Hi everybody.

Nice meeting you all last week. I’m Benjamin and this is my first semester at CUNY so I’m still new to DH, but I’m excited about the pitches and to start working on the projects. I have a background in media production and ethnographic studies with teaching experiences at different levels. I have combined my skills in ethnographic methods and media by working on creating podcasts and video documentaries for different projects, NGO’s and educational material. Before arriving in New York I was working as a campaign leader, where I, together with a team, created educational material and raised awareness about women rights in Ethiopia. As it is my first semester I’m not an expert in DH, but I find it very interesting working with the digital in connection to education, communities and making humanities studies more accessible to a larger group of people.

I’m open to taking on different roles and enjoy working on team projects and a collaborative approach.

Project manager:
This is a role I previously have taken on for several projects, and I could do it again if necessary, but I enjoy working more with the creative aspects of a project and less in managing.
Developer:
Unfortunately my knowledge in developing is quite little, but I’m eager to learn more and this is also one of the reasons why I find this course interesting. I have learned and worked with visual and audio programs like photoshop, adobe premiere and illustrator and have also created content for webpages in those formats.

Design/UX:
As mentioned above I have worked with different graphic and design programs like photoshop, illustrator, and InDesign. I’m not an expert though. I find it interesting to work with visual communications, and would like to explore it more. With my background in ethnographic studies, I have also worked with conducting surveys and researching users’ preferences, needs etc. when creating products.

Outreach/social Media:Through my job as a campaign leader I worked with communication, outreach and social media to engage people in the project and create awareness about the educational material. If nobody feels like doing it, I could take on this role in a group, but I would also be up for a more collaborative role and sharing my knowledge.

Documentation:
I find this an interesting part of projects and a good way to evaluate the process throughout. Most of my documentation experiences come from using visual and audio methods rather than writing.

Research:
I have studied and since worked on ethnographic research projects both in academia and industry. I feel confident in designing, conducting and analyzing ethnographic research, and if it makes sense for the project, I could do that again. I have also worked with researching historical sources though my studies, but primarily in a european context.