University of Washington

DEPARTMENT WELCOMES NEW DIRECTOR OF TECHNICAL SERVICES It is not every day that you meet someone who has a PhD in history; speaks Russian fluently; creates maps using a geographic information system (GIS); troubleshoots computer hardware; and develops websites. Yet, luckily for the Department of History, our new director of technical services, Eric Johnson, is all this and more. Johnson, who received his PhD in Russian history from the UW this spring, will be bringing his unique skill set to the department with the goal of cementing the university's position as a center of digital history and scholarship. In his role, Johnson will also provide support for technology adoption in the classroom, not only as a teaching tool, but also as a means for students to build their own digital portfolios. Johnson has successfully meshed his technical and historical expertise to create an innovative interactive map of early nineteenth-century Kazan, the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan. The map, which he created using tax records and vintage maps, allows users to explore the geography and social and religious structures of the city. Johnson hopes to make the map public, so that it can be used as a teaching and research tool for those interested in urban, Russian, and nineteenth-century history. Johnson is also a member of the Department of History's Digital History Committee. For more on digital history at UW, visit history.washington.edu/digital-history. DIGITAL HISTORY FELLOWSHIPS, NEW COURSE SHOWCASE GRADUATE SCHOL ARSHIP Since 2014, more than a dozen graduate students have received summer digital history fellowships from the History Department. Their work has included the collection of oral interviews documenting Seattle's diverse LGBTQ history, digitization of rare New Deal–era photographs, and development of a history-focused podcast. In addition, students have taken courses in GIS and computer programming. The goal of the fellowship initiative is to offer students a chance to engage with both the theory and practice of producing historical scholarship in a digital form. In fall 2016, History Professor Raymond Jonas debuted a new course, Digital Historical Practices. A graduate-level survey of technologies for historically minded humanists and social scientists, the class aimed to introduce digital tools and approaches that could be relevant to research, teaching, and interpretation both inside and outside the academy. Over the course of the quarter, students were introduced to human and machine transcription, text indexing, content management systems, close reading and "distant" reading, as well as visualization, mapping, and spatial analysis. ERIC JOHNSON, DIRECTOR OF TECHNICAL SERVICES PROFESSOR RAYMOND JONAS History Goes Digital D E P A R T M E N T O F H I S T O R Y   9 history matters

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