As the organizer of THATCamp Pittsburgh I have had one, hectic summer preparing for our inaugural Camp. The challenges are certainly….challenging….to say the least. I believe the results will be worth all of the effort involved, and I am really looking forward to meeting all of the attendees. I am so grateful to the fine folks that have been helping me with this endeavor; Lauren Panton, Tom Lombardi, Aubrey Boothe, Patrick Juola, Elizabeth Roark, Chatham University, George Mason University, Amanda French, Elaine Parsons, Aaron Brenner, Matthew Strauss, Brett Crawford, Rachael Wilkinson, Elisa Beshero-Bondar, Elaine Parsons, Sean McGreevey, Nicole Joniec from THATCamp Philly — to name a few, and in no particular order. If it takes a village to raise a child, it certainly takes a dedicated group of people to put together a THATCamp. Thanks, all of you!

The workshop/session schedule is almost firmed up. We have some exciting workshops planned for all levels of technological savvy (or lack of). The food is being planned, tee shirts being ordered, and some extra-curricular activities are being planned. A fun time will be had by all, I am sure.

So, don’t delay. Register for this exciting unconference today! Hope to see you there!

Samantha Parish – Organizer, THATCamp Pittsburgh

Dr. Patrick Juola of Duquesne University will present his work at THATCamp Pittsburgh.  Dr. Juola’s work in stylometry, the measurement of linguistic style, has contributed to the identification of JK Rowling’s novel published under another name.

For a review of this exciting application of his work, please see: chronicle.com/article/The-Professor-Who-Declared/140595/

I think the title is self-explanatory, but just in case there is any confusion let me clarify.

Registration for THATCamp Pittsburgh is OFFICIALLY OPEN!

Welcome to the inaugural THATCamp Pittsburgh! It’s our first Camp, and we hope to make it a fun, collaborative, stress-free experience for all who attend. We are gearing workshops for beginners as well as those more experienced in the Digital Humanities, including a dedicated, comfy Play Area for those of you who are looking for Hacker Space. But, fear not! If you are technologically challenged, then you are also in the right place. We are here to start what we hope will be a continuing, evolving conversation about technology and the Arts and Humanities in the Western Pennsylvania region.

While the rest of you enjoy your Summer, we are busy working out the kinks for the upcoming THATCamp Pittsburgh. All of the little elves are busy in the background, planning, raising funds, scheduling, etc., in order that all of you, our esteemed attendees, can come and combine learning and fun in an unconference setting.

A registration for THATCamp Pittsburgh will include a groovy tee shirt, and all meals and refreshments. All of this, for the bargain basement price of $20 per attendee. But, wait….there’s more….we are also busy planning some great, after-hours activities for those of you who are socially inclined. Besides all of that, the Chatham University campus is especially gorgeous in the Fall! And don’t forget that the Carnegie International is opening the same weekend as our Camp; and there are oodles of other cultural attractions and institutions in the Pittsburgh area to tickle just about anyone’s fancy.

Please keep in mind that registration is capped at 125 attendees. Please fill out all of the information on the Registration page so that we may have all of the important stuff up to date. Also, the registration fee of $20 is payable at check-in on the first day of THATCamp Pittsburgh. We hope to see you there!

As organizer of THATCamp Pittsburgh, and current intern at The Library Company of Philadelphia, I am starting to experience the angst of planning a major conference for a newbie. I am grateful for all of the assistance I am receiving from Lauren Panton of Chatham, as well as Dr. Alexis Macklin and Chief Archivist Matthew Strauss, both of the Heinz History Center, as well as many other folks that have offered or given help and input. But…don’t stop now!! It is crucial to the success of THATCamp Pittsburgh that the collaboration, networking and support of our educational and arts communities continues.

There are lots of ideas floating around in my head for workshops for THATCamp Pittsburgh. There is a lot of organizing to be done. A lot of hair to be pulled out, I am sure. But, what I am really hoping for, and I am sure all of the wonderful people that have attended the two meetings regarding THATCamp Pittsburgh are hoping for, is that we do our best to produce a creative, collaborative, friendly and fun first THATCamp for the Pittsburgh area. Perhaps it will mold itself over the years into a thematic conference, as I hope the tradition of THATCamp will be continued long after I have graduated. So, the basic idea for our first camp is to try to include any and all people that want to be included in a dialogue about Digital Humanities, education and the arts…and to keep that conversation going!

One of the goals of THATCamp Pittsburgh is to bring together both educational and arts institutes and interested attendees from the Pittsburgh regional area. In that spirit we are incorporating “Arts” into our camp name, encouraging all humanities genres, arts professionals and students to come and share information together. We welcome diversity and look forward to a productive and fun interdisciplinary collaboration between all involved.

Yes, we are officially in the planning stages for THATCamp Pittsburgh! The dates are set: October 5th and 6th, graciously being hosted by Chatham University.

We are planning workshops intertwined with the unconference on both days, so plan to spend the weekend!

Much more information to come. If you are interested in collaborating, please feel free to email us.