“The Undergraduate Network for Research in the Humanities (UNRH) is a network founded by and for undergraduates in order to re-imagine the undergraduate role in innovative humanities research. We aim to aggregate, present, and promote student research that questions the methods of traditional humanities research. We further hope to establish a sustainable network of digital scholarship through which students might question and break down leading models of teaching & learning in order to reclaim student agency.” ~UNRH
In the summer of 2015 I attended the ILiADS conference at Hamilton College. I originally went to assist my professor with her Mexico City mapping project and left the conference having co-founded an organization (in addition to assisting the mapping project). While at ILiADS I met some of the most passionate, brilliant undergraduates from various institutions who were all engaged in digital humanities research. After a few casual conversations, we realized how much we had learned from each other just from sharing the same physical space with students from other colleges.
Recognizing that there was a shocking lack of opportunities for undergraduates to
attend and present at conferences, we decided to launch our own, undergraduate-centered organization to host an annual conference for just undergraduates. We wanted to create a space for presentation, sharing, networking, and critical discussion of what the undergraduate role in digital humanities scholarship is. Thus was born the Undergraduate Network for Research in the Humanities, or UNRH.
Since meeting in August 2015, we planned, organized, and held our first ever conference that November at Davidson College. We had participants from all across the United States and Canada present an array of impressive projects, listen to the inspiring words of keynote speaker Whitney Trettien, and collaborate in a design thinking session about the undergraduate role under the direction of Allison Salisbury.
Now three years later we are once again hosting a conference, this year at Hope College on February 16th-18th, 2018. I am currently serving as the host and project manager, or director, of UNRH. My role over the years has included task delegation, theme and workshop development, general project management, and website redesign and maintenance. This role has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career and I am thrilled to be part of such an amazing organization. I work with an excellent team of scholars who have inspired and encouraged me.
Since our first conference in November, 2015, we have accepted over 50 projects, involving over 80 undergraduates from 31 institutions all across the United States, Canada, Nigeria, and Pakistan. I am proud of our accomplishments.
Follow UNRH on Twitter: @un4rh or check out unrh.org to learn more!