Jason Heppler
(402) 909-1323 | jason.heppler@huskers.unl.edu | @jaheppler
Department of History, 612 Oldfather Hall, University of Nebraska, Lincoln 68588
www.jasonheppler.org
Current Position
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Project Manager, William F. Cody Archive, 2011-Present
Key in researching, planning, and managing the William F. Cody Archive. Supervised undergraduate student employees and graduate student interns, organized incoming digital documents, maintained the project wiki. Ensured we met milestones and deadlines, used Basecamp to manage tasks and communicate with the Archive team, and oversaw editorial progress in our editorial management system.
Areas of Research Interest
- Digital History and Digital Humanities
- Public History, Digital Libraries, Digital Archives
- North American West
- History of the Cold War
- History of Science and Technology
- Political and Cultural History
Education
Doctor of Philosophy in History - In Progress
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Committee: Patrick Jones (chair), Margaret Jacobs, William G. Thomas, James Garza, Stephen Ramsay
Dissertation: The Silicon Frontier: The Military-Industrial-Academic Complex, Digital Computing, and the Knowledge Economy in the Postwar North American West
Additional Qualifications: Certificate of Digital Humanities, awarded 2012
Master of Arts in History - 2007 to 2009
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Committee: John Wunder (chair), Douglas Seefeldt, Thomas Gannon
Thesis: Framing Red Power: The Trail of Broken Treaties, the American Indian Movement, and the Politics of Media
(Listed among the top most downloaded files from UNL Digital Commons)
Bachelor of Arts in History - 2003 to 2007
South Dakota State University
Thesis: "We lit a fire across Indian Country": The American Indian Movement and the Roots of Red Power
Minor: Economics
Appointments Held
1. Research
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Project Manager, William F. Cody Archive, 2011-present
Center for Digital Research in the Humanities
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Digital Research Editor, 2009-2010
Papers of William F. Cody, Buffalo Bill Historical Center
Conducted research and collected new material, digitized, transcribed, and encoded documents for digital research, designed and built a small-scale digital history project that made an original argument.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
XML Encoding and Cleanup, 2009
Railroads and the Making of Modern America
Cleaned up XML encoding for the Atlanta Campaign Operational Reports.
South Dakota State University
Museum Aide, 2005-2007
South Dakota Art Museum
2. Teaching
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Teaching Assistant, 2008-2010
Department of History
African Culture and Civilization, Prof. Dawne Curry, Fall 2008
U.S. since 1877, Prof. William Thomas, Spring 2009
U.S. before 1877, Prof. Brenden Rensink, Fall 2010
3. Consultant & Developer
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Database Programmer, 2011
The Digital History Project
Designed and implemented the original database of digital historians.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lead Developer, 2008-2010
The Digital History Project
Served as the designer, developer, oversaw the quality of content on the site, edited video interviews for online posting.
Grants & Fellowships
External
- National Science Foundation, Science, Technology, and Society Funding, Division of Social and Economic Sciences, 2012, application in progress.
- Charles Redd Center for Western Studies, Upper Division and Graduate Student Summer Award, Brigham Young University, 2012, application under review.
Internal
- Nebraska Humanities Council Mini Grant, James A. Rawley Conference, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, awarded, $913.
- Plains Humanities Alliance Grant, James A. Rawley Conference, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, awarded, $300.
- Sheldon Travel Fund Award, Department of History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln 2010, awarded, $600.
- Sheldon Fund Award, Department of History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2010, awarded, $380.
- Graduate Student Travel Fund, Department of History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009, not funded.
- Addison E. Sheldon Fellowship, Department of History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2008, funded.
- August Edgren Fellowship, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2007, funded.
Research
In Progress
- "Building an iPad App in a Digital Humanities Seminar: An Experiment in Collaboration Among Humanists," with Svetlana Rasmussen, Michelle Tiedje, and Rebecca Wingo, article manuscript under preparation.
Book Chapters
- "The Little Big Horn National Monument," with Douglas Seefeldt, in Companion to Custer and the Little Big Horn, ed. Brad Lookingbill, Hoboken: Wiley and Sons, under contract.
- "The American Indian Movement in South Dakota Politics," Chapter 8 in The Plains Political Tradition: Essays on South Dakota's Political Culture, Jon K. Lauck, John E. Miller, and Donald Simmons, eds., Pierre: South Dakota State Historical Society Press, November 2011, 267-287.
Journal Articles
- "William Cody and the Progressive Image of American Indians," with Douglas Seefeldt, Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era, under review.
- "'This Great and Sovereign Right': Eminent Domain, the Cherokee Nation, and Railroad Law, 1880-1890," Great Plains Quarterly, under review.
Electronic Books
Digital
- Project Manager, William F. Cody Digital Archive, Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2011-present.
- Project Developer and Contributor, The Buffalo Bill Project, Department of History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2011-present.
- Buffalo Bill's Wild West and the Progressive Image of American Indians, digital history, 2010.
- Graduate Digital Editor, The Papers of William F. Cody, Buffalo Bill Historical Center, Cody, WY, 2009-2010.
- Framing Red Power: The Trail of Broken Treaties, the American Indian Movement, and the Politics of Media, digital history, 2009.
See more on my Projects page.
Open Source Software
- H-Stream: iOS RSS reader for the humanities
- FREQr: Ruby word frequency and word cloud generator
Open Access Writing
Digital Tools for Research and Learning
Reviews
- Book review, Bradley Shreve, Red Power Rising: The National Indian Youth Council and the Origins of Native Activism, in South Dakota History, Summer 2012.
- Digital tool review, "Google Earth for Historians," in Digital History, September 2010.
- Book review, Joseph Trimbach, American Indian Mafia: An FBI Agent's True Story about Wounded Knee, Leonard Peltier, and the American Indian Movement, in South Dakota History, Spring 2009.
- Digital tool review, "TokenX as a Historical Research Tool," with Brent M. Rogers, in Digital History, July 2009.
- Book review, Akim Reinhardt, Ruling Pine Ridge: Oglala Lakota Politics from the IRA to Wounded Knee, in South Dakota History, Summer 2008.
- Digital project review, William G. Thomas, et al., "The Countryside Transformed: The Eastern Shore of Virginia, the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the Creation of the Modern Landscape," in Digital History, February 2008.
Academic Conferences and Meetings
- "Digitizing the Buffalo Bill Records," Center for Great Plains Studies Symposium, March 2012, Lincoln, Nebraska.
- "The Digital History Seminar," round table, 126th Annual Meeting of the American Historical Association, January 2012, Chicago, Illinois.
- "The American Indian Movement and South Dakota Politics," George McGovern Conference, November 2011, George McGovern Center for Leadership and Government, Mitchell, South Dakota.
- "'This Great and Sovereign Right': Eminent Domain, the Cherokee Nation, and Railroad Law, 1880-1890," 50th Annual Conference of the Western History Association, October 2010, Incline Village, Nevada.
- "William F. Cody and the Digital Frontier," International Cody Studies Conference, August 2010, Cody, Wyoming.
- "Framing Red Power: Newspapers and Native Activists during the Trail of Broken Treaties," Digital Humanities Summit, March 2010, Lawrence, Kansas.
- "'Another Wounded Knee Was Feared': Visualizing Newspaper Narratives of the Trail of Broken Treaties Caravan and American Indian Activism with Digital Tools," 53rd Annual Missouri Valley History Conference, March 2010, Omaha, Nebraska.
- "Improving Writing in the Survey Course," William G. Thomas, Leslie Working, and Jason Heppler, Teaching History Forum, Department of History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, October 2009.
- "Historical Scholarship in the Digital Age: Asking New Questions with Digital Technologies," roundtable discussion, 51st Annual Conference of the Western Social Sciences Association, April 2009, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- "Sandoz's Environment: Old Jules and 'The Vine'," round table, 5th Annual Mari Sandoz Heritage Society Conference, March 2008, Chadron, Nebraska.
- "Red Power and the Intellectual Origins of the American Indian Movement," 50th Annual Missouri Valley History Conference, March 2007, Omaha, Nebraska.
- "Tangled Memories: Wounded Knee and the Problem of Memory," 41st Annual Northern Great Plains History Conference, October 2006, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
- "Tangled Memories: Wounded Knee and the Problem of Memory," 38th Annual Dakota History Conference, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
- "Case Study of the Makah Tribe's Defense of Whaling Rights," 14th Annual SDSU American Indian History and Culture Conference, Brookings, South Dakota.
Invited Talks
- Invited speaker, History Club Graduate School Symposium, South Dakota State University, October 2007, Brookings, South Dakota.
Professional Development
- Participant, Cody Camp, Lincoln, Nebraska, June 2012.
- Workshop, "Careers in History in the 21st Century," UNL History Department Workshop, December 2011.
- Workshop, "Open Access," Graduate Student Association, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, October 2011.
- Workshop, "Building Your C.V. and Utilizing Social Networking for Your Academic Career," HGSA Workshop, September 2011.
- Participant, Cody Camp, Cody, Wyoming, July 2011.
- Session, Project Management, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, March 2011.
- Workshop, Digital Frontiers: A Digital History Workshop, Western History Association, Incline Village, Nevada, October 2010.
- Workshop, Nebraska Digital Workshop, Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011.
- Workshop, "Mapmaking in the Humanities," remote participation, Electronic Data Center, Emory University, May 2009.
- Workshop, Introduction to XML, Brian Pytlik-Zillig, Center for Digital Research in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, October 2007.
Research Awards and Honors
- University Libraries Influence Award, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, 2010.
- Dov Ospovat Memorial Award for Distinguished Graduate Research Paper, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009.
- Schultz-Werth Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research Paper, South Dakota State University, 2007.
- Phi Alpha Theta Honor Society, South Dakota State University, 2005- 2007.
Teaching
Guest Lectures
- "Mass Media and the American Indian Movement," guest lecture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, COMM 189H: Communications and Social Movements, Prof. Carly Woods, Fall 2011.
- "Thomas Jefferson and the American West," guest lecture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, HIST 201: U.S. History Before 1877, Prof. Brenden Rensink, Fall 2010.
- "Empire of Liberty: Culture, Society, and Politics in the Early American Republic," guest lecture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, HIST 201: U.S. History Before 1877, Prof. Brenden Rensink, Fall 2010.
- "Show Indians and Buffalo Bill's Wild West," guest lecture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, HIST 359: Mythic West, Prof. Douglas Seefeldt, Spring 2010.
- "Red Power and the American Indian Movement," guest lecture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, HIST 202: U.S. History After 1877, Prof. William Thomas, Spring 2009.
Workshops
- "Building Your C.V. and Utilizing Social Networking for Your Academic Career," workshop co-leader, History Graduate Students Association Workshop, September 2011.
- "Introduction to XML/XSLT," workshop leader, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, HIST 970: Digital History Seminar, Spring 2011.
Discussion Leader
- Discussion leader, Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, Prof. William G. Thomas, HIST 202: U.S. After 1877, Spring 2009.
Professional Development
- Workshop, Open Access, Graduate Student Association, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, October 2011.
- Workshop, Graduate Teaching Assistant Workshop, Department of History, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, August 2010.
Advising
Interns
- Andrew Tully, William F. Cody Archive, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2012.
Undergraduate Mentoring
- Jared Roehrich, William F. Cody Spatial Chronology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2011-2012.
Service
Department
- Co-Chair, Poster Committee, James A. Rawley Conference in the Humanities, 2011-2012.
- Vice President, History Graduate Students' Association, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2010-2011.
- Assistant Director, Sixth Annual James A. Rawley Conference in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2010-2011
- Member, Program Committee, James A. Rawley Conference in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009, 2010, 2011
- Member, Digital Outreach Committee, History Graduate Students' Association, 2007-2010
- Executive Director, Fifth Annual James A. Rawley Conference in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009-2010
- Panel Chair, Fourth Annual James A. Rawley Conference in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, March 2009
- Panel Chair, Third Annual James A. Rawley Conference in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, April 2008
- Chair, ad hoc Website Committee, History Graduate Students' Association, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2008-2009
- Treasurer, History Graduate Students' Association, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2008-2009
- Member, Publicity Committee, Third Annual James A. Rawley Conference in the Humanities, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2008-2009
- Secretary/Treasurer, Phi Alpha Theta, SDSU, 2005-2006
University
- Member, UNL Libraries Graduate Student Advisory Board, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2010-present
Professional
- Member, Technology Committee, Western History Association, 2010-present
Community
- Graduate Student Volunteer, History Harvest, Nebraska Public Television, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 2010
- Judge, National History Day, Nebraska State Competition, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln, NE, 2009
Affiliations
- Member, American Historical Association
- Member, Western History Association
- Member, Society for the History of Science and Technology
- Member, HASTAC
- Member, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Developer Experience
The Buffalo Bill Project, 2011-present
The Buffalo Bill Project is a digital research project adjunct to the Papers of William F. Cody scholarly editions and William F. Cody Archive digital projects currently under development by the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
FREQr, 2011
A command line word frequency generator written in Ruby.
The Digital History Project, 2009-2011
Designed to provide resources for scholars and the public to learn more about Digital History.
POND: Participating Online In-Depth: A Digital History Lab, 2010
A one-stop location for students doing historical research to locate reliable databases for primary source research.
Technical Skills
Application Skills
| Photoshop CS5 |
|
| Terminal |
|
| Office Suites |
|
| Textmate / Vim |
|
| Wordpress |
|
| BlackBoard |
|
| Omeka |
|
| Browsers |
|
| *nix, Mac, and PC |
|
Markup, Query, and Programming Languages
| Ruby |
|
| Ruby on Rails |
|
| PHP |
|
| MySQL |
|
| Python |
|
| Objective-C |
|
| Java |
|
| Javascript |
|
| TEI |
|
| HTML |
|
| CSS |
|
Timeline of Technical Skills
- Objective-C (2012)
- Ruby (2010 - 2012)
- PHP (2009 - 2012)
- MySQL (2009 - 2012)
- Python (2008 - 2012)
- Javascript (2008 - 2012)
- HTML & CSS (1998 - 2012)
Additional code projects and contributions can be found on Github.
Updated: 2012-04-19