1 00:00:01,480 --> 00:00:04,260 Welcome to Digication Scholars Conversations. 2 00:00:04,290 --> 00:00:06,060 I'm your host, Kelly Driscoll. 3 00:00:06,260 --> 00:00:10,209 In this episode, you'll hear part one of my conversation with Brittany 4 00:00:10,209 --> 00:00:14,750 Linus, an undergraduate student pursuing a dual degree in African and 5 00:00:14,750 --> 00:00:19,720 African-American Studies and Digital Humanities at Stanford University. 6 00:00:20,300 --> 00:00:25,380 More links and information about today's conversation can be found on Digication's 7 00:00:25,410 --> 00:00:27,500 Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. 8 00:00:27,940 --> 00:00:31,990 Full episodes of Digication Scholars Conversations can be found on 9 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,639 YouTube or your favorite podcast app. 10 00:00:36,129 --> 00:00:39,220 Welcome to Digication Scholars Conversations. 11 00:00:39,239 --> 00:00:44,989 I'm your host, Kelly Driscoll, and I am so excited today to introduce Brittany 12 00:00:44,989 --> 00:00:46,854 Linus, an undergraduate student athlete. 13 00:00:46,864 --> 00:00:50,525 She's a graduate student at Stanford University, where she's pursuing a dual 14 00:00:50,525 --> 00:00:55,675 degree in African and African-American Studies and Digital Humanities. 15 00:00:56,394 --> 00:01:01,935 And I'm just going to read a little bit from Brittany's bio here to provide some 16 00:01:01,935 --> 00:01:04,905 context into this conversation today. 17 00:01:04,974 --> 00:01:05,819 Uh, I'm. 18 00:01:05,980 --> 00:01:07,630 Just thrilled to talk to you, Brittany. 19 00:01:07,630 --> 00:01:09,250 You're an amazing human being. 20 00:01:09,570 --> 00:01:13,410 Brittany is a Nigerian-American UI designer, Digital Humanities 21 00:01:13,420 --> 00:01:15,600 Scholar, and Pleasure Activist. 22 00:01:15,610 --> 00:01:16,630 I just love this. 23 00:01:17,270 --> 00:01:22,499 She believes self care, even in the smallest form of a smile, is activism. 24 00:01:22,580 --> 00:01:27,060 Currently, Linus is completing a Creative Honors Thesis in collaboration 25 00:01:27,060 --> 00:01:33,030 with the Department of African and African-American Studies and the 26 00:01:33,030 --> 00:01:35,430 Institute for the Diversity in the Arts. 27 00:01:35,824 --> 00:01:38,554 Thank you for joining me today, Brittany. 28 00:01:38,895 --> 00:01:40,685 Thank you for having me. 29 00:01:40,925 --> 00:01:42,774 I really appreciate you reaching out. 30 00:01:42,774 --> 00:01:44,274 I'm so excited to be here. 31 00:01:44,564 --> 00:01:46,724 Oh, I am just thrilled. 32 00:01:46,724 --> 00:01:56,395 So Brittany created a project portfolio in Digication that I just happened to stumble 33 00:01:56,395 --> 00:02:04,775 across through my work with Stanford, and I literally gasped when I opened 34 00:02:04,905 --> 00:02:09,245 it, you know, it's titled Visual Bodies. 35 00:02:09,294 --> 00:02:14,135 I saw that right in the thumbnail in Stanford's Portfolio Directory 36 00:02:14,135 --> 00:02:17,664 on Digication and I was like, Ooh, what is this about? 37 00:02:18,074 --> 00:02:22,054 And literally was like, Oh, Wow. 38 00:02:22,055 --> 00:02:22,424 Wow. 39 00:02:22,704 --> 00:02:26,374 So, I had to track Brittany down. 40 00:02:28,285 --> 00:02:29,614 I appreciate it, by the way. 41 00:02:29,645 --> 00:02:36,725 That was And I was so pleased that she was excited to hear from me. 42 00:02:38,990 --> 00:02:42,380 So here we are, finally having a chance to talk. 43 00:02:42,769 --> 00:02:48,070 And Brittany, I just thought it would be great for our listeners, for you to 44 00:02:48,070 --> 00:02:53,340 just describe a little bit about how you found yourself at Stanford University 45 00:02:53,350 --> 00:02:58,079 and talking a little bit about the things that you're studying and, and why you're 46 00:02:58,109 --> 00:03:02,310 so passionate about what, you know, what you're pursuing at Stanford and 47 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:04,320 also just what you're doing as a person. 48 00:03:04,370 --> 00:03:05,770 I just think it's remarkable. 49 00:03:06,415 --> 00:03:08,075 Thank you so much. 50 00:03:08,495 --> 00:03:14,815 Um, it has been quite the journey, not only being a student at Stanford, but 51 00:03:14,845 --> 00:03:17,605 the entire process of becoming one. 52 00:03:17,925 --> 00:03:23,845 And I'll be honest, when I was a senior in high school, and it was, I think 53 00:03:23,845 --> 00:03:29,105 it was around August, that was when All of our teachers and our counselors 54 00:03:29,105 --> 00:03:33,695 were advocating for us to consider what university are you going to apply to? 55 00:03:33,725 --> 00:03:35,315 Did you do your SAT and ACTs? 56 00:03:36,885 --> 00:03:42,435 Um, and I just didn't know where I wanted to go specifically. 57 00:03:43,205 --> 00:03:48,275 And so it was just weighing down on my mind a little bit. 58 00:03:48,845 --> 00:03:54,265 And I remember my aunt, my Auntie Vivian, she came over to my house. 59 00:03:55,174 --> 00:03:56,315 She sat me down. 60 00:03:56,315 --> 00:03:58,475 We were having a conversation catching up. 61 00:03:59,135 --> 00:04:02,575 And she asked, you know, what is, 62 00:04:02,945 --> 00:04:08,525 when you go to university, what is biggest thing, the biggest takeaway 63 00:04:08,564 --> 00:04:10,135 that you want to have for yourself? 64 00:04:11,074 --> 00:04:14,535 And I told her, you know what, I just want to transform. 65 00:04:14,744 --> 00:04:17,444 I want to go from a larvae to a butterfly. 66 00:04:17,494 --> 00:04:21,245 I don't know what institution is going to get me there. 67 00:04:21,715 --> 00:04:23,735 I don't know how I'm going to get there. 68 00:04:23,735 --> 00:04:26,005 But that metamorphosis. 69 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:27,979 I want to experience that. 70 00:04:28,660 --> 00:04:32,300 And she said that there are two schools that will allow you to go 71 00:04:32,830 --> 00:04:34,530 through this transformative journey. 72 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,060 There's one on the East Coast and there's one on the West Coast. 73 00:04:40,699 --> 00:04:44,999 There's Harvard and then there's Stanford. 74 00:04:45,349 --> 00:04:50,219 Stanford That was something that I hadn't necessarily put 75 00:04:50,250 --> 00:04:53,180 in a lot of thought to consider. 76 00:04:53,919 --> 00:04:58,770 So I remember going on Google, I pulled up Stanford University, the website, 77 00:04:58,770 --> 00:05:01,380 and I was just perusing the homepage. 78 00:05:01,740 --> 00:05:05,649 And I was just like, of course, every website and every school is going 79 00:05:05,689 --> 00:05:11,265 to have Short, concise information, all the beautiful pictures of the 80 00:05:11,265 --> 00:05:13,365 campus and then in the classrooms. 81 00:05:14,174 --> 00:05:16,244 I'm looking for the dirty stuff. 82 00:05:16,294 --> 00:05:21,604 I'm looking for what is going on in the maker spaces, the artist spaces. 83 00:05:21,965 --> 00:05:24,874 I want to know really what Stanford is all about. 84 00:05:25,675 --> 00:05:30,705 And that's when I discovered Stanford University's Design School. 85 00:05:31,035 --> 00:05:31,565 Yes. 86 00:05:32,115 --> 00:05:37,914 And I remembered on literally on the website, when you scroll down, it 87 00:05:37,914 --> 00:05:41,434 said, we are here to get stuff done. 88 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:44,240 And to get stuff done creatively. 89 00:05:44,690 --> 00:05:49,730 And so you see students in the lab with their goggles, like laser 90 00:05:49,730 --> 00:05:51,950 cutting acrylic and with wood. 91 00:05:52,220 --> 00:05:52,280 Yeah. 92 00:05:52,280 --> 00:05:57,500 And in the classrooms with sticky notes and putting it on like makeshift cardboard 93 00:05:57,500 --> 00:05:59,180 boxes that they're turning into robots. 94 00:05:59,180 --> 00:06:00,620 It was so cool. 95 00:06:00,650 --> 00:06:00,800 Yeah. 96 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:02,270 You know, I've heard and I was like. 97 00:06:02,664 --> 00:06:05,484 That's the school I want to go to. 98 00:06:05,765 --> 00:06:07,715 I totally, I mean, I get the appeal. 99 00:06:07,895 --> 00:06:11,944 I didn't want the polished kind of view or perspective. 100 00:06:11,945 --> 00:06:14,625 I wanted to see the work that was being done. 101 00:06:15,594 --> 00:06:18,395 And that was what led me to apply to Stanford University. 102 00:06:19,245 --> 00:06:25,315 Once I applied, honestly, I'm going to be so honest, that one sit down that I did to 103 00:06:25,315 --> 00:06:27,355 just kind of see what Stanford was about. 104 00:06:27,395 --> 00:06:31,175 That was the only one that I did because I realized, oh my gosh, Stanford has 105 00:06:31,185 --> 00:06:35,234 like a full percent acceptance rate. 106 00:06:35,235 --> 00:06:35,855 Logistic. 107 00:06:35,905 --> 00:06:36,434 Little competitive. 108 00:06:36,435 --> 00:06:41,044 I was just like, well, you know, maybe we shouldn't really 109 00:06:41,044 --> 00:06:42,915 get our expectations too high. 110 00:06:43,415 --> 00:06:44,805 Lo and behold, I got in. 111 00:06:44,815 --> 00:06:48,895 And so that was, That was amazing, an amazing experience. 112 00:06:49,345 --> 00:06:55,185 So when I finally landed and I could see for myself the pictures of the campus 113 00:06:55,575 --> 00:06:59,364 that were on the website versus what I was seeing and feeling and touching 114 00:06:59,364 --> 00:07:03,905 in real life, it was astounding. 115 00:07:04,405 --> 00:07:10,395 But what I was really excited for was the student experiences that 116 00:07:10,395 --> 00:07:12,784 were on the design school's website. 117 00:07:13,179 --> 00:07:17,969 So it's my first day of classes and I just so happen to enroll 118 00:07:18,010 --> 00:07:19,540 in a black studies course. 119 00:07:20,430 --> 00:07:28,515 It was one of those, those courses that I have always had an interest in, I either 120 00:07:28,565 --> 00:07:32,664 just did not have the time to take them, or they just didn't fit in my schedule. 121 00:07:33,044 --> 00:07:33,925 And I said, you know what? 122 00:07:35,055 --> 00:07:36,055 I'm gonna take this class for me. 123 00:07:36,945 --> 00:07:39,775 I never looked for this CS degree. 124 00:07:39,794 --> 00:07:45,665 They're saying I have to take introduction to Python and all of 125 00:07:45,665 --> 00:07:47,285 these different programming courses. 126 00:07:47,565 --> 00:07:52,285 But this particular literature class, I want to take it. 127 00:07:53,235 --> 00:07:57,895 And I remember enrolling in it and it was one of the most transformative 128 00:07:58,085 --> 00:08:00,354 classes that I have ever taken. 129 00:08:00,865 --> 00:08:02,915 What was beautiful about it was. 130 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:07,500 I saw the student experiences that were on the Stanford 131 00:08:07,510 --> 00:08:10,000 University Design School's website. 132 00:08:10,419 --> 00:08:12,589 People in the lab making things. 133 00:08:12,849 --> 00:08:14,830 It translated into that classroom. 134 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:18,769 We were not only reading about Black scholars, right? 135 00:08:18,980 --> 00:08:23,040 We're not only reading their speeches or looking at their autobiographies, 136 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:27,460 we were put in conversation with them through our artistry. 137 00:08:27,799 --> 00:08:32,799 And so we were invited to use different mediums for our art, graphic 138 00:08:32,799 --> 00:08:39,145 design, web development, and even stimulating conversations around Okay, 139 00:08:39,145 --> 00:08:43,875 so what, what is the rhetorical use of graphic design when you put it 140 00:08:43,895 --> 00:08:48,335 on a website or when you're trying to invoke some level of activism, 141 00:08:48,555 --> 00:08:52,605 but your only mode of communication is Instagram with other people? 142 00:08:52,934 --> 00:08:56,194 How can you leverage the technologies that are available? 143 00:08:56,410 --> 00:09:02,370 To cultivate and tell your own story and not only your own story, but a Black story 144 00:09:02,370 --> 00:09:04,860 that is in conversation with other people. 145 00:09:05,059 --> 00:09:10,009 So you can build up this global community that digitality 146 00:09:10,089 --> 00:09:11,960 allows for you to cultivate. 147 00:09:12,820 --> 00:09:17,610 It was a stimulating conversation because I had never viewed technology 148 00:09:17,610 --> 00:09:19,560 as more than a means to an end. 149 00:09:19,610 --> 00:09:20,960 I didn't view it as an art. 150 00:09:21,910 --> 00:09:23,590 Such a transformative experience. 151 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:31,199 Um, and from there, my interest in graphic design, web development, 152 00:09:31,615 --> 00:09:34,135 It kind of blossomed a little bit. 153 00:09:34,145 --> 00:09:39,235 I was like, wait, wait, I can do so much. 154 00:09:39,285 --> 00:09:42,235 I have so many tools at my disposal. 155 00:09:42,724 --> 00:09:47,435 And most importantly, I'm in a space that values experimentation. 156 00:09:47,724 --> 00:09:51,815 I'm in a space where the work and the readings that I'm doing, they 157 00:09:51,815 --> 00:09:53,965 don't want to see the readings. 158 00:09:53,965 --> 00:09:56,465 They want to see how the readings impacted me. 159 00:09:56,815 --> 00:09:57,025 Right. 160 00:09:57,025 --> 00:09:57,175 Yeah. 161 00:09:58,210 --> 00:10:03,890 With this in mind, I can cultivate a formula for myself that allows me to 162 00:10:03,890 --> 00:10:10,050 develop a user experience that imparts the same feelings that I had as a student 163 00:10:10,310 --> 00:10:12,949 onto those as viewers, as audiences. 164 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:21,430 So for you to come to me, And like, that was what happened with my first ever in 165 00:10:21,430 --> 00:10:24,110 the Digication website, Visible Bodies. 166 00:10:24,130 --> 00:10:29,549 That was literally my first ever stab at web development, graphic 167 00:10:29,550 --> 00:10:31,299 design in an academic space. 168 00:10:32,579 --> 00:10:37,900 It was so affirming to the feelings that I harbored in my heart at that 169 00:10:37,900 --> 00:10:43,209 time as a student, as a freshman at Stanford, who didn't really know 170 00:10:43,219 --> 00:10:47,039 what I was doing, but I had these intuitions and these interests in mind. 171 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:58,819 Um, and so I just, I think Love out there because it's exactly 172 00:10:58,820 --> 00:11:02,300 platforms like these that allow me the space of so many other students. 173 00:11:02,719 --> 00:11:05,310 So just deeply reflect on how far we've come. 174 00:11:05,730 --> 00:11:09,420 And so that's literally starting also with this question is just 175 00:11:09,420 --> 00:11:12,460 allowing me to see how far I've come and where I started from. 176 00:11:12,839 --> 00:11:13,529 Yeah. 177 00:11:13,670 --> 00:11:18,869 Oh, well, thank you so much for this introduction and. 178 00:11:19,260 --> 00:11:26,790 It was immediately apparent to me when looking at the project that you created 179 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:35,190 that you approached it as this kind of new medium, you know, almost like, you know, 180 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:43,179 someone who hasn't touched a paint set before or hasn't used watercolor pencil. 181 00:11:43,199 --> 00:11:48,659 You know, you really approached it with this kind of mindset of exploration 182 00:11:49,430 --> 00:12:01,410 and Just beautifully put in different imagery at a scale that just brought 183 00:12:01,420 --> 00:12:04,130 me in as a viewer right away. 184 00:12:04,130 --> 00:12:08,670 You incorporated video in interesting ways. 185 00:12:08,670 --> 00:12:11,049 You had music. 186 00:12:11,630 --> 00:12:18,760 that one could listen to right on the introduction as you're reading. 187 00:12:18,850 --> 00:12:27,550 I mean it was just so thoughtfully crafted and I really appreciated the 188 00:12:27,550 --> 00:12:33,560 kind of scale that you were using and the intentional use of the kind of 189 00:12:34,395 --> 00:12:39,855 Parallax and squinting kind of options that one has because you're just kind 190 00:12:39,855 --> 00:12:47,555 of revealing these different layers and, and parts of your kind of story of 191 00:12:47,555 --> 00:12:50,435 the project and why it's so meaningful. 192 00:12:50,974 --> 00:12:54,395 So it's really an experience as you're going through it. 193 00:12:54,425 --> 00:13:01,215 It's not one that would, One would kind of consider as a traditional sort of 194 00:13:01,305 --> 00:13:07,085 website, or even what one would describe as a traditional kind of portfolio that 195 00:13:07,085 --> 00:13:09,685 people are using Digication for often. 196 00:13:10,410 --> 00:13:15,620 It's definitely a portfolio, a project oriented portfolio, but you really 197 00:13:15,670 --> 00:13:22,350 pushed kind of the boundaries of what the technology could do and got under the hood 198 00:13:22,350 --> 00:13:28,759 and clearly spent a lot of time exploring all of the different setting options, you 199 00:13:28,759 --> 00:13:31,600 know, design capabilities that were there. 200 00:13:31,630 --> 00:13:34,330 And it was so exciting to see. 201 00:13:34,870 --> 00:13:38,780 Um, so you were talking a little bit about how you kind of just 202 00:13:39,015 --> 00:13:41,305 Happened to come into this course. 203 00:13:41,334 --> 00:13:47,785 Could you tell us a little bit about how you were introduced to the project? 204 00:13:47,865 --> 00:13:50,694 How you discovered Digication? 205 00:13:50,704 --> 00:13:55,704 And maybe, you know, I, I'm talking about how there are all of these 206 00:13:55,705 --> 00:13:59,395 different layers, but what was the process like for you as you were 207 00:13:59,415 --> 00:14:03,925 kind of building this and what was it that you really wanted to express? 208 00:14:04,335 --> 00:14:05,345 Oh my gosh. 209 00:14:05,355 --> 00:14:06,585 So I'm going to start. 210 00:14:06,990 --> 00:14:12,810 With a very, I would say, universal experience as a student. 211 00:14:13,680 --> 00:14:20,180 I was a freshman, it was my second quarter at Stanford, and I had started 212 00:14:20,180 --> 00:14:25,559 that quarter under the belief that I was still going to be pre med. 213 00:14:25,690 --> 00:14:27,180 Oh wow, okay, yes. 214 00:14:28,039 --> 00:14:30,240 I was taking this chemistry class. 215 00:14:31,689 --> 00:14:37,140 We had one of our first quizzes, and I'm not going to, I'm, I'm not kidding. 216 00:14:37,140 --> 00:14:41,110 I literally got a 40 percent and I unenrolled from the class that same day. 217 00:14:43,030 --> 00:14:43,470 That same day. 218 00:14:43,919 --> 00:14:44,229 Not meant to be. 219 00:14:44,230 --> 00:14:45,439 Yes. 220 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:47,559 I was just like, no, that's just how it is. 221 00:14:47,990 --> 00:14:51,210 And I remember because, um, the quiz. 222 00:14:52,620 --> 00:14:58,620 The grades had released, I think it was a day or so before the last day 223 00:14:58,650 --> 00:15:01,070 where you could finalize your schedule. 224 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:03,329 So I was desperately in need of a class. 225 00:15:04,155 --> 00:15:04,465 Yeah. 226 00:15:04,505 --> 00:15:07,095 I just was like, I don't know where to go. 227 00:15:10,165 --> 00:15:13,724 So I went on Stanford's catalog, it's called Explore Courses. 228 00:15:14,595 --> 00:15:18,914 And I saw that there was this course offered, it was called Visible 229 00:15:18,914 --> 00:15:21,945 Bodies, Black female African authors. 230 00:15:22,089 --> 00:15:24,319 And the Politics of Publishing in Africa. 231 00:15:24,689 --> 00:15:27,660 That was the complete name of the course. 232 00:15:27,720 --> 00:15:32,200 And it falls under this category of an Introductory Seminars Program. 233 00:15:32,940 --> 00:15:35,319 I was like, what is that? 234 00:15:35,319 --> 00:15:36,650 I mean, this class looks cool. 235 00:15:37,449 --> 00:15:39,599 What is an introductory seminar? 236 00:15:42,185 --> 00:15:47,345 And so introductory seminars at Stanford are exploratory courses 237 00:15:47,375 --> 00:15:54,694 cultivated by all disciplines across the campus in order to advertise, 238 00:15:54,715 --> 00:15:56,824 right, the discipline to students. 239 00:15:56,885 --> 00:15:57,744 It's a test run. 240 00:15:58,165 --> 00:16:00,354 They purposefully make it interesting. 241 00:16:00,719 --> 00:16:05,459 Fun, inviting, um, they center, a lot of them center the arts in 242 00:16:05,479 --> 00:16:11,320 order to allow students to kind of get an insider view into what this 243 00:16:11,320 --> 00:16:17,569 discipline could entail for them beyond the academics, beyond the theory. 244 00:16:17,829 --> 00:16:19,339 Now it's time for us to work. 245 00:16:19,339 --> 00:16:22,859 So you have an idea of what you will be doing as a student and not 246 00:16:22,859 --> 00:16:23,869 what you're going to be reading. 247 00:16:24,569 --> 00:16:25,870 I love the premise. 248 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:29,520 The title of the course was so exhilarating. 249 00:16:30,209 --> 00:16:36,689 And so I sent an email to the lead instructor, Joel Cabrita, and I 250 00:16:36,690 --> 00:16:38,370 was like, I know it's kind of late. 251 00:16:41,310 --> 00:16:45,830 I am in desperate need of a course, but, and I just so happened to stumble 252 00:16:45,830 --> 00:16:48,719 upon your class that you're teaching. 253 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:50,120 Visible bodies. 254 00:16:50,300 --> 00:16:51,850 I want to be a part of it. 255 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:53,650 Could you send me the syllabus? 256 00:16:54,420 --> 00:16:58,060 Joel got back to me and Joel was like, here's a syllabus. 257 00:16:58,500 --> 00:16:59,569 I enrolled you in the class. 258 00:16:59,570 --> 00:17:03,639 I love that at it. 259 00:17:03,639 --> 00:17:06,109 And we're in the course now. 260 00:17:06,579 --> 00:17:11,440 Joel is going over or doing a comprehensive review of the syllabus. 261 00:17:11,770 --> 00:17:17,520 And I see On the syllabus, there is this portfolio presentation component 262 00:17:17,790 --> 00:17:23,100 that is not just for our particular cohort, but it is across the entire 263 00:17:23,130 --> 00:17:24,699 Introductory Seminars program. 264 00:17:24,790 --> 00:17:29,140 So you could be in the chemistry department, human biology, um, 265 00:17:29,229 --> 00:17:31,150 African and African-American studies. 266 00:17:31,430 --> 00:17:37,619 They work literally cultivating a symposium for you to present your work. 267 00:17:38,429 --> 00:17:42,889 To all of the students who happened to take introductory seminars 268 00:17:42,889 --> 00:17:44,460 courses just like you that quarter. 269 00:17:44,540 --> 00:17:44,909 Yeah. 270 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:48,010 And the tool that we were introduced to was Digication. 271 00:17:48,620 --> 00:17:55,859 So as we were working through and cultivating our, our experiences within 272 00:17:55,859 --> 00:18:00,519 the course, um, and specifically for Visible Bodies, what we were asked to do, 273 00:18:00,550 --> 00:18:05,590 our literal one assignment was to build and envision our own publishing house. 274 00:18:05,965 --> 00:18:12,005 And we did everything from the pitching to, um, the financial, logistical 275 00:18:12,005 --> 00:18:15,205 planning to the business strategy. 276 00:18:15,205 --> 00:18:16,994 How are we going to market this? 277 00:18:17,255 --> 00:18:22,414 From there, we actually partnered up with Black female authors across the world. 278 00:18:22,655 --> 00:18:27,885 So we had their oversight, we were documenting everything, and eventually we 279 00:18:27,885 --> 00:18:33,554 were invited by the actual introductory seminars program to further extend. 280 00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:38,590 What we were doing or cultivating within the class beyond, I mean, 281 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:42,879 really beyond that to start thinking about, okay, if this publishing house 282 00:18:42,879 --> 00:18:48,099 was real, how would you compensate people who say, submit their work? 283 00:18:48,250 --> 00:18:53,490 How would you, what is the community engagement component of this experience? 284 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:58,280 And could you share these conversations that you're having with these 285 00:18:58,310 --> 00:18:59,929 authors and with these publishers? 286 00:19:00,110 --> 00:19:03,100 Could you make that information accessible to others? 287 00:19:03,470 --> 00:19:09,230 And so that was the utility, or rather that is where the utility of 288 00:19:09,230 --> 00:19:11,329 the portfolio kind of took shape. 289 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:17,340 It was this key presentation component that I was introduced to as a student 290 00:19:17,419 --> 00:19:18,889 from the introductory seminars. 291 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:22,560 So we are given this website. 292 00:19:23,250 --> 00:19:25,879 I'm perusing it and I'm like, wait, I don't, I mean, I haven't 293 00:19:25,889 --> 00:19:28,069 really done web development before. 294 00:19:28,069 --> 00:19:29,470 I mean, honestly, I was scared. 295 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:32,190 Like at that point, I hadn't coded ever. 296 00:19:32,550 --> 00:19:37,730 So I was just like, I don't know what to expect when I log onto this platform. 297 00:19:38,190 --> 00:19:42,529 And I remembered, um, Joel came to me. 298 00:19:42,889 --> 00:19:44,590 And Joel was like, it's okay. 299 00:19:45,125 --> 00:19:49,865 Because everything is listed out for you and how you interact with the 300 00:19:49,865 --> 00:19:53,854 page and how you want to lay it out is literally on the left hand side. 301 00:19:54,095 --> 00:19:58,515 So whatever, say it's the font, you want to add an image, you 302 00:19:58,515 --> 00:20:02,924 want to add a description, you want to add alt text, it is there. 303 00:20:02,955 --> 00:20:04,525 It is an option for you. 304 00:20:05,065 --> 00:20:08,985 And that opened my eyes, right? 305 00:20:09,305 --> 00:20:13,590 Because I was able to consider things that I hadn't even considered. 306 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:18,059 When you're allowed to upload a file, it'll tell you the type 307 00:20:18,069 --> 00:20:19,610 of files you can upload, right? 308 00:20:20,010 --> 00:20:22,219 And with Digication, it did more than that. 309 00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:25,139 It showed me the icon, it gave me a little description. 310 00:20:25,795 --> 00:20:35,325 And so I, the idea of adding like a GIF or, or GIF, um, memes or adding photos 311 00:20:35,325 --> 00:20:40,785 and pictures and videos, I wouldn't have thought of those things if the option 312 00:20:40,835 --> 00:20:42,644 on the interface was not available. 313 00:20:42,865 --> 00:20:46,515 It was almost like the platform was giving me permission. 314 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:50,290 To imagine things beyond what I thought I could imagine. 315 00:20:50,899 --> 00:20:53,450 And so that's exactly what I did. 316 00:20:53,730 --> 00:20:58,030 I was literally just, as you said, the curiosity in my mind, how could I 317 00:20:58,100 --> 00:21:01,700 represent this concept using imagery? 318 00:21:01,860 --> 00:21:04,569 How could I represent this conversation? 319 00:21:04,855 --> 00:21:11,605 Using a video, what is the value of a multimedia approach 320 00:21:11,875 --> 00:21:14,475 to this particular process? 321 00:21:14,605 --> 00:21:19,695 And how will it aid in my storytelling such that when I step away from the 322 00:21:19,695 --> 00:21:24,415 website, someone who is interacting with it will still have that same 323 00:21:24,415 --> 00:21:27,085 impression as if I am still in the room. 324 00:21:27,525 --> 00:21:30,275 And that was the utility of Digication. 325 00:21:30,515 --> 00:21:34,435 It was the fact that Digication just through the sheer... 326 00:21:34,625 --> 00:21:37,350 I love the way that it is like, format it. 327 00:21:37,389 --> 00:21:38,949 Everything is just there for you. 328 00:21:39,580 --> 00:21:43,010 You are given permission to be imaginative. 329 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:46,129 Oh, well, thank you for that description. 330 00:21:46,139 --> 00:21:51,609 And I mean, I can tell you from my perspective, you know, the whole team 331 00:21:51,609 --> 00:21:59,149 here put so much thought and, you know, we want that for the users, right? 332 00:21:59,169 --> 00:22:04,800 We want to be able to not just provide them with a tool, but provide 333 00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:14,395 them with kind of some openness and opportunity to explore and, you know, 334 00:22:14,395 --> 00:22:19,635 we're kind of quietly suggesting different options that are available. 335 00:22:19,645 --> 00:22:24,894 So, for those that are coming into this with, you know, this feeling of, oh gosh, 336 00:22:24,895 --> 00:22:28,590 you know, I've never, Created a website. 337 00:22:28,689 --> 00:22:34,320 Um, I, I don't know what a portfolio is, you know, I have some ideas 338 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:39,259 about this project that I'm creating, but how do I express that? 339 00:22:39,259 --> 00:22:43,689 You know, we're, we're hoping to kind of lead users through that by making 340 00:22:43,689 --> 00:22:50,199 those tools easy to get to and kind of presenting it throughout the experience 341 00:22:50,199 --> 00:22:51,899 of navigating through the platform. 342 00:22:51,899 --> 00:22:54,349 So I, I appreciate that. 343 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:56,199 Description very much. 344 00:22:56,340 --> 00:23:03,149 And it sounds like, you know, when I reached out to you that this experience 345 00:23:03,149 --> 00:23:08,309 that you had in this course and developing this project really opened up, you 346 00:23:08,319 --> 00:23:10,049 know, it was transformative for you. 347 00:23:10,059 --> 00:23:13,879 It kind of opened up some new avenues for you. 348 00:23:13,879 --> 00:23:19,520 I mentioned earlier that now as part of your bio that you really describe 349 00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:24,599 yourself as a UI Designer now, and I would like to hear a little bit about 350 00:23:25,075 --> 00:23:32,015 You know, what, what that experience was like and how you've kind of moved forward 351 00:23:32,015 --> 00:23:33,754 from that to what you're doing now. 352 00:23:34,385 --> 00:23:35,405 Yes. 353 00:23:35,475 --> 00:23:36,645 Oh my gosh. 354 00:23:37,034 --> 00:23:46,895 Digication played a huge, a huge part in that because after I had made 355 00:23:47,244 --> 00:23:53,624 that and that portfolio, um, I was reached out to by some of the heads 356 00:23:53,674 --> 00:23:55,414 of introductory seminars program. 357 00:23:55,925 --> 00:24:00,795 And they said, we want to bring you on as one of our employees. 358 00:24:01,225 --> 00:24:03,355 You're going to help us teach others. 359 00:24:03,740 --> 00:24:05,090 How to do what you did. 360 00:24:05,300 --> 00:24:06,870 So my first on campus job. 361 00:24:10,120 --> 00:24:11,960 My first on campus job. 362 00:24:12,399 --> 00:24:19,200 Was literally being sort of like this student advisor on the platform, kind 363 00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:23,870 of showcasing and helping students translate what they have going on in 364 00:24:23,870 --> 00:24:29,370 the classroom, what they want and desire to kind of cultivate that lies within 365 00:24:29,370 --> 00:24:34,770 their mind, and then putting it on a platform in a way that is streamlined. 366 00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:38,090 So it tells a story from the way that it looks. 367 00:24:38,580 --> 00:24:43,420 The type of images, text that is used, and then how you actually 368 00:24:43,430 --> 00:24:44,800 navigate through the platform. 369 00:24:44,850 --> 00:24:49,950 It is you, it, it introduced me to design in a different way. 370 00:24:50,750 --> 00:24:55,854 From Digication, I really started thinking about the value of digital. 371 00:24:55,995 --> 00:25:00,865 Digital Storytelling and looking at web development as sort of this 372 00:25:01,225 --> 00:25:04,155 soft launch into the discipline. 373 00:25:04,565 --> 00:25:11,044 And so I found myself literally in every course since then, every course making 374 00:25:11,074 --> 00:25:16,160 some flyer Making a little typing up a little code and presenting it to my 375 00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:20,500 professors like, oh, this is what I learned in the classroom This is the the 376 00:25:20,540 --> 00:25:26,180 platform that I'm using and this is where I started from and they would have like 377 00:25:26,180 --> 00:25:35,220 that base eventually I had an opportunity to meet with, um, here it's called the 378 00:25:35,220 --> 00:25:37,460 Center for Spatial and Textual Analysis. 379 00:25:37,869 --> 00:25:41,149 I like to call it the Center of Digital Humanities. 380 00:25:41,369 --> 00:25:42,450 It's a beautiful space. 381 00:25:42,500 --> 00:25:42,870 I love it. 382 00:25:43,980 --> 00:25:44,559 So great. 383 00:25:45,250 --> 00:25:52,975 Um, And there, they just kind of helped me craft and polish the ideas that I had. 384 00:25:53,175 --> 00:25:55,205 And so that's really all it's been. 385 00:25:55,524 --> 00:26:00,434 Digication launched me into there and now it was kind of like, I'm hammering it in. 386 00:26:00,674 --> 00:26:04,879 Like, it was, I guess the way that I would describe it is, Digication 387 00:26:04,879 --> 00:26:08,060 was like the clay that I had and I was like, now I was like molding it. 388 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,189 And now like as a sculptor, I'm cultivating the skills 389 00:26:11,199 --> 00:26:12,889 so you can see the details. 390 00:26:12,909 --> 00:26:16,100 You can see the stone becoming skin. 391 00:26:16,630 --> 00:26:19,319 It was such a beautiful experience. 392 00:26:20,069 --> 00:26:23,929 So now I'm entering my junior to senior year. 393 00:26:23,949 --> 00:26:27,000 I have to start thinking about my thesis. 394 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:27,780 Yeah. 395 00:26:27,790 --> 00:26:30,110 For African and African-American Studies. 396 00:26:30,790 --> 00:26:34,750 And I wanted to utilize web design and web development. 397 00:26:35,465 --> 00:26:41,945 Because it is a space of personal creation, right? 398 00:26:41,965 --> 00:26:48,135 There is no set way to design, so long as you understand the guidelines, the bylaws 399 00:26:48,485 --> 00:26:50,335 for the interface that you're using. 400 00:26:50,875 --> 00:26:56,774 And the thing about it is, My job as a Black Studies scholar is to push those 401 00:26:56,774 --> 00:27:01,834 boundaries, is to rethink them, is to reshape them, and to imagine beyond 402 00:27:01,844 --> 00:27:06,334 the borders that are superimposed by, say, the technological limits 403 00:27:06,334 --> 00:27:07,994 that we interact with every day. 404 00:27:08,205 --> 00:27:13,310 It could be I mean the face, the literally the dimensions of the screen 405 00:27:13,310 --> 00:27:14,610 that you're looking at right now. 406 00:27:15,540 --> 00:27:17,490 So I'm thinking about my thesis. 407 00:27:17,780 --> 00:27:25,580 I go to my advisor, Michelle Elam, and I am really interested And graphic 408 00:27:25,580 --> 00:27:30,470 design, web development, and this notion of pleasure activism, because something 409 00:27:30,470 --> 00:27:35,269 that I was intrigued by was that I would design something, and it was probably 410 00:27:35,269 --> 00:27:37,689 the most maximalist version of it. 411 00:27:37,690 --> 00:27:44,380 The whole screen, and it has so many visuals that are popping out, the 412 00:27:44,380 --> 00:27:48,780 colors are saturated, there's texture, and people will feel good about it, 413 00:27:49,010 --> 00:27:56,480 which ran contrary to Every other kind of platform design expert that had 414 00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:59,000 that I had interacted with as of late. 415 00:27:59,669 --> 00:28:05,429 And I wanted to cultivate a thesis that kind of honored that because that's the 416 00:28:05,439 --> 00:28:11,240 style of web development that doesn't necessarily It's not, I would say 417 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:14,000 it's not in the mainstream as of late. 418 00:28:14,090 --> 00:28:17,189 It exists in very limited spaces. 419 00:28:18,860 --> 00:28:22,810 And so that's when Michelle Elam was like, you can do that. 420 00:28:23,169 --> 00:28:25,070 That's called a creative honors thesis. 421 00:28:25,090 --> 00:28:25,769 You can do that. 422 00:28:26,709 --> 00:28:28,479 So that's what I'm doing. 423 00:28:28,899 --> 00:28:34,120 Um, and right now I am not only focusing on web development. 424 00:28:34,409 --> 00:28:36,760 I'm focusing also on video games. 425 00:28:37,245 --> 00:28:40,785 Because that's one of the liminal spaces where maximalism 426 00:28:41,335 --> 00:28:43,375 actually is deeply valued. 427 00:28:43,535 --> 00:28:48,294 You're adding character to not only the interface, the platform, the brand, 428 00:28:48,505 --> 00:28:55,355 but you are adding character to you as not only a user, but as a player. 429 00:28:55,624 --> 00:28:59,045 It's very multi dimensional, multi faceted. 430 00:28:59,565 --> 00:29:04,515 And so, Just to hone in on the story a little bit more, I'm 431 00:29:04,555 --> 00:29:06,495 interested in web design development. 432 00:29:06,525 --> 00:29:10,865 I'm interested in how websites and the way that they're designed make you feel. 433 00:29:11,215 --> 00:29:16,145 And that translates into so many different digital phenomena, especially video games. 434 00:29:16,745 --> 00:29:18,425 And that is literally my thesis. 435 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:25,290 How video game changes, right, as a user, that are deliberate, that are personally 436 00:29:25,290 --> 00:29:33,790 decided, communally negotiated, and generally a human yes to me feeling good. 437 00:29:34,160 --> 00:29:36,524 How can video game changes be good? 438 00:29:36,525 --> 00:29:38,525 Be a pleasure activist tool. 439 00:29:39,215 --> 00:29:43,735 And no one really talks about it that much from that particular standpoint, 440 00:29:43,995 --> 00:29:49,325 how oppression, right, from the borders that it's simply imposed to the dominant 441 00:29:49,335 --> 00:29:54,785 narratives that exist, how those particular narratives, the first thing 442 00:29:55,225 --> 00:29:57,555 that is under attack is how you feel. 443 00:29:57,830 --> 00:29:59,530 Especially when you're feeling good. 444 00:29:59,940 --> 00:30:01,450 So that was my thesis. 445 00:30:02,070 --> 00:30:06,710 And I'm using, I'm actually going to format it as a virtual magazine 446 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:10,670 in the format of Digication, the interface, the way that it has you 447 00:30:10,670 --> 00:30:13,150 scroll down, that's exactly right. 448 00:30:13,290 --> 00:30:17,960 It's simple, but it, it allows the most minimal interaction with the 449 00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:21,960 interface but that gives you more time to just see what is going on. 450 00:30:22,650 --> 00:30:28,240 And from there, so I'm cultivating my thesis into a magazine, which will 451 00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:32,950 then be showcased on a website that I'm building, I mean, for myself. 452 00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:37,870 And it was just beautiful to see the sheer evolution. 453 00:30:38,330 --> 00:30:38,890 First. 454 00:30:39,230 --> 00:30:43,000 I mean, I had no idea, no experience coding websites. 455 00:30:43,270 --> 00:30:44,760 I didn't know HTML. 456 00:30:45,040 --> 00:30:46,390 I didn't know what CSS was. 457 00:30:46,420 --> 00:30:47,710 I was like, what is JavaScript? 458 00:30:48,190 --> 00:30:50,860 I just wanted to get into the design process. 459 00:30:51,100 --> 00:30:53,180 Digication was a useful tool there. 460 00:30:53,380 --> 00:30:57,580 And eventually through the courses, through my own personal exploration 461 00:30:57,580 --> 00:31:03,010 and challenges, I was able to expand my thinking and start looking at ways 462 00:31:03,010 --> 00:31:04,560 in which I can start cultivating. 463 00:31:04,780 --> 00:31:05,960 Those technical skills. 464 00:31:06,180 --> 00:31:10,960 And so now I'm at the end of my journey at Stanford where I now 465 00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:12,300 have those technical skills. 466 00:31:12,340 --> 00:31:13,480 I'm putting them to work. 467 00:31:13,490 --> 00:31:18,250 I'm building the website from scratch and the experiences that I had, 468 00:31:18,290 --> 00:31:25,140 even the very first one That I used, Visible Bodies, that project is all 469 00:31:25,140 --> 00:31:29,820 informing the way in which I design and structure my thesis as of today. 470 00:31:30,140 --> 00:31:33,780 And so it is just like, it's literally like the culmination 471 00:31:34,330 --> 00:31:35,320 and it should be, right? 472 00:31:35,320 --> 00:31:39,700 The culmination of my journey as an undergraduate student at Stanford. 473 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:44,060 And it really starts with Digication at the front and center. 474 00:31:45,530 --> 00:31:49,550 Here's a preview of what's coming up next in part two of my conversation 475 00:31:49,550 --> 00:31:53,220 with Brittany Linus, a recent graduate of Stanford University. 476 00:31:53,370 --> 00:31:56,460 I got to think about myself and my experience and how 477 00:31:56,460 --> 00:31:57,230 I'm going to translate that. 478 00:31:57,800 --> 00:31:59,830 It was all about me. 479 00:32:01,270 --> 00:32:03,580 It was all about me and I had help with that. 480 00:32:03,770 --> 00:32:07,420 From the way that the interface was designed to the example 481 00:32:07,420 --> 00:32:08,900 templates that are available. 482 00:32:09,110 --> 00:32:11,400 So it was a beautifully curated. 483 00:32:11,835 --> 00:32:17,835 experience as a student and it made me less hesitant about building and 484 00:32:17,835 --> 00:32:19,685 cultivating a portfolio for myself.