{"id":43,"date":"2023-10-04T18:21:05","date_gmt":"2023-10-04T18:21:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tomandmaria.com\/retrolab\/?page_id=43"},"modified":"2026-05-14T19:00:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T19:00:19","slug":"research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tomandmaria.com\/retrolab\/research\/","title":{"rendered":"Retrolab Research"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

UWM does not have a history of technology or STS curriculum or a well developed media studies program, but I\u2019d be happy to work with any faculty or students who would like to incorporate the lab resources into their research. That could include students from English, Art History or Anthropology where there are some faculty with relevant interests. We also have a newly introduced graduate certificate in digital cultures<\/a> and an undergraduate certificate<\/a> and interdisciplinary major<\/a> in Digital Arts and Culture. The English department has the cryptically named “graduate plan H” in Media, Cinema, and Digital Studies<\/a> and an undergraduate program in film studies<\/a> which has some digital elements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Having had the experience of using these old machines, including the Apple II (which I\u2019d never glimpsed while growing up in 1980s Britain) helped me to rework portions of my recent book to better capture aspects of the user experience. The experience of putting together the lab and restoring its contents has also made me more aware of the huge community of retrocomputing enthusiasts, whose rituals and practices should be an important research topic in their own right for scholars of STS and computing culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several graduate students from the history and English departments have made use of the lab for their thesis research and to gain hands on experience with media technologies discussed in their classes. These include topics such as Hypercard, electronic literature, early CD-ROM games such as Myst and The 7th Guest, survival horror (including the silent classic 3D Monster Maze), and research in the lab’s collection of books and magazines to document the early Internet experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lab has also been used by UWM library staff to access and archive material on floppy disk. The lab computers can access files in a range of computer media and formats, including hard drives, floppy disks (3.5 and 5.25 inch), Syquest cartridges, Zip disks and Jaz cartridges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UWM does not have a history of technology or STS curriculum or a well developed media studies program, but I\u2019d be happy to work with any faculty or students who would like to incorporate the lab resources into their research. 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