In this talk and workshop, Josh Shepperd (Catholic University of America) will describe current discourses among federal policymakers and program coordinators regarding the relationship between digital humanities, material preservation, curation and accessibility, and the organization of associated task forces like the Radio Preservation Task Force (RPTF) at the Library of Congress. Professor Shepperd will discuss how these processes might be utilized to address key issues in the humanities, such as historical memory and advocacy for cultural visibility.

Speaker bio: Josh Shepperd is assistant professor of Media and Communication at Catholic University in Washington D.C. Josh serves as National Director of the Library of Congress’s Radio Preservation Task Force, a digital humanities consortium of 150 professors and 400 archives, and is Convener of the Public Media Research Project, a collaboration with NPR. In 2017 Josh assumes the role of Sound History Fellow with the LC’s National Recording Preservation Board. His organizing work has been featured by NPR Marketplace, The Atlantic Monthly, Poynter, C-Span, and CBS Radio. Josh's book looks at the institutional origins of civic media in work conducted by the media reform movement, Office of Education, FCC, and commercial broadcasters during the New Deal. His research been supported by the Mellon Foundation, Rockefeller Archive, CLIR, and the Library of Congress