Humanities in the Age of AI

Instructor: Dr. Anastasia Salter
Office Hours: Tuesdays 2 - 5PM, TCH 236 and/or Zoom
Course Number: ENG 6806
Email: anastasia at ucf

Contents
Course Description
Course Objectives
Materials and Texts
Required Subscriptions
Evaluation and Grading
Asynchronous Online Course Structure
Weekly Schedule

Course Description

This course offers an exploration of the theory and practice of artificial intelligence and its use in textual, visual, and procedural arts and humanities work. The course is divided into three units, reflecting these primary areas of the usage of AI, and engaging with both creative examples and theoretical critiques of that usage:

Textual. In the textual unit, we will consider the history of textual generation and analysis, with attention to both the exploitation of and applications for archives, literature, and historical work. Students will engage in textual generation and textual analysis.
Visual. In the visual unit, we will explore visual generation and its challenges for authorship and meaning, with attention to parallel discussions in modern and postmodern media. Students will engage in generation for both visual material and for image-texts and consider the changing perspectives on artists and creativity.
Procedural. In the procedural unit, we will dive into the layer of code, with attention to the history of generative practices in both electronic literature and digital humanities usage. Students will co-author code and interactive projects with AI models, focusing on use cases for libraries, archives, museums, and artistic expression.

The final weeks will focus on looking towards the future impacts of these tools and the ways we might work with human imagination towards solving arts and humanities problems. Each week, plan on following the module for all asynchronous activities. Each module will be divided into three sections:

Weekly Readings. Complete this combination of primary and secondary texts prior to starting the making exercise. The full schedule of required readings is listed in the syllabus: additional recommended readings will be provided in each module.
Exercises. Each week’s exercise will involve experimenting with and reflecting upon generative AI tools in different contexts. Most will use the required Anthropic subscription, but some other free tools or trials will be recommended throughout.
Reflective Discussion. A weekly online discussion will provide the opportunity to share the process of each exercise: the emphasis is not on “success” or “failure,” but on critiquing the process and products through a theoretical lens.

Course Objectives

Engage in both critical and creative projects exploring the pitfalls and potentials of large language models in visual, textual, and procedural work
Understand the history and implications of computer-augmentation across the arts and humanities
Make connections between contemporary policies around AI and past debates and perspectives on other technologies
Use large datasets to solve problems in the arts and humanities, with attention to evaluating and critiquing these methods alongside more traditional approaches in these disciplines
Use and analyze the application of AI generative methods for textual, visual, and procedural work.
Critique policies and uses of AI in various communities and contexts (the workplace, academia, etc.)

Materials and Texts

This course requires a mix of applied and theoretical readings, including some open access materials. The primary texts include:

Melanie Mitchell. Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2019). (Physical copy on reserve in the UCF Library)
Safiya Noble. Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. (NYU Press, 2018). Unlimited Access Ebook via UCF Library
Michael L. Littman. Code to Joy: Why Everyone Should Learn a Little Programming (MIT Press, 2023). Unlimited Access Ebook via UCF Library
Emily Bender and Alex Hanna. The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want (Beacon Press, 2024).

In addition, each module includes samples, tutorials, and resources to guide the week’s making experiments. Relevant recent articles will be integrated regularly to encourage awareness of the current discourse and the field.

Required Subscriptions

Students will need to subscribe to Anthropic’s Claude for hands-on exercises throughout the semester. A paid subscription is required to access the full functionality needed for course assignments.

Evaluation and Grading

Points	Assignment Summary	Due Date
6	Activity Verification - Complete the brief survey posted on Webcourses as soon as possible to confirm your enrollment in the course. As this is required by the university, please attend to it as soon as possible at the start of classes.	Friday, August 22nd
84	Exercises - Weekly discussions will consist of making, sharing, and reflecting on the process of exploring. We will work from tutorials and try a new form every week, with reflective questions connecting our process of making to the theoretical frameworks and provocations offered by our readings (14 exercises, 6 points each)	Weekly
10	Reflection - During the final exam week, students will share a final 750 - 1000 word reflective blog post on their journey, with particular consideration to next steps and the future of the technologies explored throughout the semester.	Saturday, December 6th

Students can access their grades and feedback at any time using the Grade Book function of Webcourses. All assignments will be submitted through Webcourses. Plan on checking the site at least twice a week for updates and assignment information. Grades are calculated out of 100 following a standard letter scale.

Late work is accepted without penalty for one week after the listed deadline. If circumstances require extension beyond that deadline, please reach out to the instructor immediately.

There is one extra credit making exercise option available at the end of the semester for those who miss a weeek. Grades will be available through Webcourses and updated weekly.

Asynchronous Online Course Structure

This course uses a fully asynchronous online format, and relies upon students to complete all readings, engage with both course lectures and other online videos, and join in on course discussions. All assignments are due the Sunday of their listed module, but will be accepted with no penalty for one week before closing. Once an assignment closes, late work will not be accepted unless an additional extension has already been approved by the instructor: please reach out early if circumstances will require additional time!

The course has no synchronous meeting requirements and operates entirely asynchronously.
Office hour assistance is available both through text on Webcourses messages and via Zoom: Zoom is recommended for advanced technical problems, where screen-sharing might be helpful to resolving errors.
Students will need access to a reliable internet connection and computer to participate in this course. Due to some of the AI tool installation needs, administrative access to the system is required to complete assignments.
In the event of an emergency or medical challenge, additional flexibility beyond the grading guidelines is available: when anticipated, students should reach out to the instructor as soon as feasible to form a plan or discuss an incomplete if needed.

Weekly Schedule

Week One: Textual - Histories (Monday, August 18)

The AI Con - Chapter 1: An Introduction to AI Hype
Berry, D. M. (2023). The Limits of Computation: Joseph Weizenbaum and the ELIZA Chatbot. Weizenbaum Journal of the Digital Society, 3(3). https://doi.org/10.34669/WI.WJDS/3.3.2
Due: Activity Verification (Friday August 22nd)
Exercise: Eliza and Bots

Week Two: Textual - Generation (Monday, August 25)

The AI Con - Chapter 2: It’s Alive! The Hype of Thinking Machines
Emerson, Lori, ‘Interfaced’, in Matthew Rubery, and Leah Price (eds), Further Reading (2020; online edn, Oxford Academic, 5 Mar. 2020).
Underwood, Ted. “A more interesting upside of AI.” July 2, 2025.
Exercise: Interfaces

Week Three: Textual - Sources (Monday, September 1)

Artificial Intelligence - Part I: Background
The AI Con - Chapter 3: Leisure for Me, Gig Work for Thee: AI Hype at Work
Kirschenbaum, Matthew. “Prepare for the Textpocalypse.” The Atlantic. March 8, 2023.
Exercise: Research and Sources

Week Four: Textual - Reading (Monday, September 8)

Artificial Intelligence - Part II: Looking and Seeing
The AI Con - Chapter 4: If It Quacks Like a Doc: AI Hype and Social Services
Underwood, Ted. “A Genealogy of Distant Reading.” DHQ: Digital Humanities Quarterly 11.2 (2017). http://digitalhumanities.org:8081/dhq/vol/11/2/000317/000317.html.
Exercise: Reading Across Texts

Week Five: Visual - Aesthetics (Monday, September 15)

Artificial Intelligence - Part III: Learning to Play
The AI Con - Chapter 5: Artifice or Intelligence? AI Hype in Art, Journalism, and Science
Demsky, Ian. “My Month with Midjourney.” Electronic Book Review. April 2, 2023.
Exercise: Image Generation

Week Six: Visual - Art and Creativity (Monday, September 22)

Artificial Intelligence - Part IV: Artificial Intelligence Meets Natural Language
The AI Con - Chapter 6: I’m Sorry, Dave, I’m Afraid I Can’t Do That: AI Doomers, AI Boosters, and Why None of That Makes Sense
Jebb, Louis. “On process: Refik Anadol seeks to demystify AI art by showing how it is put together.” The Art Newspaper. April 5, 2024
Exercise: Archival Images

Week Seven: Visual - Photography and Realism (Monday, September 29)

Artificial Intelligence - Part V: The Barrier of Meaning
The AI Con - Chapter 7: Do You Believe in Hope After Hype?
Exercise: Video

Week Eight: Visual - Perceptions (Monday, October 6)

Code to Joy - Telling Computers What to Do
Farrell, Henry. “After software eats the world, what comes out the other end?” October 3, 2024.
Exercise: Images as Information

Week Nine: Procedural - Code and Rules (Monday, October 13)

Code to Joy - The What of Programming
Algorithms of Oppression - The Power of Algorithms
Evans, Julia. So you want to be a wizard.
Exercise: Distant Coding

Week Ten: Procedural - Digital Humanities (Monday, October 20)

Code to Joy - Sequencing Commands
Algorithms of Oppression - A Society; Searching
Exercise: Coding AI Interfaces

Week Eleven: Procedural - Art and Play (Monday, October 27)

Code to Joy - Splitting on Conditionals
Algorithms of Oppression - Searching for Black Girls
Exercise: Deploying to GitHub Pages

Week Twelve: Procedural - Hypertext (Monday, November 3)

Code to Joy - Storing in Variables
Algorithms of Oppression - Searching for People and Communities
Martin, Meredith. “Command Lines for the Humanities.” PMLA/Publications of the Modern Language Association of America. 2024;139(3):541-547. doi:10.1632/S0030812924000555
Exercise: Agentic Code

Week Thirteen: Local Futures (Monday, November 10)

Code to Joy - Consolidating Into Loops
Algorithms of Oppression - Searching for Protections
Exercise: Local Models

Week Fourteen: Revisiting Text (Monday, November 17)

Code to Joy - Defining Functions
Algorithms of Oppression - Future of Knowledge in Public
Exercise: Distant Reading with and for AI

Week Fifteen: Custom Bots (Monday, November 24)

Code to Joy - Combining Code and Data; Programmable World
Algorithms of Oppression - Future of Information Culture; Conclusion
Extra Credit Exercise: Custom Bots

Final Reflection (Due December 6)

Submit & complete your Final Reflection, as well as any approved late work, by December 6th!

Contents