Meet the Team: DH Librarian Dr. Emily McGinn
Welcome to a new series where we introduce you to LifexCode members!
Who are you and what do you do with LifexCode?
I am the Digital Humanities Specialist with the Sheridan Libraries at Johns Hopkins University. I am a consultant to all of the LifexCode participants in helping them turn their ideas into digital realities.
Tell us about your work and why it fits with digital humanities against enclosure.
My driving principle is to welcome everyone into the DH field and lower the barrier to entry, regardless of academic status, coding abilities, or familiarity with digital tools. In every consultation, I listen to the goals and outcomes that the researcher has in mind for their project, and then suggest a course of action that matches their abilities and the time they have available. There is no gatekeeping or judgment.
What is one piece of media (text, art, music, really anything) that inspires your work?
With a PhD in Comparative Literature, I’m drawn to work the pushes the boundaries of of literature and language, including Hopscotch (Rayuela) by Julio Cortázar, Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavić, and James Joyce’s Ulysses. Works like these have inspired me to similarly push the boundaries of DH and think creatively about platforms and tools in order to meet the needs of a current project.
What DH tools, methods, or theories do you recommend for folks exploring digital humanities against enclosure?
I keep a list of the most common DH tools and platforms that I encounter in the field in order of complexity: DH tools and learning. I also have compiled a reading list from Professors Jessica Marie Johnson and Nadejda Webb’s DH 101 seminar which includes suggestions from the LifexCode community: DH 101 Zotero library
DH is a vast world so it is not at all necessary, or advised, to tackle all of these things, but these lists provide a good starting place for gaining a base vocabulary and to learn more about what the community’s priorities are.
What do you like to do in your free time or how do you recharge? We prioritize rest as part of our decolonial praxis.
I’m still new to Baltimore, so I love exploring new places and seeking out spots that are both interesting and slightly grimy. I’m excited to find a place in the city where I feel at home and am surrounded by like-minded people.
Check out Dr. McGinn’s website here.
And follow her on X (Twitter).