SIUE's DH Center and the Black Lit Network

Jessica DeSpain and Kristine Hildebrandt made visionary moves when they created a DH Center, known as the IRIS Center, at our university. Back in 2009 when they were facilitating discussions about what the center might entail I could hardly have imagined what it's now become. 

[Related: An IRIS Timeline] 

It's worth noting from where I sit that it would've been no way for me to make the case that SIUE serve as the home for this $1.6M Mellon grant for Black Lit Network.

The groundwork for the first proposal for the Black Lit Network started taking shape in practical ways for me in early 2021. That was before we submitted the proposal. But I was brainstorming with DeSpain and Hildebrandt and then working on prototypes with Margaret Smith, the then newly hired Research Professor for IRIS.  

We did some trial and error sites and a few other projects, all of which served as the basis for what I pitched to the larger group applying for the first phase of our Mellon grant. During the three-year grant, we continued building and refining, all of which led us to the point we are now where we're ready to expand and enhance the Black Lit Network project. 

Related: 

• A Notebook on IRIS