Reading Like a Computer

Course principles

Openness: One of the characteristics of digital humanities–the field I teach and with which this course dialogues–is its open, public quality. Most of the work in this course you will be doing in a website you design yourself. It is an excellent opportunity to work on some basic skills in web publishing. In Fall 2026, this means that you will be learning to make a static site in Github Pages.

It is a new and interesting experience for students to work in the open, since it asks us to think about audience more than if we were only writing a paper for a single person to read. At the end of the semester once all is graded, you can keep or delete your work.

Attendance and participation: Attendance and participation are a part an essential part of the final grade in any college course. See the Assessment section on this site for details about how you will be assessed and maximum number of absences.

Keeping up: If you are falling behind or are encountering any personal issues that impede your course performance, please inform me in writing. Since we have a number of assignments, it will not be possible to complete everything at the end of the course. Staying in communication–and keeping up with the work– are key. Please note that sensitive personal issues or discussions of grades should be addressed in email, on Zoom or in person.

Integrity: Academic integrity and honesty are central components of a student’s education. Ethical conduct maintained in an academic context will be taken eventually into a student’s professional career. Academic honesty is essential to a community of teachers and learners. Anything less than total commitment to honesty undermines the efforts of the entire academic community.

NYU Abu Dhabi expects its students to adhere to the highest possible standards of scholarship and academic conduct. Students should be aware that engaging in behaviors that violate the standards of academic integrity will be subject to review and may face the imposition of penalties in accordance with the procedures set out in the NYUAD’s Academic Integrity Policy.

AI Policy: Since we will be making adequate use of the web and occasional use of generative AI tools, we will be learning new ways to cite the work of others that are appropriate for web-based writing as well as to acknowledge such forms of machine assistance. Each assignment will be explicit about what is acceptable.