In 2016, I sat down to evaluate digital media sites that focus on women’s and gender history. I soon realized there is no systematic way to search for digital projects. They are not cataloged by libraries or databases with the same methods use for traditional print publications and journals. I faced the problem of gathering information on a field that did not have a collective archival or institutional footprint.
This is the moment when this crowd-sourced list of Women’s and Gender History digital projects was born. It is an effort to gather information on digital media in the field of women’s and gender history in one central space. Women’s and gender scholars often create close links with organizations and individuals beyond the academy. These projects are both a testament to those collaborations and nod to the reality that digital content is generally accessible to anyone with an internet connection. These project create a sense of community among users/readers even beyond the control of the project creators.
You might be wondering about the tech behind the list. It is a Google document that is set to “anyone with the link can edit.” I uploaded that link to the Google URL shortener in order to get some basic analytics and shared it widely on Twitter and other social media. There are many ways to crowd-source information like this, but I wanted to reach a wide audience and encourage participation, so I kept the tech level basic. I have often considered transferring the data into a content management system (CMS), but at this point in my career it is not a priority.
This list has grown over the course of my project, and I think it’s time to share it in this space as well. Feel free to add to list to spread the word about your own projects, learn about the growing field of digital media in women’s and gender history, and foster community among the diverse audience for such projects. I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments.
