MENAlab-A consortium of websites dedicated to bringing the history of the Middle East and North Africa to a wide audience
http://middleeastnorthafrica.com/
Format: Podcast program/blog
Mission: “A weekly internet radio program in English and Turkish offering interviews with scholars and researchers on emerging topics in the study of the Ottoman Empire and the modern Middle East.”
Administrators: Chris Gratien (Georgetown), Emrah Safa Gürkan (Georgetown)
http://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/
Format: Podcast program/blog
Mission: “Creating podcasts on the latest research on Eurasian borderlands”
Administrators: Michael Połczyński (Georgetown), Paulina Dominik (SOAS)
www.thewildfield.com
Format: Podcast program/blog
Mission: blogs and podcasts “that offer a fresh blend of content related to the history, society, and culture of North Africa.”
Administrators: Graham Cornwell (Georgetown)
http://tajine.ottomanhistorypodcast.com
Format: Blog
Mission: “creating a storehouse of information for scholars researching the Middle East and the Islamic world at large”, acquainting scholars with archives, libraries and collections.
Administrators: Chris Markiewicz, Nir Shafir
http://hazine.info/
Format: Blog
Mission: “exploring the art and architecture of the Ottoman Empire and beyond, looking at the stories behind the buildings and objects that have been left behind”
Administrator: Emily Neumeier (U of Pennsylvania)
http://www.stambouline.com/
Format: Blog
Mission: Providing a venue for research on Polish-Ottoman/Turkish history
Administrators: Micheal Połczyński (Georgetown), Paulina Dominik (SOAS)
http://poloniaottomanica.blogspot.com.tr
Format: Blog
Mission: “a close to the source document blog displaying primary sources and archival materials intended for use by researchers”
Administrator: Sam Dolbee (NYU)
http://www.docblog.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/
Format: Blog
Mission: “bringing you a range of original, visually appealing and intellectually engaging maps harvested from archives and libraries around the world”
Administrator: Nick Danforth (Georgetown)
http://www.midafternoonmap.com/
Main Issues: Collaboration
• Creating a community of scholars that otherwise may not be able to work together
• Cannot be fully realized without a certain amount of direct contact
• Once started, space and time (to a certain degree) not necessarily a constraint
• Importance of cloud technologies, dropbox, etc.
• Coordination- release of material
Building a Team
Co-administration
Finding participants
Getting past the “fear factor”
Limiting and expanding participation?
Use(fulness)
Why are scholars doing this?
Utilizing media to disseminate research, ideas, documents that may otherwise go unnoticed, or that are not reaching potential audiences
Familiarizing our audiences and ourselves with a broad spectrum of research related to our fields
Bibliographies
Format
Building a website Blogger, Wordpress, Wikis, Databases
domain names, creating a brand (of sorts)
The learning curve: Identifying your interests, developing your skills
Audio vs. visual content
Content
What limits should be set? Ottoman History Podcast vs. The Wild Field
Vetting sources/contributors
Equipment, editing
Peer review?
Creating rubrics
Actual creation of content: Well, it’s a lot of work.
Dissemination
Building an audience: Advertisement (Facebook, Twitter, listservs)
Reaching an interdisciplinary, multi-national audience
MENAlab network advertisement
Built-in statistical analysis tools
If well produced and useful, content will probably appeal to audience
Produced in multiple languages
Intellectual Property
Why not affiliate with an institution?
legally “fair use” – material used for educational activities
Addressing the fears of participants – redefining intellectual space?
Timing
When is the best time to engage in these types of activities?
For various reasons, administrators are all PhD candidates or newly-minted PhDs
Staying current, staying alive
Utilizing personal networks
Future Projects
Utilizing crowdsourcing and cloud technologies to create online databases, pedagogical tools
Example: Ottoman Inscription Archive
The Ottoman Inscription Archive20
How do You Use the Ottoman Inscription Archive?.
1. Colntributor enters info into form on mobile device
3. Contributor views info
on mobile device map
• Sponsor: …
• Date: …• Photo: …
2. Contributor uploadsinfo to GISCloud
database
The Ottoman Inscription Archive21
OIA Database• Sponsor: …• Date: …• Photo: …• Translation:
…………
How do You Use the Ottoman Inscription Archive?.
1. Translator viewsinfo in databaseusing OIA website.
2. OIA administratorupdates database
3. Inscription scholaranalyzes info indatabase usingOIA website