Attending Steve Mentz’ seminar in the Digital Humanities Center was very insightful. One idea that I liked that he brought up is that water is an ominous present in our environment and his curiosity on moving blue humanities beyond the ocean and thinking about other materials like rain, humidity, lakes, ice, etc. There are so many various sources of water that influence human identity. Not everybody has access to the ocean but they do have access to drinking water or fog or a lake nearby them. Everyone can participate in blue humanities beyond the ocean. I feel like for some it can be hard to relate to “Moby-Dick” in a blue humanities way since they don’t live by the ocean, but it doesn’t matter, they are still reading about it participating in the discussion. Water, in a blue humanities context, doesn’t have to be physically there, it can be present in literature, art and other cultural expressions. Mentz also briefly brings up global climate change impacting waters. I feel like now more than ever it is important to have these discussions regarding water. We need water, we can’t live without water. It is important to appreciate what we have and to not take it for granted. His seminar had made me more excited to read “Moby-Dick” and see how the narrative of the ocean is portrayed. Do they disregard it or appreciate it? It will also be interesting to see their interactions with the ocean. Overall, this seminar and class discussion was very insightful!