During my college journey, I discovered a course on digital history, which got my attention. In our class we read parts of the article "What is Digital History?" by Seefeldt and Thomas. We learned that digital history is a an expansive term for the numerous ways in which people today engage with and learn about … Continue reading The Floods Of Harrisburg
When I began researching the Wildwood Zoological Park that used to exist in the city of Harrisburg, I was skeptical that I would be able to find many, if any, valuable artifacts on the subject. Unfortunately, as I continued my research, I realized that my worries were right; almost all traces of the zoo are … Continue reading Digitizing Harrisburg’s Wildwood Zoological Park
Technology can be difficult to use, but it can also be a tool that can help us create something beautiful. The process of digitization is no different. The use of technology among historians has grown a lot during the past several decades and has allowed for a new advances and discoveries to be made. For … Continue reading Processing Paper Into The Digital: The Life of Genevieve Blatt
When it comes to the digital world, I try to avoid it. I have an aversion to technology and try to do without it, even at one point deleting social media and buying a flip phone. I have always felt out of place in the digital world. I remember in 2nd grade when we went … Continue reading Digitizing Disease
A business major might tell you that trading two quarters for one is a bad deal, but I’ve done it when I needed the one quarter for a collection. I collect coins from the 50 State Quarters Program, the America the Beautiful Quarters Program, and the American Women Quarters Program. A survey conducted by the … Continue reading Digitally Prioritizing a Quarter
By: Phoebe Lemin I never saw myself as someone who was that good at using technology. Certainly, I didn’t feel qualified to take on the task of digital history with my skills in technology. However, through my experience as a Public Humanities Fellows Student and after taking a Cybersecurity class, I felt like I could … Continue reading From Past to Pixels, Mira Lloyd Dock and the City Beautiful Movement
One evening, in my excitement (and haste) to search for a placed-based digitization project, I came across the title “Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital.” Immediately, its history captivated me, and my research on Harrisburg State Hospital and its creation in Harrisburg thus began. For two days, I had the opportunity to practice careful research at the … Continue reading Harrisburg’s Once “Lunatic Hospital” and Two Archive Visits Later…
In my first semester as a Fellow at the Center of Public Humanities, I’m working on editing and finalizing previous students’ stories for Harrisburg Historical's website and mobile app and beginning to research my own story. Many of the stories for Harrisburg Historical were nearly ready to be published before I joined the CPH. My … Continue reading Stories of Resistance: Reflections on the Fall Semester
Jake Kocher: October 17th, 2024 This semester I have the privilege of working with the Center for Public Humanities at Messiah University on a project to develop an immersive walking tour that brings to life significant historical places in Downtown Harrisburg. The project I’m working on is Harrisburg Historical, a mobile and web app that … Continue reading Bringing History to Life: Developing an Immersive Walking Tour for Downtown Harrisburg’s Civil Rights Legacy
It's hard to believe that we've just finished fall break here at Messiah University and will soon be sprinting to the end of the term. I think my last general update about our work on the Digital Harrisburg Initiative was fall 2022 (read that here), which makes this update well overdue. While we've been silent … Continue reading Digital Harrisburg: Fall 2024
Digital Harrisburg 