The Projector

Amusements & Useful Devices from K. A. Wisniewski

Before the Living Room: The Common Room in Colonial and Early American Homes

Recent conversations about the “death of the living room” tend to frame the space as a modern luxury—something invented, popularized, and now potentially lost under pressure from housing costs and … Continue reading

December 9, 2025 · Leave a comment

General Casimir Pulaski: A Polish Hero of the American Revolution

Every year, the United States recognizes General Casimir Pulaski—Polish-born hero of the American Revolution—on October 11, commemorating his death from wounds received at the Siege of Savannah in 1779. Known … Continue reading

October 10, 2025 · Leave a comment

Is Google Making Us Shallow? Reflections on Nicholas Carr and the Value of Deep Reading

This past week in class, I revisited Nicholas Carr’s now-famous 2008 essay, Is Google Making Us Stupid?, alongside portions of his follow-up book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing … Continue reading

September 29, 2025 · Leave a comment

Can A.I. Create Art? Our Struggle With the Machine in the Studio

This past semester in my “Digital Textuality” course, I posed a deceptively simple question: Can A.I. be an artist? Several students, working independently, centered their final projects on that very … Continue reading

May 13, 2025 · Leave a comment

The Future of Work Isn’t Just About Jobs—It’s About Justice

The headlines promise us an efficient, automated future powered by artificial intelligence. But the real question isn’t what jobs A.I. will replace—it’s who gets to decide, who profits, and who … Continue reading

May 8, 2025 · Leave a comment

It’s a Long Commute: A Journey through Music History

As someone who has long relied on radio news to accompany my weekly commute, I recently decided to embark on a project that combines my love for music with a … Continue reading

January 14, 2025 · Leave a comment

The Legacy of Charles Dickens: How His Stories Inspired American Holiday Traditions

Charles Dickens, one of the most beloved and influential authors of the 19th century, has left an indelible mark on Christmas celebrations, particularly in the United States. While Dickens’ stories … Continue reading

December 19, 2024 · Leave a comment

Required Readings Visualized: Early American Word Clouds

In the previous post, I shared a list of free, online word cloud generators.  In this post, I offer a couple of examples of word clouds put to use!  This … Continue reading

March 7, 2019 · Leave a comment

Free Books, Open Libraries: 15 Resources for Everyone

Many of my upper-division courses focus on the same general set of questions:  How does digital media disrupt “conventional” structures?  Structures here range from thought processes and reading and researching … Continue reading

February 26, 2019 · Leave a comment

Every Season’s Greetings: The Importance of “Green” Spaces for the Older Adult

This post originally appeared on The Upside to Aging on January 22, 2019.  I am grateful to the editor, Molly Wisniewski, for permissions to republish here.  Please click here to … Continue reading

February 21, 2019 · Leave a comment

James Rivington, American Printer

James Rivington (1724-1802) was an English-born printer/publisher and journalist in New York City during the American Revolution. Prior to the revolution, he was one of the most popular and widely … Continue reading

February 19, 2019 · Leave a comment

LIVE: Textshop 4 … From Digital to Print

I am happy to announce the release of Textshop Experiments’  Volume 4: From Digital to Print. Contents 100 Questions About Writing And The Future by Jimmy Butts Printed Animals by … Continue reading

February 6, 2018 · Leave a comment

2018 is for TEXTSHOP

TextshopExperiments.org

January 16, 2018 · Leave a comment

365

A few days ago, on New Year’s Eve, I completed my #365DayChallenge of posting one image a day on Instagram.  So, for now, I’m taking a little break from social … Continue reading

January 4, 2018 · Leave a comment

16 Weeks with Bob Dylan

Colleges are like old-age homes; except for the fact that more people die in colleges. For me, the environment to write the song is extremely important. The environment has to … Continue reading

December 18, 2017 · Leave a comment

Reading as Art: A Micro-Review

Reading as Art Simon Morris, editor. York: Information as Material, 2016. http://www.informationasmaterial.org/portfolio/reading-as-art/ In my own ongoing research investigations of reading publishing as arts practice, I came across this title last … Continue reading

September 19, 2017 · 1 Comment

Student Projects from Spring ’17, Part 3

Finally, I’ve come to the last part of this series on student projects…in retrospect, I now wish I’ve created a separate website to host or curate all of these projects.  … Continue reading

August 3, 2017 · Leave a comment

Student Projects from Spring ’17, Part 2

This is Part 2 of the series on student projects from this past semester.  The last post featured videos of place-based historical studies.  This post shares some images from a … Continue reading

August 1, 2017 · Leave a comment

Student Projects from Spring ’17, Part 1

For the next few posts, I wanted to share something a little different: samples of student work produced this past spring.  I’ve been teaching American History courses for the past … Continue reading

July 27, 2017 · Leave a comment

Summer Work 2017 — The Road Ahead

Well, another semester has finally come to an end, which typically means a new transition–a new type of busy season–is about to begin.  I can’t believe I haven’t formally posted … Continue reading

June 13, 2017 · Leave a comment

Book/Marks: The Digital Humanities Meets the Public Humanities

In one of my last posts, I shared a few videos on the Gutenberg press and letterpress printing for a class that’s now underway.  I like this approach of sharing … Continue reading

October 18, 2016 · Leave a comment

Multi-modal Pedagogy & Word Cloud Silhouettes

For the past four years, I have tried to incorporate a digital or multi-modal project in every course I teach. Since not all students are English or History majors, my … Continue reading

January 18, 2016 · Leave a comment

Bon Anniv, Roland Barthes!

How should we best celebrate the 100th birthday of French critic Roland Barthes (1915-1980)? How do we read the man who read anything as text?  I was first dawn to … Continue reading

November 12, 2015 · Leave a comment

Renaming the Streets of Paris

My courses often integrate contemporary news stories and topics in memorialization and public culture.  With a chapter in my dissertation focused on hoaxes and after my recent post of selecting … Continue reading

September 10, 2015 · Leave a comment