I’m in my last few days as a faculty trainer. Next week I travel down hwy 148 to Ottawa to join Carleton University‘s History Department, as Assistant Professor in Digital Humanities!

I’m very excited. Carleton’s position in the Canadian Capital means that its Public History program is very much focused on government and everything else in its orbit; my background in archaeology and the heritage industry I think will allow me to push off in interesting directions there. There’s a movement afoot to build a new provincial park on the Quebec side, close to the federal Gatineau Park, and I have connections (both professional, and genealogical) to both areas. I’ve got some ideas about some location-based computing I want to try – educational, heritage management, preservation… my brain’s just on fire with ideas :)

And of course I will be continuing my agent based modeling work. I’m to go to a conference in Belgium next spring, where I’m presenting (the plan so far) on lumbering in the Roman world. It’s a simulation, informed as best it can be from what evidence there is, and so it takes some leaps.

I’m also going to be teaching a course in digital history this fall. As part of the interview process I created a mock-up of the course website, which may be explored here; the ‘real’ course will be similar, but I’d welcome all and any comments on what I cover, what I miss.  (A round up on various Canadian digital history programs can be found here.)