Good morning from California! I'm Quinn Dombrowski, Academic Technology Specialist (DH staff) in the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages, and the Library at Stanford University. I'm honored to wrap up the conference with a talk about fun. #DHgoesViral 1/20

Fun feels like an odd topic right now, but in some way it was no less strange before. In academia, especially the humanities, we place so much value on “seriousness". “Serious” is a compliment. But this sets up a dichotomy that devalues its perceived opposite. #DHgoesViral 2/20

Think about how this sounds: "That's a fun project." It comes off as dismissive and trivializing. It suggests a project that's a lightweight diversion, not worth the respect and attention owed to "serious projects". We need to reconsider those attitudes. #DHgoesViral 3/20

About a month ago, in the "before-time", I gave a talk at the @scholarslab where I said that the projects that are the most valuable for getting me through challenging times are ones like the #DataSittersClub. I didn't expect it'd be put to the test so soon. #DHgoesViral 4/20

If you haven't heard of it, the #DataSittersClub is me, @roopikarisam, @kab3d, @mscecire, @a_e_lang, and @readywriting, doing DH text analysis on a girls' book series we all grew up reading, and talking through every step along the way: https://datasittersclub.github.io/site/books/  #DHgoesViral 5/20

The #DataSittersClub is part cultural analytics, part feminist pedagogy, but mostly it's a group of female/non-binary folks who bonded over 80's/90's nostalgia, having fun exploring a book series together with DH methods. We became actual friends in the process. #DHgoesViral 6/20

For me, writing for the #DataSittersClub is what I turn to when I'm worn out. When I'm exhausted from having 3 kids 6-and-under. When I'm grieving over a friend who was denied tenure. When I don't know how I'll manage virtual kindergarten + 2 other kids at home. #DHgoesViral 7/20

Sometimes, I can't even handle writing, but the #DataSittersClub still provides a creative outlet. I've been putting together "Important public health reminders" based on Baby-Sitters Club book covers every day since the Bay Area went into lockdown. #DHgoesViral 8/20

I love all the wonderful, interesting projects I get to support at Stanford, but the #DataSittersClub is what keeps me going through the hardest times: both the fun of the project, and the support and care of the other "data-sitters". #DHgoesViral 9/20

We're far from the only ones out there having fun. I get the sense that "fun" is more acceptable if you make it for the public. Our co-winner of the 2019 @dhawards for Best Use of DH for Fun, the Digital Ghost Hunt, is for 10-year-olds: https://www.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/our-work/digital-ghost-hunt/ #DHgoesViral 10/20

Similarly, @JanelleCShane does the most hilarious, fun things with machine learning at https://aiweirdness.com/ . (I have never laughed as much as I do when reading her blog.) She's a research scientist, but this project seems separate from her academic work. #DHgoesViral 11/20

If you made it to DH 2019 in Utrecht (or were following the conference tweets), you may remember the wonderful commemorative Tang dynasty poem (with customizable photos!) that @RichardTsai20 put together. https://twitter.com/RichardTsai20/status/1149810155619360769 #DHgoesViral 12/20

I love this comment from @electricarchaeo about the relationship between work and play. He's written a wonderful book on failure, and while "at least we had fun" is the ultimate backstop on failure, he & I agree it's also so much more. https://twitter.com/electricarchaeo/status/1234660112347721729. #DHgoesViral 13/20

Another scholar who clearly has a lot of fun with his work is "Surprised Eel Historian" @greenleejw. If you're skeptical about how interesting and fun the history of eels in Europe is, you just haven't followed him on Twitter long enough yet. #DHgoesViral 14/20

The fun that @amyeetx brings to her (even virtual) DH classroom has been making a difference for her students: https://twitter.com/Kayley_K_Hart/status/1243306931013517312. She's also been posting wonderful videos of her new lambs for her students while at home: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSU8Ajh15dBHDF7GvHJm6NA. #DHgoesViral 15/20

It's essential to acknowledge that not everyone is in an equal position to have fun with their work in a public way, particularly those people who might not be taken seriously due to their race, gender, sexuality, language, or other factors. #DHgoesViral 16/20

But even if it's too professionally risky to have fun in public... do it privately! And find some friends who will join you. Especially right now, during this tense, stressful, exhausting, awful time, it can have a bigger impact than you can even imagine. #DHgoesViral 17/20

Go look for an answer to that thing you always wondered about with your favorite TV show! Pursue your wildest theory about that medieval manuscript you looked at once in grad school! Revisit childhood favorites with a critical eye & new questions! #DHgoesViral 18/20

Our latest #DataSittersClub piece, "Quinn and Lee Clean Up Ghost Cat Data-Hairballs", debuts today: https://datasittersclub.github.io/site/dscm3/ . I hope our project, and others I've shared today, have given you some ideas about how you might incorporate fun into your work too. #DHgoesViral 19/20

Fun matters. Fun will help us get through this without falling apart irreparably. It gives us some cushion, some defense for the ways that academia can be cruel and awful. Now more than ever, it's important to take fun seriously. Thank you. #DHgoesViral 20/20