This class was great. Don't worry if you don't have much technical experience as she covers a lot of it in class (albeit very briefly so be prepared to do some research outside of class).

This class does require a lot of writing, though the assignments aren't very long. There are plenty of extra credit opportunities.

My biggest complaint is that the class revolves around a group project--a basic data analysis and visualization spun into a narrative all presented on a website. My group was awful, and I took on the the bulk of the work. If it weren't for that aspect, the class would be perfect.

Attendance to both lecture and section are required. There's a 24 hour grace period for all assignments, which was invaluable to me. Dr. Kurtz is just an incredible person as well.

Overall, I'd recommend the class.

Dr. Kurtz has some of the most professional lectures I have ever experienced. Every single one is so cohesive and feels very natural even if some of the subject matter is not as engaging. I can tell she has a passion for history. She also spent so much time supporting my group's project outside of class time to ensure we were able to meet our goals. Definitely goes above and beyond as a professor, especially after learning that she has a young child and lives so far away from campus. Superhero of an instructor.

Professor Kurtz is amazing! She's a great lecturer and would often ask us questions and make her lectures interactive. She's very approachable and always willing to help. Prof Kurtz provides many resources to aid in creating our project, including previous student projects. Late assignments are accepted, often with no points off, and there are many opportunities for extra credit. Discussion attendance is graded, since that is where we work with our project group. The whole course essentially revolves around a short DH group research project, using a dataset chosen as a group and creating a website about it with data visualizations and commentary. Tutorials are given during lecture on software used for creating data visualizations (Tableau, Palladio, Voyant, etc.). If you aren't familiar with these tools you'd likely need to take some more time outside of class to learn them. It will help a lot to have tech savvy group members or some previous experience, though this class is certainly still possible without either. The pace at which the project progresses can be pretty fast, however, so I'd recommend to plan things out early and often with your group.