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:My 10yo Launches a Soda Bottle Rocket http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbNu8…AestheticsThe grandmaster diet: How to lose weight while barely movingFascinating article about how the extrem…CultureHow Poetry Helps…

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:My theory: Trump was composing therapeutic poetry, and got stuck on the last line. PersonalWho's ready for some free outdoor Hamlet?PersonalDid you see that guy’s…

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

Similar:That moment when you're logging into a table read of #RUR (Rossum's Universal Robo…PersonalSummer Theater Camp Photos: "Patrice" in "13" My 11yo performed the part of “Patrice…Current_EventsWe Had No Idea What Alexander Graham Bell Sounded Like. Until Now | History & Archaeology”Hear my voice. Alexander Graham Bell.” …CultureHow a billionaires boys’ club came to dominate…

Salesman at Pittsburgh Public Theatre.

  Similar:My mom’s Lionel train set (a gift from her father in 1948) had been in storage for 35 year… My mother wants me to thank John at …AestheticsIn-person classes heighten age-related hearing problems (opinion)My family tells me I’m starting to speak…AcademiaMore split-screen actinghttp://youtu.be/EGgeZWskEs8DesignPicking up books for another termAcademiaSomeone I know very well is in…

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:Carolyn and Alex in “The King and I”PersonalBetween static hand-coded HTML pages and modern content-management systems, there used to …When I started my blog in 1999 (by addin…CybercultureThis is manageable. Far better than some semesters.This is manageable. Far better than some…PersonalFormer student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments, …A third alum in…

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

  Similar:Visiting Ft Ligonier #sevenyearswar #history #localhistoryPersonalIntroduction to The Skin of Our Teeth (optimistic, absurdist metatheater; Thornton Wilder,…https://youtu.be/1okt8MIVTtsAcademiaTouch Me Now: York Plays 2025A cast of hundreds participated in a pub…AcademiaI just looked up the context for the bald guy dropping the chili. I guess I was expecting something like…DesignA picture of puffy white clouds floating…

Graduation procession #classof2017

Similar:On the upside, no fake news is currently being shared on Facebook. Can't think of a do…PersonalMarching in a parade and watching a patriotic musicalHappy Independence Day, fellow Americans…CultureThe Geekling Worked a Shatner/Nimoy Tribute into GodspellMy geekling daughter, who in Willy Wonka…AmusingBrother Stuck in the BathroomThe girl posted this story on Instagram …AmusingHere's how Maria…

About to launch.

  Similar:Connecting with the BoyToday my son asked me to take him shoppi…CultureCarolyn and Nick in Beauty and the BeastAestheticsMe waiting for students to drop by during office hours. AcademiaOnly a Dad (Edgar Guest poem, read by Carolyn and Peter Jerz for WAOB Audio Theatre)Carolyn and Peter Jerz recite “Only a Da…CultureSomething to Ponder —…

Faculty assembling in launch tube beneath Salvitti Gym. #classof2017 @setonhilluniversity

Similar:My 4Cs StoryI chaired a session on Friday, and gave …AcademiaAnother fun 10 sq cm of a #neovictorian #steampunk control panel. #elegance #design #aesth…AestheticsPeople with autism spectrum disorder avoid eye contact because it causes anxietyMy culture has taught me that eye contac…CultureProud of My JournosI saw several heads that I recognized, b…AcademiaI had a blue…

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:Does the phrase "based off of" make you shudder… or shrug?Jerz > Writing >&nb…AcademiaTexting?…

Whoops, I Accidentally Used a Photo of Donald Trump in this Blog Post on Richard III

Hum de dum. Not paying any attention to current events at all, just thinking about possibly teaching Richard III in my Shakespeare class this fall. Oh, look, Dwight Goodyear posted commentary on Agnes Heller’s book The Time is Out of Joint: Shakespeare as Philosopher of History. How interesting. You know, to those of us who care about…