I’m Jessica Marie Otis, Associate Director at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media and Associate Professor of History at George Mason University. My current work email address is jotis2@gmu.edu  and you can also find me on Bluesky or the Digital Humanities Slack.

My research explores how people adopt and adapt to new information technologies, as well as the ways those technologies can transform previous understandings of both the natural world and human history. My historical research focuses on the cultural history of everyday mathematics in early modern England (including fun things like plague statistics and cryptography), while my digital research ranges from projects focused on early modern history to meta-projects on the current and potential future practice of DH. For an abbreviated list of my academic accomplishments and publications, check out my C.V. page.

My book on numeracy in early modern England is available from Oxford University Press. I am currently working on my next book, on the London Bills of Mortality.

My recent digital projects include:

Death by Numbers – this NSF-funded project involves constructing an online database of information from the 17th-century London Bills of Mortality and examining plague mortality data during epidemic and endemic plague years using network analysis.

Gaming the Great Plague of London – with Stephanie Grimm, Alexandra Miller, and Nathan Sleeter – this RRCHNM-funded prototype project is creating an exploration of the 1664-1667 plague outbreak in London meant for classroom and public use

Mathematical Humanists – with Ashley Sanders – this series of workshops is intended to introduce participants to fundamental mathematical concepts that underpin common Digital Humanities (DH) methods. Unfortunately, the NEH funding for these workshops was terminated by DOGE.

When not working, I can generally be found spoiling cats, volunteering with Girl Scouts, or running. I’ve also been known to take a scenic photograph or two.