Dear Colleagues:

It is with great pleasure that we announce the 4Humanities@NY6 chapter. The New York 6 is a consortium of liberal arts schools consisting of Colgate University, Hamilton College, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Skidmore College, St. Lawrence University and Union College. At a recent NY6 symposium co-hosted by Hamilton College’s Digital Humanities Initiative (DHi) in October 2012, representatives from all six institutions discussed new ways to support digital scholarship and digital humanities initiatives. One of the many exciting results of these conversations has led to the creation of a 4Humanities@NY6 regional chapter.

As a 4Humanities regional chapter, we believe we can play a significant role in advocating for the Digital Humanities at large, collaborating across institutions, and showcasing our work internationally.

In accordance with the mission of 4Humanities, the NY6 chapter will function as a, “traditional reading/study/discussion group devoted to scholarly research on topics related to advocating for the [digital] humanities.” We are also supporting and promoting the following activities, which are open to faculty and students of all six schools:

• Invite speakers and hold reading/study/discussion meetings devoted to scholarly research around the current state of the (digital) humanities.
•  Develop working writing groups to create pieces on the state and value of the (digital) humanities for a variety of academic and general audiences.
•  Hold an annual colloquium with relevant keynote speakers (budget allowing).
•  Develop longer written pieces or blogs by faculty and students that talk about the process of creating digital material and why this is important.
•  Create faculty/student groups inside and outside our classrooms to develop advocacy material for the 4Humanities site (in writing and through digital media)
•  Create special scholarship awards or contests.
•  Support a 4Humanities undergraduate working group to include our students as directly as possible in these activities

To support these activities, the NY6 consortium has generously given us a starting budget for Spring and Summer 2013. Please email Christine Henseler with ideas, proposals, or questions!