Sebastian Heath, ed. DATAM: Digital Approaches to Teaching the Ancient Mediterranean. Grand Forks, ND: The Digital Press at the University of North Dakota, 2020.
https://doi.org/10.31356/dpb016
DATAM: Digital Approaches to Teaching the Ancient Mediterranean provides a series of new critical studies that explore digital practices for teaching the Ancient Mediterranean world at a wide range of institutions and levels. These practical examples demonstrate how gaming, coding, immersive video, and 3D imaging can bridge the disciplinary and digital divide between the Ancient world and contemporary technology, information literacy, and student engagement. While the articles focus on Classics, Ancient History, and Mediterranean archaeology, the issues and approaches considered throughout this book are relevant for anyone who thinks critically and practically about the use of digital technology in the college level classroom.
DATAM features contributions from Sebastian Heath, Lisl Walsh, David Ratzan, Patrick Burns, Sandra Blakely, Eric Poehler, William Caraher, Marie-Claire Beaulieu and Anthony Bucci as well as a critical introduction by Shawn Graham and preface by Society of Classical Studies Executive Director Helen Cullyer.
What folks are saying:
Fotini Kondyli, Assistant Professor, University of Virginia, Director of the Inhabiting Byzantine Athens digital project and author of Rural Communities in Late Byzantium: Resilience and Vulnerability in the Northern Aegean (forthcoming).
“If you are teaching about the ancient Mediterranean, if you plan to teach in the Humanities more broadly, or if you are preparing a teaching statement, this book is a must-read.
This thought-provoking volume offers a compelling discussion about the benefits of studying the ancient Mediterranean world and about best practices and future directions in teaching which can – but do not always have to – include digital tools. Authors’ openness about risks and opportunities and their own successes and failures with digital approaches is refreshing, and chapters include detailed discussions on digital practices and tools, lesson plans and their learning outcomes.
A central theme throughout the book is student agency and the importance of offering students a sense of ownership and responsibility pertaining to knowledge production. More than digital approaches to teaching, this volume then advocates for learning environments that support students’ active participation in a world that is dynamically shaped by digital approaches.”
Dr. Jeremiah McCall, author of Gaming the Past: Using Video Games to Teach Secondary History (2011).
“More than just reflections on digital pedagogies, this work helps readers set up a digital toolkit including 3D modeling, game-based learning, to quantitative data analysis while also exploring the wider issues of digital equity and what exactly it is about classical studies that these tools assist.”
The Digital Press at the University of North Dakota 