Participants will be able to fly into the Austin Straubel International Airport, which is a few miles from the St. Norbert College campus.

Both hotel and dorm-style lodging will be available. A block of rooms has been reserved at the ‐which is right across the street from campus—at a rate of $84.99 per night. Dorm-room accommodations will be available in the Dale and Ruth Michels Hall. Single occupancy in the dorms will cost $27.00 per night; double occupancy will cost $30.00 per person per night. Details about reserving those rooms will be available shortly.

The “Digital Humanities”—Whazzat?

Unfortunately, there’s no one-sentence answer to this question yet. The term “Digital Humanities” describes a field still defining itself. For some guidance, however, you can refer to these articles that wrestle with that very question:

• What is Digital Humanities? at DH Answers, a forum co-sponsored by the The Association for Computers and the Humanities and the Chronicle of Higher Education’s ProfHacker
• “NITLE Launches Digital Humanities Initiative” announcement from the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE)
• “Why the Digital Humanities?” by Brett Bobley, Director, Office for Digital Humanities, National Endowment for the Humanities

This one’s a little easier. THATCamps are “unconferences” that seek up upend (and hopefully thereby improve) the standard model for academic conferences. The first was sponsored a few years ago by the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University. Since then, due to excitement among participants and generous funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the THATCamp model has spread around the country and around the world. THATCamp LAC will be the first THATCamp to focus on the Liberal Arts College community. For a full description of what a THATCamp looks like, and the philosophy that grounds the movement, visit thatcamp.org. The key principles that make a THATCamp are:

• There are no spectators at a THATCamp; everyone participates.
• It is small and intimate, having anywhere from 25 or 50 to no more than 100 participants. Most THATCamps aim for about 75 participants.
• It lasts no more than two days.
• It is not-for-profit and inexpensive; it’s funded by small sponsorships (e.g., for breakfast) and by passing the hat around to the participants. Attendance should be free, but attendees can donate to cover expenses if they want.
• It’s informal: there are no lengthy proposals, papers, or presentations. The emphasis is on discussion or on productive, collegial work.
• It is also non-hierarchical and non-disciplinary: THATCamps welcome graduate students, scholars, librarians, archivists, museum professionals, developers and programmers, administrators, managers, and funders; people from the non-profit sector, the for-profit sector, and interested amateurs.
• Participants make sure to share their notes, slides, and other materials from THATCamp discussions before and after the event on the web and via social media.

THATCamp Liberal Arts Colleges will focus on a particular academic setting—the liberal arts college—rather than a particular geographic region. We envision two main tracks in the unconference. One will focus on doing digital humanities work at an LAC, where one is more likely to be the lone DHer on campus and must build stronger off-campus networks. The other track will focus on technology and pedagogy. We also hope to encourage undergraduates to apply for THATCamp LAC. We hope to get undergrads, grad students, professors, librarians, and other academics talking productively about the intersections of digital humanities, technology, and pedagogy at liberal arts colleges.

A few early details:

• Where: St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin.
• When: June 4-5, 2011
• Who: 75 professors, librarians, technical specialists, and undergraduates interested in the intersection of technology and the liberal arts
• Info: the best source will be our Twitter stream @thatcamplac

More details will be posted here as soon as they’re available. If you’re interested in helping with the planning, contact Ryan Cordell. We’re looking forward to seeing you in Wisconsin this May!