The inaugural THATCamp Alabama took place August 9 -10, 2013 on The University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, and I was thrilled to be a part of it.
What’s a THATCamp? From THATCamp.org:
THATCamp stands for “The Humanities and Technology Camp.” It is an unconference: an open, inexpensive meeting where humanists and technologists of all skill levels learn and build together in sessions proposed on the spot.
This particular THATCamp was organized by a committee of collaborators from Alabama institutions, of which I was a member.
Event planning is not my favorite thing in the world, but I greatly enjoyed being part of the team that pulled this together. I attended THATCamp Southeast 2012 to experience an unconference, with an eye on bringing new kinds of professional development opportunities to the Libraries. Back at UA, I met the newly hired Post-Doctoral Fellow in Digital Humanities, and we started working together to bring a THATCamp to campus. While I left my position in the Libraries several weeks before THATCamp, my new boss generously allowed me to fulfill my commitment to the event and the Libraries.
Our intention was to capitalize on energy around humanities and technology across this state and use the event as a space to share skills and experiences and brainstorm ways that we can work collaboratively on digital projects within our institutions and beyond. We envisioned an opportunity for technologists and humanists at all levels, and it was our hope to host a diverse group of researchers, teachers, librarians, curators, archivists, and others.
We totally pulled it off.
For those who may be interested but were unable to attend, here’s a Storify of some of the tweets from and about the event. Also, keep an eye on the THATCamp Alabama Twitter account and Facebook page for news of future THATCamps in the state, and check out the list of upcoming THATCamps on the THATCamp site.