For this week’s lab, I worked on building my web development skills by following JSBin tutorials and watching videos to familiarize myself with HTML. I can’t say that I’ve coded much during my time at Carleton; I only took intro CS and used Python for a few physics classes, but they didn’t require much extra thinking. That being said, I believe that it is important for digital humanities students to learn how to code, the extent of which is a debate for a different day.

The first coding class I ever took was during my freshman fall, which is hard to believe was almost four years ago. The structure of the course was using Python to work on a range of tasks, from recursive commands to imagery. I loved taking the course because it allowed me to tap into my more creative side and really think hard about what I was trying to complete. Many of the assignments were open-ended so that there wasn’t just one way of solving whatever problem we were trying to figure out. A quote that I love from Kirschenbaum’s article is this: “Computers should not be black boxes but rather understood as engines for creating powerful and persuasive models of the world around us.” I agree with this statement because, at the end of the day, computers/coding are a tool that we can use however we want. Coding is an open-ended tool that allows for creative freedom, and even though digital humanities majors may not be doing as extensive coding as computer science majors, they are learning how to think differently as a result. I feel as if even though I don’t write code super extensively within my studies, I’m gaining experience by looking at what code I’m modifying.

The point of academics and a liberal arts education is to become a more well-rounded individual and learn new skills that extend beyond your major. This was one of the main reasons I chose to take this class; the description for the course was interesting, and there are so many different tools we are allowed to use. I’m excited to see how my skills will develop and look forward to the remainder of the course.

A Reflection of my Understanding of Coding 

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Here's a list about my interests : 

I play football for Carleton 
I like listening to Daniel Ceasar 
I am liking the Hacking the Humanities course