First Annual AAR THATCamp

Annual Meetings Information page

The advent of digital technology and social media has not only transformed how today’s religious communities function. They have also changed how scholars teach about and conduct research on religion more broadly. If you are interested in how technology is changing—or can change—the work of religious studies scholars, then we invite you to attend the AAR’s first ever THATCamp!

THATCamp stands for “The Humanities and Technology Camp.” It was created to bring scholars and technologists of every skill level together to learn how to integrate digital technology into their teaching and research. This means the format is not your typical conference proceeding. THATCamps are “unconferences,” which means sessions are built around hands-on workshops and collaborative working groups rather than formal presentations. Participants are even encouraged to propose sessions they would like to attend in advance of the meeting on the THATCamp Blog. Topics we could cover include academic blogging, social media in the classroom, social media in religion, digital research methods, web-based class projects, online publishing, and countless others.

Sessions largely take four formats.

  • In Talk Sessions offer the chance to do a group discussion around a topic or question.
  • In Make Sessions, someone leads a small group in a hands-on collaborative working session with the aim actually making something--software, best practices document, a syllabus, etc.
  • In Teach Sessions, an individual leads a hands-on workshop on a specific skill or software tool.
  • In Play Sessions, literally anything goes. You suggest literally playing a game, or spending some quality time with one or more.

THATCamp AAR13 will run on Friday, November 22—the day before sessions begin— from 9:00am to 5:00pm in the room Key 7-8 in the Hilton Baltimore. THATCamp is free and open to everyone, but a separate registration is required to ensure we have adequate space. For more information, please see the THATCamp AAR13’s website at http://aar2013.thatcamp.org.