A lecture by Prof. Heather Warfield of Antioch University introduced Saint Anselm College to the concept of the “digital humanities.” The Oct. 27 lecture was held in the Grappone Institute for the Humanities and funded by the Bean Digital Lecturer Series. Warfield discussed her work about the Yankee Division Virtual Pilgrimage project, stating, “WW1 History is as important to learn about now as it has ever been, and New England played a significant part in the war; there are so many stories to learn-we can do that through pilgrimage.”
This includes virtual pilgrimage. Warfield’s current work focuses on Belleau Church in France, which has become a shrine for The Yankee Division. The Yankee Division was made up of 25,000 men from New England who became known for their marksmanship and their spirit. This division was the first full US military division to enter combat in France during World War I, and fought throughout northern France. The Yankee Division also led the first US offensive campaign of WWI and liberated Belleau in the second battle of the Marne.
Belleau Church has been mostly abandoned due to structural damage and is no longer used for services; however, a mass is held in the church on Memorial Day every year. Maine and New Hampshire veterans paid for the altar, and the names of over 2700 Yankee Division soldiers are written on the church walls. The church was damaged in World War II but was restored by the 26th division. The first major pilgrimage to the church took place in 1953.
Prof. Warfield’s research is on the psychological healing effect of pilgrimage, and the digital humanities offers an entirely new medium with which to experience this effect. The YD pilgrimage website states, “Currently, this virtual pilgrimage platform has over 70 ultra-high-resolution spherical panoramas across five different historic sites from the Western Front. These interactive panoramas can be explored in 360 degrees from your web browser on computers, phones, and VR devices like Google Cardboard and the Oculus.”
The website describes the virtual experience: “Drawing from the historical pilgrimages to the Western Front of WWI, this virtual pilgrimage is intended to connect us with sites that were meaningful to the Yankee Division during, and after, their service in France. The site is an ongoing collaboration amongst all those interested in the memory of the soldiers, their family stories, the places from which they originated, and the historical and cultural contexts of WWI.”
The online pilgrimage can be accessed using either a VR headset or the YD Pilgrimage website. The sites included in the online VR experience are the interior and exterior of Belleau Church, the Aise-Marne American Cemetery, Froidmont Quarry, Vauxaillon Cave stairs, and St. Blaise Cave. All data found on the website can be downloaded or embedded onto other sites as a free resource.
Prof. Warfield’s lecture was an informative introduction to digital, public-facing education in the humanities. The field of digital humanities offers unique dimensions to the study of the humanities, and the Yankee Division Pilgrimage brings it close to home. Junior Nick Longo observed after the lecture that it is, “very interesting how one little thread of an infantry regiment from New Hampshire can be traced so far away.”