Christine’s ITP Bio

Hello again! I’m Christine Snyder. I’m 43, married to a musician for nine years, and have lived in Brooklyn since I graduated from my undergrad in 1997. I double-majored in journalism and theatre and have done both (at the same time!). I have a Master’s degree (MA) in Theatre History and Criticism from Brooklyn College and worked for almost twenty-two years in some kind of front-of-house, back-of-house capacity on Broadway. I am a member of two unions and my husband is a member of another. My cat’s name is Sammy and he’s a little bit of a dick – mostly because he’s too smart for his own good. I was born and raised just outside of Chicago and I am a passionate Chicago Cubs fan. Ramus Catuli!

I first became interested in the digital humanities when I asked to work on the Harry Watkins Diary project, headed by my thesis advisor, Amy Hughes. I worked for two years on the online edition, learning XML and working very closely with Hughes on the transcription and editing process (I can read nineteenth-century handwriting like a boss now, which has been extremely useful in my research). Mostly, I’m chasing the high of that work – I love the archive, particularly working with original manuscripts and photographs. The literal smell of history, right? That’s the smell of survival, right? And that’s what the archive is about – survival.

I believe very strongly in the cultural importance of the historian and of the historian’s role as a critic and observer of the arts/artists. What is remembered and how it is remembered is an active and activist project. My dissertation topic concerns the telling and retelling of Civil War and Reconstruction history through popular culture, particularly history-centered film and musical theatre (which are most definitely in conversation with one another). The inability and unwilingness of hegemonic (read: white) society to address the deep wounds still festering within U.S. cultural/historical discourse since before the founding of the nation should concern us as a populace, much more than it does.  History-telling has improved since my childhood – many more forgotten/ignored/repressed voices are being rediscovered and celebrated and HEARD. But popular culture is a sluggish thing that easily falls back on old modes of expression and lazy glossings of historical narratives. Still, popular (and commercial) culture is also imbued with strange ambiguities, contradictions, and breakages, attracting me in ways that much activist and avant-garde art does not. As with the study of history itself (whatever that means), what is interesting is not having what I already believe confirmed or reaffirming what a work would like me to believe, but instead glimpsing all of the cracks and fissures inside of a piece. I research, read, and attend theatre and film (and watch TV) for these reasons.

Anthony Wheeler

Hello there! I’m Anthony, a spunky grad student in the recently born M.A. program in Digital Humanities. I earned my A.S. degree from Dutchess Community College (2016) and my B.S. degree from SUNY New Paltz (2018), both degrees being in Adolescence Education & English! It was at New Paltz that I was introduced to the digital humanities by a professor who molded a course into what would be known as “Digital Lyric.” Throughout this class, we took poetry and reworked it using technology in many different ways. Also through this class, I worked on a digital Victorian Queer Archive with Dickinson College, which really heightened my interest in how these practices could be used in different classroom settings. As a result, here I am at The Graduate Center within the Digital Humanities program, where I am focusing specifically on digital pedagogy.

I am currently one of the Program Assistants for the M.A. in Digital Humanities and M.S. in Data Analysis & Visualization, a HASTAC Scholars Fellow, and as of very recently I’ll be starting as an Adjunct Lecturer for the Humanities department at LaGuardia Community College this coming Spring I semester. My overall goal is to transfer into a Ph.D. program upon completing my master’s degree. I’m interested in pursuing Urban Education with a specialization in Learning Sciences, where I’ll apply DH methodology to new pedagogy through technology.

ITP has been incredibly helpful in my personal goal of using technology to help bridge the gap in equity among students. Raven Gomez and I actually recently presented our own digital game project at the CUNY Games Conference 5.0, where we received a lot of praise for our mission from both students and faculty members. Our project is aimed at first-generation college students within the community college setting. Its purpose is to act as a commentary on the importance of validating one’s identity and how we grade experiential learning within education. If you have any questions about it or are interested in playing, just ask one of us!

Raven Gomez Bio

Hello everyone! I am a master’s student in Digital Humanities at the CUNY Graduate Center. I  received my bachelor’s from Smith College in Africana Studies: Urban Education, and an A.A in Liberal Arts Social Science & Humanities from LaGuardia Community College. I am currently serving as the the HASTAC Scholars Coordinator with The Futures Initiative and Program Assistant with the Digital Humanities department at the GC. I have also worked with community college across the country, and am passionate to serve the needs of students of 1st generation college students from nontraditional backgrounds. As a scholar rooted in the humanities, my work demonstrates a strong interdisciplinary background, integrating innovative pedagogies of education including the usage of technology and game-based projects in the classroom. I have previously managed the Smith College Video Game Research Lab through which I mentored students in creating their own video game projects, and collaboratively created games which reflected the needs of students of color in higher education settings. Through the use of digital platforms, I’m passionate students can become empowered to forge their own identities in higher education settings.

Taking last semester’s ITP Core one with Carlos Hernandez and Ximena Gallardo was an awesome experience, which ended up being  huge support and inspiration for a games project Anthony Wheeler and I recently had the opportunity to present on at the CUNY Games Conference this past January.

I’m looking forward to continue learning from you all and having the scaffolding to expand upon these types of interactive medium projects in the near future!