THATCamp@X

THATCamp@X 2019

Join us on April 8th, 2019 in Antigonish, Nova Scotia for THATCamp @ X.

The theme of our event will be Digital Pedagogies, with a focus on post-secondary instruction methods. We welcome students, teachers, librarians, and other professionals interested in this topic.

THATCamp@X Registration info

Registration for this day-long event is $20 CAD. Registrations will be used to offer travel bursaries for students and low- and un-waged participants. (See registration page for details on how to apply for registration refunds and/or travel funding).

Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

This event will happen on the St Francis Xavier University campus in Antigonish, Nova Scotia on 8 April 2019. See our day’s schedule.

THATCamp@X credits

THATCamp@X has been organized by:

Laura Estill
Matea Drjlepan
Meghan Landry
Margaret Vail
Katie Aubrecht
Wendy Kraglund-Gauthier

Official Hashtag: #THATCampX

What is a THATCamp?

THATCamp stands for “The Humanities and Technology Camp.” It is an unconference: an open, inexpensive meeting where humanists and technologists of all skill levels learn and build together in sessions proposed on the spot. An unconference is to a conference what a seminar is to a lecture, what a party at your house is to a church wedding, what a pick-up game of Ultimate Frisbee is to an NBA game, what a jam band is to a symphony orchestra: it’s more informal and more participatory. Here are the key characteristics of a THATCamp:

It’s collaborative: there are no spectators at a THATCamp. Everyone participates, including in the task of setting an agenda or program.
It’s informal: there are no lengthy proposals, papers, presentations, or product demos. The emphasis is on productive, collegial work or free-form discussion.
It’s spontaneous and timely, with the agenda / schedule / program being mostly or entirely created by all the participants during the first session of the first day, rather than weeks or months beforehand by a program committee.
It’s productive: participants are encouraged to use session time to create, build, write, hack, and solve problems.
It’s lightweight and inexpensive to organize: we generally estimate that a THATCamp takes about 100 hours over the course of six months and about $4000.
It’s not-for-profit and either free or inexpensive (under $30) to attend: it’s funded by small sponsorships, donations of space and labor, and by passing the hat around to the participants.
It’s small, having anywhere from 25 or 50 to about 150 participants: most THATCamps aim for about 75 participants.
It’s non-hierarchical and non-disciplinary and inter-professional: THATCamps welcome graduate students, scholars, librarians, archivists, museum professionals, developers and programmers, K-12 teachers, administrators, managers, and funders as well as people from the non-profit sector, people from the for-profit sector, and interested amateurs. The topic “the humanities and technology” contains multitudes.
It’s open and online: participants make sure to share their notes, documents, pictures, and other materials from THATCamp discussions before and after the event on the web and via social media.
It’s fun, intellectually engaging, and a little exhausting.

What is an “unconference”?

The shortest answer is this: an unconference is a highly informal conference. Two differences are particularly notable. First, at an unconference, the program isn’t set beforehand: it’s created on the first day with the help of all the participants rather than beforehand by a program committee. Second, at an unconference, there are no presentations — all participants in an unconference are expected to talk and work with fellow participants in every session. An unconference is to a conference what a seminar is to a lecture; going to an unconference is like being a member of an improv troupe where going to a conference is (mostly) like being a member of an audience. Unconferences are also free or cheap and open to all. For more information, see Wikipedia’s entry on the unconference.

What should I propose?

Sessions at THATCamp usually range from general discussions (Talk sessions) to project-based hackathons or writeathons (Make sessions) to technology skills workshops (Teach sessions) to miscellaneous experiments (Play sessions). There should be no full-blown papers; we’re not here to read or be read to. See the list of sample sessions at thatcamp.org/proposals/ for ideas, or come up with a creative idea of your own for a session genre or topic. Ideally, you should come to THATCamp with something in mind, and on the first day find a time, a place, and people to share it with.

Is a THATCamp only for scholars / grad students / librarians / archivists / programmers / instructional technologists? Can scholars / grad students / librarians / archivists / programmers / instructional technologists apply?

No to the first, yes to the second. THATCamp aims at the broadest diversity of backgrounds and skills possible.

THATCamp Code of Conduct

Policies

See also SHARP’s guidelines for respectfully and effectively using social media. Our hashtag is #THATCampX.

Where can I find more information about THATCamp in general?

See http://thatcamp.org for information on how to sign up for email notifications of future THATCamps, how to organize or sponsor a THATCamp, and more.

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