Event Title

Visualizations using p5.js for Digital Humanities Projects

Presenter Information

Jeremy Sarachan

Location

CB1-303

Start Date

4-11-2017 10:00 AM

End Date

4-11-2017 12:00 PM

Description

**Participants should bring a laptop**

Given the necessity of coding tools for many digital humanities projects, this workshop will introduce participants to the p5.js Javascript library, covering the basics of programming, including variables, for loops, if..then statements, and basic drawing syntax. After a scaffolded series of exercises, which include basic drawing and the repetition of patterns, participants will create data (through simple voting within the group on a convenient topic) and then create a basic visualization using the data. At this end of this portion of the workshop, participants will be introduced to using data files available on the web for their own projects.

In the last 20 minutes, participants will be introduced to the possibilities by using a Raspberry Pi and monitor—and how p5.js files can be displayed through the browser, opening up the world of interactive art installations.

While relatively simple in terms of the skill set required, this workshop will provide an accessible introduction to those attendees who are new to coding. Participants will be given time to work and receive help from the instructor and other participants. I have done similar workshops before for high school students (although with a shorter agenda.) I would ask for 90-120 minutes, although I could be flexible either way (by 30 minutes) to better fit in with the established HASTAC schedule.

These basic skills and technologies not only prepare digital humanists to create visualizations, but also to utilize the wide variety of online JSON files (available through government websites and elsewhere) that permit anyone to incorporate data visualizations into digital humanities projects. This fits in with the conference's themes of exploring new ways and methods of creating digital humanities texts, especially in terms of visualizations and exploring issues of race, class, gender, and religion (depending on the dataset used).

P5.js is a Javascript library based on the popular Processing language. This web-based solution offers cross-platform exhibition for installations or web-based projects.

I direct the Digital Cultures and Technologies at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY, and teach and introductory course in p5.js as well as a secondary course in Interaction Art, using Processing and Raspberry Pis. I previously attend the HASTAC conference in Toronto, presenting a poster about the newly created (at that time) Digital Cultures program.

Introduction to Computational Media syllabus:

https://computationalmedia.wordpress.com/ Interaction Art syllabus: https://digc259interactionart.wordpress.com/ p5.js library: https://p5js.org/ I spoke about my students' installation art at the 2015 New Media Consortium Conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf-pY1zUTl4