like runaway ads and tools like ArcGIS/StoryMaps and Twine to experiment with models of turning surveillance practices inside out. As part of that experimentation, this microlab will produce a StoryMap for public use that describes best practices for using ArcGIS/spatial analysis for uncovering Black geographies.
Black Louisiana Incubators
…are intensive, virtual, one-time events with experts (genealogists, historical interpreters, tour guides, organizers, and artists, all compensated with honorarium for their time) to explore how Black history has been maintained at the grassroots level in the face of slavery, segregation, divestment from historical institutions, and resource extraction by academics. Incubators range from hands-on workshops to lectures to tutorials with invited practitioners and DSL members.
Taller Entre Aguas
*…explores best practices around doing Black Puerto Rican digital history. Led by Afro-Puerto Rican scholar Dr. Sarah Bruno with support from Afro-Puerto Rican scholar Jessica Marie Johnson, members will learn to use Omeka, Wax and Jekyll and learn how initiatives like Minimal Computing are bringing research relating to the histories of slavery and Indigenous genocide into the public sphere. This microlab will produce a methodology paper on best practices for Black Puerto Rican-centered decolonial and diasporic digital publishing for submission to the #minicomp document corpus (available here: https://go-dh.github.io/mincomp/thoughts/)**
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Southern Digital Culture Lab
…explores digital patrimony for Black southern culture bearers and centers Black communal archival practices and the use of social media, blogging and digital archives to share and excavate histories. Members of this microlab will study how social media has been a resource for sharing archival material, exploring examples like Black Archives and Sixty Inches from Center. This microlab will produce a white paper on community research methodologies and best practices for supporting Black culture bearers on social media. Among the organizations we intend to build with is the Black School.
