Digital Borderlands in the Classroom: Faculty Fellowship & Summer Institute

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Overview

The University of Arizona Library is deeply dedicated to promoting borderlands research and incorporating library services and expertise into student learning across campus. This project phase aims to serve as a catalyst, fostering the integration of library services throughout the curriculum and capitalizing on the momentum generated by the initial phase of the Digital Borderlands project.

The Faculty Fellowship Program will be offered from 2024-2026, with a weeklong Summer Institute planned in July of each year. The 2024 Summer Institute will be held from July 15-19, 2024. The Summer Institute is a core component of the Faculty Fellowship Program and will be required for selected applicants. Applications for the 2024 cohort are now closed, please contact the project coordinator to be notified when the applications for the 2025 cohort open.

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Summer Institute

The Summer Institute, conducted each year during the month of July, will include sessions focusing on digital storytelling strategies that incorporate data-intensive methods, encompassing geospatial mapping and data science for the humanities (research integrating programming, math, and statistical knowledge, and substantive expertise in one or more humanities disciplines). Fellows can expect to explore classroom-friendly applications, such as StoryMaps or Voyant Tools, and instructors will also introduce more advanced data science applications through the use of case studies. Fellows will also receive an orientation in the use of archival materials in student research, as well as the extensive borderlands archival collections available in the University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections.

Through the Summer Institute activities, Fellows will be expected to engage with three key themes that motivate the Digital Borderlands project:

1. Digital Literacy
2. Data Literacy
3. Archival Literacy

Summer Institute Fellows will also participate in sessions on instructional design, the use and creation of open educational resources, and culturally responsive pedagogy to assist Fellows in the development of robust assignments and activities, enabling faculty and students to build technical competencies while gaining new perspectives on the borderlands region. The sessions focusing on culturally responsive pedagogy are designed in collaboration with the Culturally Responsive Curriculum Development Institute (CRCDI) and will be taught by trained CRCDI instructors.

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Application Process

The Digital Borderlands project team released the Call for Applications in October 2023. The application and required materials for the 2024 cohort should be submitted by January 19, 2024.

The Faculty Fellowship applications will be reviewed by a faculty review board to evaluate the submitted applications, and applicants to the 2024 cohort will be notified by April 5, 2024. As an essential component of the application process, applicants will be required to include a pre-existing course that they would like to revise to include a Digital Borderlands module, assignment, or activity. In addition to mandatory participation in the week-long Summer Institute, applicants must commit to revising their course content and delivering the revised course within the academic year following participation in the Summer Institute.

The Digital Borderlands project team will be hosting information sessions about the program and application process on November 3, 2023, December 7, 2023, and January 9, 2023. We encourage you to attend one of the information sessions if you are interested in participating.

Register for an upcoming information session on our events page.

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What to Expect

Successful applicants will receive an award of $9,000, training through the Summer Institute, and ongoing consultation and support throughout the fellowship period. Funds may be used as summer awards to support course revision efforts through July and August. Alternatively, fellows may choose to coordinate with department heads in their academic units to apply the funding toward a course release during the academic year.

For more information about the application process and the Faculty Fellowship & Summer Institute generally, please refer to our FAQ page. Please note that these pages are dynamic and will be updated as more information is finalized and becomes available.