AMICAL’s current grant from the Mellon Foundation aims to build capacity for digital pedagogy and scholarship anchored in our members’ cultures and locations, reflecting and enhancing the international forms of liberal arts practiced at our institutions. At the center of these grant-funded initiatives is the Mellon Digital Liberal Arts (DLA) Fellow, who will provide training and consultation to AMICAL members while helping to further develop and implement our various DLA programs.
Introducing AMICAL’s Digital Liberal Arts Fellow: Najla Jarkas
We would be hard pressed to find someone better suited to this role, and more deeply familiar with the nature and potential of the digital liberal arts at AMICAL institutions, than Dr. Najla Jarkas. Previously a faculty member in the Department of English at the American University of Beirut, Najla has extensive experience in integrating digital methods and tools in academic writing and literature courses in addition to integrating digital humanities projects into course design. Najla played a leading role in DH initiatives with regional and global reach at AUB, including the Digital Humanities Institute - Beirut, and she continues to serve on the International Advisory Board of the University of Victoria’s Digital Humanities Summer Institute.
Najla has been involved with AMICAL’s consortial DH and DLA activities for over 5 years — most recently as chair of AMICAL’s Digital Liberal Arts Programs Committee, a role she’ll continue in going forward. See Najla’s profile for more information about her rich experience with digital humanities scholarship and pedagogy.
DLA Consultations: get expert help on issues of digital pedagogy and scholarship
Najla’s consulting role as DLA Fellow will cover the full range of possible questions related to the digital liberal arts:
- For questions within her own areas of expertise, she’ll offer direct consulting, on an extended basis if needed.
- For questions outside her expertise, she will facilitate consulting with another AMICAL colleague or external expert with relevant expertise. She’ll draw on her personal networks, on AMICAL’s connections with external experts, and on AMICAL’s own growing network of expertise in digital pedagogy and scholarship within the consortium.
Any DLA-related questions are welcome, but some examples of projects you might ask for help with include:
- course-integrated projects or assignments
- library-based instructional initiatives and resources for scholarship
- campus-wide initiatives involving staff, faculty, or students
Set up a consultation — or just drop in during office hours
All colleagues from AMICAL member institutions are welcome to consult with the DLA Fellow. You can set up an appointment with the DLA Fellow, or simply drop in during her online office hours any weekday via Zoom.
Find the request form, office hour links, and more information about the DLA Consultation program here:
Jeff Gima, AMICAL Consortium Director
and
The AMICAL Digital Liberal Arts Programs Committee