MA Students in the Wired! Lab

In addition to the PhD program in Art History, the MA in Digital Art History & Computational Media has become a strong source of intellectual engagement for the Wired! Lab. This program is an example of the kind of dynamic integration of Humanities and computational questions that is a hallmark of our department. Wired! participates fully in this initiative and is a key site for engaging Master’s students in training and mentoring activities. The MA in Digital Art History & Computational Media (originally titled “Historical and Cultural Visualization”) began in 2014 as a logical extension of our integration of undergraduates into Wired! research. Its goal was to be the unique Digital Humanities MA program in the United States specifically focused on art historical and computational media studies questions—with this degree we showcased the rigor of Digital Art History and Visual Culture!

The MA in Digital Art History & Computational Media is an example of the kind of dynamic integration of Humanities and computational questions that is a hallmark of our department.

The program has attracted students from both ends of the spectrum: those with significant digital experience who are looking to integrate these methods with Humanities questions; and those with a deep understanding of Art History and Visual Culture who want to extend their work with computational methods. Such a dynamic mix of experiences and interests means that students learn from one another and push each other in innovative ways. Thus, the MA draws on the same collaborative model and experience that forms the heart of Wired! faculty and staff commitments.

As part of their education, MA students are asked to align themselves with one of the department’s labs, and Wired! has greatly benefited from this experience. From _Digital Athens _to Building Duke to Mapping German Construction, MA students have contributed as part of the team research experience. This means that these students do not merely graduate with their own thesis work, but they also graduate with experiences informed by vertically-integrated teaching and research. In the past few years, MA students have also shifted from being primarily project contributors to becoming core parts of the Wired! mentoring environment.

With recent cohorts, we have engaged a new model of lab assistantship. Christine Liu (MA 2019), Andrea Brucculeri, and Clara Pinchbeck (MA 2020), who have filled this role up to this point, have learned new skills that are helping them in their own work but have also gained important leadership and teaching opportunities, while contributing to the scholarly value of projects. As a result, Wired! offers a crucible of knowledge and experience that helps MA students develop as professionals.

Students do not merely graduate with their own thesis work, but they also graduate with experiences informed by vertically-integrated teaching and research. They have learned new skills that are helping them in their own work but have also gained important leadership and teaching opportunities, while contributing to the scholarly value of projects.

Previous MA students involved with the Wired! Lab have gone on to exciting opportunities that further develop their careers, including work with major firms in the tech industry, internships at major museums, further learning in PhD programs in both the United States and the United Kingdom, and, ultimately, jobs as university professors, among other opportunities.

Banner Image: 3D printed models of Sta. Chiara in Naples. Part of a project studying the historic choir screen. Model by Andrea Basso and Elisa Castagna.