Dennis G. Jerz | Associate Professor of English -- New Media Journalism, Seton Hill University | jerz.setonhill.edu Logo

Digital Humanities: A Definition

Does the world need another working definition of digital humanities? Do you have one? Here’s mine. Digital Humanities is the deliberate, critical application of emerging technology to the study of traditional subjects such as literature, art, philosophy, and language, often (but not always) with a focus on how those traditional fields are now using emerging…

Adding a little Middle-Earth drama to a photo shoot.

The girl was concerned she wasn’t nerdy enough, so she’s taken to wearing a prop ring on a chain around her neck and calling it “My Precious.” (Photo credit: Kelly Tunney.) Similar:Culture Desk: My Life in PencilsDevotees of the Blackwing had been payin…AestheticsPlaying God (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 17) Dax mentors a too-eager-to-plea……

Washington Post, Breaking News, Is Also Breaking New Ground

The Washington Post, famous for breaking the Watergate scandal that brought down Nixon’s presidency, is churning out top-quality journalism in the age of Trump. As an organization the Post is gaining readers, hiring journalists and scooping its competition. As a private company since 2013, when the deep-pocketed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos bought it for $250…

Same photo, two different interpretations.

This is why I spend time teaching my journalism students about how to write photo captions. Which description is more trustworthy? Which description will likely get more shares on social media? Similar:"She even disgraces the name of Linton." –Heathcliff, on his simpering wife Isa… PersonalAnother section of a #steampunk control panel. Useful for a cutaway shot…

The girl enjoyed seeing Alex Noble and the rest of the cast of Sive. (Last shows, 2 & 8 today.)

Similar:More rehearsing. More dancing. PersonalKnee-jerk sharing of memes denigrates the truth.Trump never told People magazine that Re…CultureOkay, freshly downloaded app…Okay, freshly downloaded app, If you are…CybercultureThis Is What It Looks Like Just Before the Muslim Brotherhood Jumps YouAs the recent death toll in Egypt surpas…CultureIf I don’t design the sign for the pub on my #steampunk space…

Salesman at Pittsburgh Public Theatre.

  Similar:Still More FaceTime FunI realize that video-chatting teenagers …MediaQ Who? (ST: TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 16)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…MediaDrinking milk and using the #WaybackMachine to fix broken links in a 10-year-old blog post…PersonalAnother 10 sq cm of details for a #steampunk control panel. Just background eye candy, not…Aesthetics"A Mushroom at Last……

Old English Has a Serious Image Problem

This fall I will be teaching Shakespeare again; but thereafter, as part of a curriculum redesign, Shakespeare will be rolled into a “Shakespeare in Context” course that will also need to address Beowulf, medieval drama, Arthurian legend, Chaucer, Marlowe, etc. I intend to do this by teaching five different Shakespeare plays, focusing on one play…

In Defense of Liking Things

It used to bother me that people got all excited about the color shirt that was being worn by a particular person holding (or throwing, or tossing, or avoiding) a small round object. Then I read the Onion article “Walking Sports Database Scorns Walking Sci-Fi Database:” A self-described “sports fanatic” who experiences vicarious thrills through…

Procession #classof2017

Similar:Sad that NASA is taking a back seat to a private company, but still nerding over an Americ…BusinessPeople with autism spectrum disorder avoid eye contact because it causes anxietyMy culture has taught me that eye contac…CultureI just finished recalibrating the port scanner station and lookout post. If you need help … AestheticsAttending the Texture Contemporary…

You may move your tassels from right to left. #classof2017

  Similar:The School of Humanities honors me and my colleagues @mikearnzen and Dan Martino as we com…The School of Humanities honors me and m…PersonalThe daughter introduced me to this wonderful Martin Freeman comedy. Kind of like School of…PersonalThat time three-year-old me spotted a Mary Cassatt painting at the Art Institute of Chicag…My mother had a…

Graduation procession #classof2017

Similar:Come see Carolyn and her talented castmates in The Fantasticks (Theatre Factory, Trafford …PersonalTom Wayman's FAQ on "Did I Miss Anything?"I’ve long been a fan of Tom Wayman’s poe…AcademiaChilling on Forbes Avenue with a small friend.Chilling on Forbes Avenue with a small f…AestheticsJust a random side corridor in the #neovictorian #steampunk cruiser I've been building…

About to launch.

  Similar:Rude mechanical sighting! Shakespearing it up with @newrentheatreco.PersonalParadise Blue (so glad to be seeing more live theater lately)PersonalMy wife reports: “There was one smart aleck walking along the street who exclaimed: “Look,…PersonalEaster Blessings 2021 Current_EventsModular low-poly medieval buildings. Ground-level storefronts have more detail than the up…Modular low-poly medieval buildings. Gro…AestheticsIt's such a privilege to…

Term grades submitted. Homeschool son graduated. Time to breathe.

Similar:Some editing and cropping makes this cartoon a perennial. EthicsMy big acting moment in this scene is declining a drink. #indie #filmAmusingAdvice to First Year College Students on Freshman CompFull disclosure… I have marked AP Engl…Academia#SHUConvocation is about to begin @setonhilluniversityPersonalWhen is the phrase "when asked about…" part of good news writing? Rarely.A new graphic…

Shipwreck Diary of a Content Marketer

Day 1 Today was my first full shipwrecked day after our ship hit some sharp rocks a half mile offshore. What started out as a team-building trip to the Cook Islands has turned into a true nightmare. #OnlySurvivor #PleaseSendHelp #SurvivalSundays #HolisticRescueMarketing —McSweeney’s Internet Tendency Similar:How to Use the Feynman Technique to Identify PseudoscienceSimon Oxenham quotes…