PDA Event: Black to the Future: Exploring Digital Humanities to Engage Diverse Audiences

Presented by Dr. Bryan Carter, University of Arizona

The Center for Digital Humanities is a research and innovation incubator for the computational study of the human condition. Dr.  Bryan Carter, Director of the Center for Digital Humanities and Associate Professor of Africana studies at the University of Arizona, will showcase his diverse projects including his signature project "Digital Harlem" to his recent Knight Foundation Grant working closely with the Colored Girls Museum of Philadelphia. One project that is making the news is a virtual reality digital storytelling project which addresses systemic racism in institutions by relating the negative experiences of marginalized groups to others. This anti-racist virtual reality and digital storytelling has the potential to teach people how to be not simply non-racist or bystanders but anti-racist and activists for change. For each project, Dr. Carter will introduce augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality opportunities along with personal assistants (robots) and holographic video streaming. Part of the discussion will also focus on strategic partnerships and funding opportunities. 

Dr. Bryan Carter received his Ph.D. at the University of Missouri-Columbia and is currently the Director of the Center for Digital Humanities and an Associate Professor in Africana Studies at the University of Arizona. He specializes in African American literature of the 20th Century with a primary focus on the Harlem Renaissance. His research also focuses on Digital Humanities/Digital Africana Studies. He has published numerous articles on his doctoral project, Virtual Harlem, an immersive representation of a portion of Harlem, NY as it existed during the 1920s Jazz Age and Harlem Renaissance. Dr. Carter’s research centers on how the use of traditional and advanced interactive and immersive technologies changes the dynamic within the learning space. 

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Sponsored by ASERL