Market website

[matrygg]

When I feel terrible but want to feel like I'm doing something productive, I tend to noodle with websites.  I had intended to have a professionally-focused website for when I go on the market this fall, and since today my head feels full of crap I've been working on it.  The link is here, and I recognize it's nowhere near done (the content needs to

Comments

[knut_hamson]

It looks nice, but what is it's purpose? If this is just for when you go on the market, what will search committees learn here that they can't learn from your application? I don't know how many search committees will be poking around online (and I doubt they would bother with anyone but finalists, given the time it takes to serve on a search committee and the number of applicants to positions in English), but if they do, how will you be rewarding their efforts?

Personally, if I were going to (beg someone to) build (me) a website, I'd want to use it to do the following:
- include links to pdfs of all my published work (and maybe recent conference papers)
- include links to resources for the classes I teach
- have some cool academic-based meme generator for amusement.

[matrygg]

My thought is that it'll eventually turn into something that will show conference papers, published work (although I don't know about the Guild article I have published -- I kind of feel like the editorial process forced that to get dumbed down a lot), and provide a forum for longer explanations of things than I can put in the materials I send out. I totally realize it's not going to show up unless they do a search, but it also seemed to me that having some sort of presence -- or at least one that looks professional -- might be a plus. Especially if I have to use the Digital Humanities/programming back pocket card, you know?

I was thinking about including a link to the gallery I have with my reference photos from the research trips, but I thought that might look a bit self-indulgent.

[knut_hamson]

I agree that a web presence will be helpful if you're going on the market as a digital humanities guy. So how can you use this space to help that? I think that using it as a platform for web-based content, or links to resources for your classes, would help with that. That is, in your application, you'll likely tell search committees that you do cool digital humanities things in the classroom. Here's a chance to show them how, at least to some extent. What does "digital humanities" mean, and how does your webpage help people see its value? I don't have the answer, but I think that would be the question I tried to answer if I were doing this.

[matrygg]

I think you're right. I've decided to connect it to the images, but as part of an Omeka installation, and to use the front page to talk some about my research as it's in progress. I think I have too much cynicism (likely born of my experiences in the .com world and how data can lie in general) to really get fully on board with Moretti's "distant reading" (even though I consider myself a literary/cultural historian in part) or any of the new buzzwords, but what I can do is show how digital tools can facilitate traditional scholarship and break down disciplinary barriers. If I don't end up in a DH job, I won't be sad -- I'd probably do the same sort of stuff either way -- but I will be sad if I don't get any job.