We’ve created an image, inspired by the DLP, for our new AAI Reads! article series
Welcome to a new blog series of the Data Literacy Program (DLP) called the Alexandria Archive Institute Reads (AAI Reads!). Previously, we introduced our new data story formats and one that we hope to share soon is our Aggregative series. This series will consist of curated lists and teaching materials of existing work that cultivate archaeological data literacy. Our AAI Reads! articles are an outgrowth of this data story. In searching for the coolest new materials, we wanted to share some of the fun works we’ve found.
Not everything the AAI/OC staff reads, listens to, or watches will make it into an Aggregative series list. Regardless, these works influence how we understand the state of archaeological data literacy and can inform our program in more subtle ways. So, we wanted to highlight and share some of those materials.
Starting in April, we’ll be posting periodically about one book, article, video, podcast, or other work that our AAI/OC staff has consumed, digested, and discussed behind the scenes. Each post will include a short summary of the work, links or descriptions of where y’all can find it, and share a few of our thoughts about it. We may even include a short video blurb about them in the future.
Just a few of the kinds of literacy people need now
While it’s weird to think that we get paid to read, watch, and listen, it’s an important part of archaeological data literacy! Everyone needs to keep up with the most recent research, whether it’s published publicly or behind a paywall.
Furthermore, knowing what has already been done is an important part of research. We need to balance understanding the ideas of others with creating new works ourselves! Additionally, we at the AAI/OC are also diverse learners. So for us, videos, audiobooks, or podcasts sometimes help us understand things better than academic articles do.
So stay tuned, as we’ll start AAI Reads! with Weapons of Math Destruction next month. A number of our staff have read it and it’s a great book for folks who are interested in understanding data. But we don’t want to give too much away, so keep an eye out for more in a few weeks!
