Fifty percent of your course grade depends on this project. The main features of this project are that it is collaborative, publishable, and (of course) addresses a computational problem in the digital humanities.
Collaborative. You will work in groups of 2 or 3, which we'll determine through a combination of research interests and experience. I will not give you any particular structure for your group, but you will need to determine your own structure early on (see Milestones below).
Publishable. Your work should be presentable in an appropriate national/international conference (ideally, but not necessarily, one with a published proceedings). Your grade will not be affected by whether or not you are actually published, but your work should be guided and justified by this goal. See Milestones and Venues.
Computational problem. Your project should be organized a computational problem relevant to the digital humanities: one we discuss in class, one you bring to class, or one you discover along the way. Of course, you may only be able to take on a very small piece of a problem; that's absolutely fine. The nature of your "deliverable" should be determined by the nature of the problem and your own creativity (though you will need also to deliver an in-class presentation as well as a draft conference paper).
We'll talk more about these milestones as class gets under way, but this outline should give you enough to start thinking.
Group Formation and Topic Selection. We will finalize group composition at our second meeting (September 3). By September 17 (our 3rd meeting), you should have identified, at least, the general topic of your project. Submit to me a brief topic statement and a brief description of each member's particular role in the group.
Problem Identification, Venue Candidates. By October 1 (our 5th meeting), you should have narrowed your topic to a specific problem (or piece of a problem), and you should have identified one or more appropriate publication/presentation venues for your work. Submit to me one paragraph "abstract" of the problem and your approach to it, a list of at least 3 relevant citations, and a brief statement(s) about the appropriateness of your chosen venue(s) for the project.
Presentation and Paper (and Product). Finally, by the end of class, you will deliver a conference-grade presentation on your work to the class, and you will draft a conference-suitable paper. If appropriate, you will also make publicly available any tools/code you created for the project. I expect we'll have 3 or 4 groups, so we should be able to have all the presentations during the time allotted for our final exam on Dec 17. Your paper will be due at that time.
You are more than welcome to get things done early :) -- and I'm more than happy to discuss drafts, ideas, and so on, in advance of the due dates.