Proposing a session

We encourage all THATCampers to propose sessions either before the event or when we schedule the sessions as a group on Saturday.  Sessions can be on any topic related to humanities and/or technology, but we encourage you to make connections to how rural communities can develop. By proposing a session, you are agreeing to be a discussion leader based on your topic.  You will not need to present anything formal, just be willing to share any information needed to facilitate the discussion.  Please make sure to gear your proposal to all levels of expertises and knowledge bases — we have a wide range of people attending this event! On the day of the THATCamp, we will decide as a group what sessions to include.  Email session proposals to thatcampsemo@gmail.com.

Meals

A free continental breakfast and lunch buffet will be provided on Saturday.

Technology

Wifi will be available during the event.  If you need any other technology (including audio/visual) provided, please request it ahead of time.

Honorariums

Each THATCamper will receive a $50 honorarium.  You will be asked to give your name, mailing address, and social security number. Checks will be mailed within 90 days.  You will also be given a chance to donate back (but are in no way obligated) your honorarium to help us organize next year’s Southeast Missouri THATCamp.

To receive an honorarium, you must attend THATCamp from 9am-5pm on Sat. Sept 28. There will be optional activities that evening and on Sunday morning.  The schedule is:

Saturday

9-9:30 AM – Continental Breakfast, Registration, Introduction

9:30 AM – 10:30 AM – Digital Humanities Workshop

10: 30 AM- 12 PM “Half-Baked” Game and Scheduling of Afternoon Sessions

12PM- 1PM Lunch

1-5 PM Sessions TBD

Dinner Options: The Academy has an dinner available or there are a number of area restaurants.

8 – 9 PM Optional “Haunted Tour” of the Academy. Free for THATCampers and their guests.

THATCampers are also welcome to an evening performance of MC Squared at Ryno’s on Highway 72 in Ironton, MO. (Family friendly and no cover.)

Sunday

Breakfast is available at the Academy for guests staying there (contact them for more info) or there are many other area restaurants.

 10 – 11 AM Tour at the Fort Davidson Civil War Museum in Pilot Knob.

Please contact thatcampsemo@gmail.com with any questions about the schedule.

Please register ASAP!

About a week before the big day, participants will be asked to share ideas for “sessions.” Sessions are blocks of time where we discuss, explore, or question whatever topic you find interesting having to do with the humanities (literature, history, psychology, etc) and technology (social networking, games, virtual reality, etc). On the day of the THATcamp, the first thing we do is vote on the sessions for that day. We might add, combine or change sessions. You are discouraged from actually preparing something formal because it is a highly improvised experience! We are encouraging topics having to do with rural communities, but the sessions are wide open and dependent on YOU, the THATcamper.

Thanks to a grant from the Missouri Humanities Council, each Southeast Missouri THATCamper will receive $50. Space is limited, so please register ASAP. Advance registration is required to receive the honorarium and free meals.

Thanks to a grant provided by Microsoft Research, free rooms have been provided at the THATCamp site, The Arcadia Academy. All of the rooms have been awarded at this point, on a first come/first served basis. However, you can stay overnight on Saturday, September 28 after the conference ends at either the Academy or other lodging is available in the area. At the Academy, there are options ranging from $35 for a hostel room to more expensive bed and breakfast suites. Each hostel room can accommodate two people and you can feel free to bring a guest, even if he or she doesn’t come to the conference (although they are invited!) Other lodging options can be found at Missouri-vacations.com

Thanks to Microsoft, we have travel grants available. –[Update: Our travel grants have been awarded.  However, you can check out the limited number of free rooms available at the conference site.]

The River Valley Region Association is a new major sponsor of THATcamp Southeast Missouri in the Arcadia Valley, September 28, 2013 at the Arcadia Academy.

The unconference will be held Saturday, September 28 at the Arcadia Academy in Arcadia, Missouri.

THATcamp Southeast Missouri will be September 28, 2013.  It will be held in Ironton, MO at the Arcadia Academy in Southeast Missouri, about 80 miles from St. Louis and about 70 miles from Cape Girardeau.

Because this unconference will occur in a rural area, we hope to encourage people to attend who might be inspired by the locale.

One of the considerations in a small rural town is the the lack of accessibility to humanities and technology.  Small towns across America are overlooked as areas that might benefit from the advances that have been made in the humanities and technology.

For example, these areas might be physically isolated; but, because of the egalitarian nature of the digital space, there are opportunities for communities to benefit from online connections. In fact, many towns survive because of the tourism that comes from visibility in this digital space.

Despite this advantage, areas such as the Arcadia Valley struggle with social issues that come from this isolation, including poverty and xenophobia. Southeast Missouri THATcamp is designed to bring those interested in the humanities and technology to a rural area grappling with these issues.

We want participants from and outside the area.  The event is open to the public, including academics, librarians, technology professionals and those who are just curious about the humanities and technology.

We encourage people to attend who believe that advances in the humanities and technology can be ways to address some of struggles present in rural communities, particularly the Arcadia Valley.

We hope that having an unconference in a small rural community might inspire a wide range of topics for discussion at the unconference.

There are no formal presentations at a THATcamp.  We will ask for ideas before the THATcamp and plan discussions during the conference day using those ideas as inspiration.  The theme of humanities and technology is wide open and THATcampers are ready to be surprised and engaged.

But, to get participants thinking, you might consider:

• social spaces, and how the digital space can expand a notion of community
• new possibilities for educational access provided by the digital space
• how digital archives can retain the historical and cultural archives of rural America
• how the digital space might interrupt the rural-urban migration
• how technology trends change the economies of rural life
• how access to technology and the digital landscape can ease political and racial tensions
• and anything else you want to discuss or think about

Please register for this event.  We encourage you to register as early as possible because the event is capped at 50 participants.

All registrants will receive refreshments, a t-shirt and a lunch.  An optional dinner and evening entertainment will be available.  There are hostel rooms starting at $35 and a bed and breakfast at the Arcadia Academy, and many other lodging options in the area.  If you choose to stay over and would like to explore the area, we will provide information to help you on your adventure.