Iowa State University Lecture: A Virtual Reconstruction of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls

Dr. Robert Cargill looks at a copy of the Great Isaiah Scroll in the Shrine of the Book, Israel Museum, Jerusalem.

Iowa State University has posted online the audio of my Oct 23, 2014 lecture at ISU entitled, “A Virtual Reconstruction of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls: Recent Advances and the Future of the Field“, along with the video of my PowerPoint. The video capture of the digital model toward the end is sketchy, but the audio and PPT slides and audio came out OK.

If you want to hear/watch the lecture, simply click the above link, right-click on the “Download Podcast” icon at the bottom of the list on the right, and save it to your computer. (The file is 111 MB total.) After it downloads, add .mp4 to the end of the file name, and then simply double-click to play or open it in QuickTime.

Many thanks to Dr. Hector Avalos for the invitation to speak. It was a beautiful evening on a beautiful campus in Ames, IA

Summary:

Robert Cargill, an assistant professor of Classics and religious studies at the University of Iowa, will discuss how recent advances in the fields of archaeology and the digital humanities have enabled scholars to create digital reconstructions of archaeological remains at Qumran, the site associated with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. He uses 3D and virtual reality to introduce the audience to the ancient sites, proposes various reconstructions, and highlights the process for databasing archaeological data. Cargill was the chief architect and designer of the Qumran Visualization Project at UCLA’s Center for Digital Humanities. He has appeared as an expert on the National Geographic special, Writing the Dead Sea Scrolls, and History’s documentary series Bible Secrets Revealed. He is also the author of the recent book, Qumran through (Real) Time: A Virtual Reconstruction of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Co-sponsored by:

• ISU Atheist and Agnostic Society
• ISU Philosophy Club
• Philosophy & Religious Studies
• Committee on Lectures (funded by GSB)

 

Robert Cargill lectures on Tel Azekah, Digital Archaeological Modeling, and the Digital Humanities at Iowa

I recently gave “Studio Talk” about Tel Azekah and Digital Archaeological Modeling entitled “Digi-Tel Azekah: Digitally Modeling Archaeological Remains on the Judean-Philistine Borderline” at the University of Iowa Digital Studio for Public Arts & Humanities (DSPAH). I presented with my Dept. of Religious Studies graduate student, Cale Staley.

If you have ever asked the following questions:

What is Digital Humanities?
What is Digital Humanities at the University of Iowa?
What is Digital Archaeological Modeling?
Why is the Digital Humanities important?
How do the Digital Humanities help my research?
How do the Digital Humanities help my instruction?

and most importantly,
why should I join Iowa’s archaeological dig in Israel next summer?
(besides losing weight, getting fit, getting a great tan, traveling the Holy Land, and earning 6 units doing undergraduate research)…

…then watch this video and all your questions will be answered.

With thanks to Oded Lipschits, Yuval Gadot, and Manfred Oeming for making The Lautenschläger Azekah Expedition possible.

(and of course that’s the picture that YouTube chooses to use as the cover image.)

Quincy and Rory Kate Have Come Home

After a month in the University of Iowa Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and after a month of daily trips to and from the NICU, Quincy and Rory Kate have come home.

Both are healthy, gaining weight, and making sleep for periods of more than 3 hours quite impossible. The twins were born on May 11 at 34 weeks. This meant that the past month has been an exercise in patient vigilance and a trusting reliance on doctors, nurses, friends, and family. The trips to and from the NICU only made the birth of the twins all the more logistically inconvenient. BUT, the medical staff at the UI hospitals helped nurture premies born at 5 lb. 1 oz. and 4 lb. 14 oz. to a healthy 7 lb. 2 oz. and 6 lb. 4 oz. respectively.

I’d like to thank all of my friends and colleagues who passed on thoughts, prayers, and well wishes during this period. I’d especially like to thank my mother, Sharon Costales Cargill, who moved here to Iowa City in March to help us with our growing family. She has been invaluable and we could not have done this without her.

I’d also like to thank the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics doctors, nurses, PAs, and staff. Not only did they oversee a flawless delivery of twins, but their constant care and commitment to the twins has been a true blessing. They deserve all the credit for their tireless efforts.

This entire experience has been a lived example of the intersection of humanity (in the birth of the twins) and science and technology, which provides life-saving healing and care that was simply unimaginable or attributed to the realm of the “miraculous” even only decades ago. I am thankful for science and technology and those involved in them, to those doctors and nurses who dedicate their lives to the personal well-being of others, and I offer my deepest appreciation to those untold thousands of donors who contribute substantial funding to this kind of scientific and medical research that saves young lives.

I am proud to be associated with the University of Iowa and the wonderful research that is going on here. It is my hope that in caring for Quincy and Rory Kate, some young resident doctor or nurse in training was able to hone their craft and develop a deeper appreciation for the delicate existence that is newborn human life.

On behalf of Roslyn, Talitha, MacLaren, Quincy, and Rory Kate, I’d like to express my deepest appreciation to all those who made the past month a little bit easier for us. Your kinds words on Facebook, Twitter, my blog, email, phone calls, text messages, cards, and letters offered tremendous encouragement. Your gifts were both humbling and much needed. The coordinated meals provided by the Caring Connection at First Presbyterian Church (thank you Liz Hall) and the visits from Sam Massey (you are awesome) and his team, Uncle Jordan Smith and Cory Taylor (for bringing contraband burgers and fries on multiple occasions), a visit (and a fridge stock) from Rick Bennett, and an extended stay from Ruth Anne Bennett (who provided custom curtains for the nursery), all allowed us to spend even more time with the twins. Again, we appreciate your time and efforts in this difficult, yet joyous time for us.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Rory Kate Duvall Cargill

Quincy Enoch Domenico Cargill

Mac gives kisses to Rory Kate

Mac gives kisses to Quincy

Rory Kate Duvall Cargill

Rory Kate Duvall Cargill

Rory Kate Duvall Cargill

Quincy Enoch Domenico Cargill

Quincy and Rory Kate

Quincy and Rory Kate with Daddy

Rory Kate and Quincy

Rory Kate and Quincy

Rory Kate and Quincy

Rory Kate and Quincy

Mac helps feed Quincy

Mommy, Quincy, and Rory Kate

Mommy, Quincy, and Rory Kate

Rory Kate and Quincy

Rory Kate and Quincy

Rory Kate Duvall Cargill

Quincy and Rory Kate with Daddy

Quincy and Rory Kate with Daddy

The family sleeping in a real pile

the epitome of hypocrisy: westboro baptist to picket steve jobs’ funeral

Margie J. Phelps, daughter of Westboro Baptist Church pastor Fred Phelps, tweets that Westboro Baptist will picket the funeral of Apple Co-founder Steve Jobs because of his opposition to California's Prop 8, which sought to ban same-sex marriage. Ironically, and some would say hypocritically, she informed the public via Twitter from her iPhone!

This is the epitome of hypocrisy.

I typically don’t report on the idiots at Westboro Baptist Church, but a recent tweet caught my eye.

Margie J. Phelps, one of the 13 children of hatemongering pastor of Westboro Baptist Church, Fred Phelps, recently tweeted that Westboro would be picketing the funeral of Steve Jobs because Apple contributed money to help defeat California’s Proposition 8, which sought to ban same sex marriage. She tweeted:

Westboro will picket his funeral.He had a huge platform; gave God no glory & taught sin. MT @AP: Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has died at 56.

The fact that the douche bags at Westboro would picket Mr. Jobs’ funeral is not surprising. However, what makes the story brazenly hypocritical is that Phelps informed the public via Twitter from her iPhone!

And THAT made me smile.

Rest in peace, Mr. Jobs. Thank you for your life, your work, and for helping me to work harder, play better, and dream bigger.

HT: Joel Watts FB via Steve Lowe FB

 

---

UPDATE:

Gawker has the story.

Here’s a pic of the full context of her tweet:

Margie Phelps' Steve Jobs Tweet

steve jobs: live before you die

Here’s Steve Jobs offering the 2005 Stanford University commencement address.

He speaks of the importance of arts and the humanities, pursuing your dream, loving what you do, love, loss, and death.

rest in peace, steve jobs, rest in peace

mr. jobs,
thank you for your life, for apple, for sticking up for the underdog, and for changing the way we work, think, play, and dream.
rest in peace.
robert cargill

eBook ‘Archaeology 2.0: New Approaches to Communication & Collaboration’ now available

Archaeology 2.0: New Approaches to Communication & Collaboration, ed. by Eric C. Kansa, Sarah Whitcher Kansa, and Ethan Watrall

There is a new digitally-published (like!) book available at the University of California’s eScholarship repository entitled, Archaeology 2.0: New Approaches to Communication and Collaboration. The book is edited by Cal Berkeley’s Eric C. Kansa, the Alexandria Archive Institute’s Sarah Whitcher Kansa, and Michigan State’s Ethan Watrall.

The volume explores the social use and context of the Web within the discipline of archaeology, and it is the first book in the UCLA Cotsen Institute’s new Digital Archaeology Series. A printed version of the book will be available shortly (hopefully in time to be on display at the ASOR conference!).

You can read more about the book at the Heritage Bytes Open Context blog.

Go ye therefore and read for free!

(And congratulations to the editors on the new volume!)

how facebook’s launch of video calling can help scholars

Facebook + Skype = VideoCalling

what would have been the death of skype is now its salvation. facebook launched its ‘videocalling‘ today (most likely because ‘videoconferencing‘ was already taken by this guy – which is a story in itself!)

skype’s collaboration with facebook benefits both companies. i can now video chat someone as easily as i can fb message them, meaning i’ll likely never use standalone skype again because the only people i’d want to watch me talk to them are already friends on facebook.

but videocalling shouldn’t be simply seen as the mother of all distractions from actual work. videocalling has the potential to be a very time effective tool for scholars, as instant video communication with trusted colleagues can allow scholars to discuss articles, relay visual information, and will be especially helpful for language studies involving pronunciations and languages that do not use western characters and therefore do not lend themselves to easy transcription into digital fonts. and as soon as group video chat is launched (standalone skype already does this), colleagues can hold meetings and plan conferences right over facebook. and did i mention the service is free? (for now…)

now, i’m just waiting for the first documented case of, “omg! i accidentally left my fb videochat on and he saw me naked / watched me eat / heard me fart / saw me dancing to justin beiber / heard me laughing at student essay answers while grading” or, worse yet, “my wife saw me working on that article while i was talking to her.”

ipv6 day: when not noticing something is a good thing

Quick update on a subject that is close to my heart: IP addresses. ;-)

Today is World IPv6 Day, the day when major internet services like Facebook and Google are testing new internet protocols numbers for online devices. “Why,” you ask? Simply put, we’re running out of them:

One of the Net’s foundational layers is the Internet Protocol, a global communications standard used for linking connected devices together. Every networked device you own — your PC, smartphone, laptop, tablet and other gizmos — has a unique IP address. The problem is that we’re running out of them. The current system, called IPv4, has the technical capacity to handle 4.3 billion addresses. They’re almost all used up: The last remaining batch was assigned out in February.

The solution is a next-generation protocol called IPv6. Just as the U.S. telephone system handled soaring growth by increasing the digits in each telephone number, the new IP system — under development for more than 12 years — uses longer addresses to fit more devices into the network.

So, we need to find a longer system of numbers to manage or internet devices. That way, the unique identity of each device can be tracked optimized for peak billing performance.

And if you didn’t notice anything, then the test worked flawlessly.

For more about IPv6 Day, read here.

job available at ucla: librarian for advanced research and engagement

Position: Librarian for Advanced Research & Engagement
Institution: UCLA
Posted: April 21, 2011
Location: California (UCLA Campus in Westwood Village, Los Angeles)
Employment Level: Non tenure track
Website: http://www.ucla.edu
Application Deadline: Open until filled
Category: Librarians/ library administration
Employment Status: Full-time
Rank and Salary: $56,496 to $88,488 USD
Salary and appointment level based on experience and qualifications.
Associate Librarian IV – VII ($56,496 – $68,892)
Librarian Rank I – IV ($68,892 – $88,488)
Department: Collections, Research & Instructional Services (CRIS)
Position Availability: Immediately

Based in UCLA’s Charles E. Young Research Library, the CRIS department is composed of area and subject specialists who are responsible for building, managing, and providing access to the research collections in all formats in support of humanities and social sciences research and teaching. CRIS librarians serve the faculty and students in these disciplines by providing high-level reference and research services in person, via telephone, and electronically (i.e., e-mail and chat). The department is responsible for staffing the Research Library reference desk. CRIS librarians actively participate in UCLA’s Information Literacy Program, taking the lead in the design and delivery of specialized instruction sessions for upper division and graduate level courses. Subject specialist librarians in CRIS work closely together and in cooperation with librarians from other UCLA Library units to meet faculty and student needs. They serve as liaisons to academic departments and research units in their areas of responsibility.

Position Duties


Reporting to the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) Team Leader in CRIS, the Librarian for Advanced Research & Engagement (LARE) serves as an ambassador for the Library, promoting library spaces, expertise, and services to advanced scholars in the social sciences and humanities. Using the recent renovation of the Research Library as an opportunity to rethink the role of the library on campus, this individual will create programming, staffing, and services to foster an intellectually stimulating environment that nurtures and invigorates the research life cycle. Broadly speaking, the LARE conceptualizes, implements, and promotes projects, programs, and events with faculty and students; develops and coordinates associated library services; and provides strategic leadership in the area of research and consultation services.

More specifically, the LARE plays a central role in developing research services and scholarly programming both for the newly renovated Research Library spaces particularly in the Research Commons and Reading Rooms and throughout the UCLA Library enterprise-wide. The Librarian also plays a central role in highlighting the collections of the UCLA Library and launches programming such as physical and virtual exhibitions, films, seminars, workshops, lectures, and discussion groups to highlight and promote use of existing print and digital collections as well as scholarly tools at UCLA. The LARE works closely with social sciences and humanities faculty and students to address their research and teaching needs, and develop new research projects. In collaboration with subject specialist librarians, the LARE acts as a key Library liaison to the numerous Organized Research Units (ORU) on campus, including the Ethnic Studies research centers, the Center for the Study of Women, the International Institute, and others, working with them on research projects, programming, and exhibitions. The LARE leads outreach efforts to other campus groups that work with graduate students and faculty — such as the Graduate Writing Center, Academic Technology Services, the Center for Digital Humanities, and the dozens of research centers on North Campus — to coordinate their services with those of the Research Library. The incumbent will also be responsible for keeping abreast of new modes of research in the humanities and social sciences, and consequently develop ad hoc methods of engagement that highlight the Library’s role in promoting and furthering this research.

The LARE works with the Head of CRIS and with the SSH Team Leader, as well as with the AUL for Academic Services, the AUL for Collection Management and Scholarly Communication, and the AUL for Digital Initiatives and Information Technology on long-range strategic planning for new initiatives, projects, programming, exhibitions, events, and grants. The incumbent also works closely with the Librarian for Digital Research and Scholarship, the Director of Teaching and Learning Services and Head of the College Library, the Director of Library Communications, the Director of Library Development, the Director of Access Services, the Director of Library Special Collections, and others as needed, to provide ways for scholars to engage with library resources and promote resources, services and programming. The LARE develops capacity and expertise among the librarians and staff within CRIS and other Library departments and units to support work in advanced scholarship through instruction, training, demonstrations, lectures, and workshops. The LARE partners with other campus stakeholders to position the Library as a bridge between researchers in different fields, facilitating interdisciplinary scholarship. The LARE will also develop a for-credit course on advanced research to be taught in the Department of Information Studies or as an undergraduate seminar class and design a research program that will bring social sciences and humanities scholars into the UCLA Library to maximize use of the campus’s research collections.

In the LARE’s capacity as Research and Engagement coordinator, the incumbent will provide vision and strategic leadership as well as coordination of services for the Research Library’s scholarly services. Duties also include developing and implementing, in collaboration with the CRIS Department Leadership Team, a research support service model that will maximize subject specialists’ expertise. The incumbent identifies and implements suitable assessment tools to capture the full breadth of qualitative and quantitative data related to scholarly services; works with other departments within the UCLA Library organization to provide assistance to scholars across a broad range of expertise, in a variety of library settings; and partners with other coordinators within the UCLA Library to develop, manage, and deliver a unified scholarly services profile. As Research and Engagement Coordinator, he or she will oversee activities, services, and staffing in the Research Commons and Reading Room, according to the model established. These duties may include hiring, training, and supervising student Reference Desk Assistants to provide research services. The incumbent may also oversee a training program for research service providers, including librarians and staff.

The incumbent is responsible for the following duties:

• Leadership of Enterprise-Wide Scholarly Outreach and Collaboration
• Plays a central role in creating research services and scholarly programming for the newly renovated Research Library spaces–particularly in the Research Commons and Reading Room–and throughout the UCLA Library enterprise-wide.
• Launches programming– such as physical and virtual exhibitions, films, seminars, workshops, lectures and discussion groups–to highlight and promote use of existing print and digital collections as well as scholarly tools at UCLA. Publicizes research output on campus.
• Works closely with Social Sciences and Humanities faculty and students to identify and address their research needs, and to develop new research projects. In collaboration with subject specialist librarians, acts as a key Library liaison to the numerous Organized Research Units (ORU) on campus, including the Ethnic Studies research centers, the Center for the Study of Women, and the International Institute. Works with ORUs on research projects, programming, and exhibitions.
• Leads outreach efforts to other campus groups that work with graduate students and faculty — such as the Graduate Writing Center, Academic Technology Services, the Center for Digital Humanities, and the dozens of research centers on North Campus — to coordinate their services with those of the Research Library.
• Keeps abreast of new modes of research in the Humanities and Social Sciences and develops ad hoc methods of engagement that highlight the Library’s role in promoting and furthering this research, including demonstrations of emerging scholarly resources and technologies to interested faculty, students, staff, librarians, the research community, and library supporters.
• Works with the Head of CRIS, the SSH Team Leader, the AUL for Academic Services, the AUL for Collections Management and Scholarly Communication, and the AUL for Digital Initiatives and Information Technology on long-range strategic planning for new initiatives, projects, exhibits, events, and grants.
• Within the Research Library, works closely with the Librarian for Digital Research and Scholarship, the Director of Teaching and Learning Services and Head of the College Library, the Director of Library Communications, the Director of Library Development, the Director of Access Services, the Director of Library Special Collections, and others as needed, in providing ways for scholars to engage with Library resources and in promoting Library resources, services and programming.
• Develops additional capacity and expertise among the CRIS librarians and staff and librarians and staff in other Library departments and units to support advanced scholarship through instruction, training, demonstrations, lectures, and workshops
• Partners with other campus stakeholders to position the Library as a bridge between researchers in different fields to facilitate interdisciplinary scholarship.
• Develops and teaches a for-credit course on advanced research, in collaboration with the Department of Information Studies or the Fiat Lux undergraduate seminar program.
• Designs and launches a research program that will bring Social Sciences and Humanities scholars into the UCLA Library to maximize use of the campus’s research collections.

Research Library Academic Research and Engagement Coordination

• Provides vision and strategic leadership as well as coordination of the Research Library’s scholarly services.
• In collaboration with the CRIS Department Leadership Team, develops and implements a research support service model that will maximize subject specialists’ expertise.
• Identifies and implements suitable assessment tools to capture the full breadth of qualitative and quantitative data related to scholarly services.
• Works with other departments and coordinators within the UCLA Library organization to provide assistance to scholars across a broad range of expertise, in a variety of library settings, and to develop, manage, and deliver a unified scholarly services profile.
• Hires, trains, and supervises student Reference Desk Assistants to provide research services in the Research Commons and Reading Room.
• Oversees training program for research service providers including librarians and staff.

Candidates applying by May 31, 2011 will be given first consideration.

For the complete job posting, please visit: http://www2.library.ucla.edu/about/employment.cfm.