Experience Architecture: How the Humanities Goes to Work

Liza PottsDirector of Experience Architecture Director of WIDE Research CenterAssociate Professor of AwesomeDepartment of Writing, Rhetoric, and American CulturesExperience ArchitectureHow the Humanities Goes to Work

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TL;DR @LizaPottsDirector of WIDE ResearchParticipatory culture, social user experience, internet studies, fan studiesResearch sponsored by the NEH and IMLSChair of Association of Computing Machinerys SIGDOCAssociate Professor in Dept. of Writing, Rhetoric, & American CulturesDirector of Experience Architecture programTeaching classes on User Experience, Information Design, Content Strategy, Digital Rhetoric, Research Methods, Digital HumanitiesUser Experience Architect working in/with Industry Partners since 1994Built software used by millions, managed teams across three continentsDesign Consultancies, Start-Ups, Microsoft

Todays TalkExperience Architecture (XA) Degree ProgramGuiding Principles for XAWIDE Research and Outreach Projects

PLAYS a strategic role in researching, building, and sustaining digital experiences for participantsEDUCATES architects who know user experience designers, information architects, user researchers, content strategists, project managers, and front-end developersIS the strategy and practice of user experience from the perspective of the Humanities

B.A. in Experience ArchitectureCapstoneCommunity OutreachResearch ProjectField Trips and Site VisitsWorkshopsNetworking EventsStudy AbroadPortfolio ShowsInternshipOn CampusOff Campus

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Youll learn enough to be dangerous we will help you become a better writer, designer, developer, and thinker7

60 students from across the university and beyond, many non-traditionalFirst Class = Type As Do it NOW!Advanced: Several Honors StudentsDiverse: 50/50 gender / 33% diverseTransfers: 33% from Community CollegeOrigins: 1/3 Liberal Arts students; 1/3 Engineering (elec, mech, compsci); 1/3 from all over

Who Are Our XA Majors?

2016 First Graduating Class

http://www.emilydallaire.com/

Industry Needs for XA Students

fromOnward Search

Guiding Principles for XAExperiences built by HumanistsDiversify & Decolonize TechSocial Justice Design

Experiences built by Humanistsa basis in human values is something that we cannot afford to look beyond when it comes to preparing the next generation of professionals for technology-focused careers. STEM curricula are notoriously jammed with requirements that impose practical limits on studying ethics, history, and yes, even dystopian novels.- Potts, Lauren, Tegtmeyer, Schopieray, MSU XA Faculty in their article Killer Robots and the Humanities: Building an Interdisciplinary UX program

Diversify and Decolonize TechOne way for TPC to engage issues of power and legitimacy is by taking a critical stance toward social justice and diversity, as it is represented in instruction and scholarship in our field.- Natasha Jones, in her Journal of Technical Writing and Communication article about integrating social justice approaches into research and teaching

Social Justice Design social justice UX projects seek to understand context through critique and research methods. The end result of that critique to design user experiences for traditionally marginalized or under resourced populations that will benefit users by changing the social environment to further democratize social goals and/or facilitate justice, and to address violence, oppression, discrimination or other undesirable social dynamics. What, perhaps, we make is that the location of this benefit may take place both within the development cycle or as a product.Douglas Walls, Assistant Professor, NC StateFrom his 2016 SIGDOC paper User Experience in Social Justice Contexts

MSUs WIDE Research CenterOur Goals:Create research opportunities and new knowledge about digital experiencesPromote the transfer of discoveries about digital experiences in a way that has impact in the worldHelp prepare a new generation of researchers and leaders

XA Research ProjectsParticipatory and VisibleIntentionally InclusiveSocial Justice in Research and Design

Participatory and Visible

DigiDiss // Sponsored by NEH

http://digidiss.eserver.org/With Co-PI Kathie Gossett, Iowa State

Participants include:Kathleen FitzpatrickShana KimballQuinn WarnickCarrie LamannaMartine Courant-RifeAaron Collie, MSU Digital CurationRanti Junus, MSU Librarian

Student Researchers:Beth Keller, Tom Lindsley, Alex Galarza

Participatory Memory Digital Projects

Undergraduate Researchers (and grads!):Emily Dallaire, Kelly Turner, Katie Grimes

Intentionally Inclusive

Organizations Built for and Led By Women

Ojibwa and Cherokee Language Archive // Sponsored by IMLS

With Co-PIs Ellen Cushman, Gordon Henry, and Rebecca Tegtmeyer

Student Researchers include:Minh-Tam Nguyen, WIDECole Knight, XA student

Social Justice in Research | Design"A vital part of our work as technical communicators going forward is to show our clients how user research and user-centered design is necessary to create ethical information flows in digital environments. This becomes a social justice issue when the information we communicate involves complex health and medical information. Without consideration of the user experience, many may be denied access to this information.-Dawn Opel "Communicating the Complexity of Health Care Payment and Service Delivery Reform," 5th Annual Symposium on Communicating Complex Information (forthcoming in CDQ)

Archive As I See It // Sponsored by NEHWith Co-PIs Michael Nelson and Michelle Wiegle, Computer Science Dept. Old Dominion University

Student Researchers, Designers, Devs:Yasmin AlNoamany, ODUMat Kelly, ODUHeather Turner, MSUIan Clark, MSU

Social Media Use During Times of Disaster

ResearchersAcross the USA, Australia, India, and Beyond including:

Joyce SeitzingerDave JonesAngela EngKristen Mapes

And many more who have shared their stories

Thank you!Liza PottsAssociate Professor of AwesomeDepartment of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultureslpotts@msu.edu @LizaPottsDirector of Experience Architecturexa.cal.msu.edu Director of WIDE Researchwide.cal.msu.edu