Exploring New Structures for Minimal Computing: Introducing Rondo, a Minimal Single Page Application for Digital Projects

Minimal computing represents an important intervention into digital humanities practice, but its impact has been limited by an overreliance on a single technical architecture - the static site generator. Rondo (https://sjsu-library.github.io/rondo/) represents a new approach to building minimal digital projects which retains the values of minimal computing but adopts a single page application architecture, allowing users to build a complete site by editing a single Google Sheet or local XLSX file. This presentation will introduce Rondo and discuss how this approach expands on minimal computing by deliberately embracing the practice of gleaning free resources from the technology industry. The valorization of gleaning, a mode of praxis which builds on the work of filmmaker Agnès Varda, suggests new possibilities for minimal computing architectures that glean from available infrastructure, as well as an orientation that values re-use and work performed under material constraints. The presentation will also highlight the first production project created using this framework, "Running in Prayer: The History and Purpose of the California 500 Mile American Indian Spiritual Marathon Relay Team" a collaboration between SJSU Library's Africana, Asian American, Chicano, & Native American Studies Center and the King Library Digital Humanities Center. This framework represents a way of working towards sustainable, highly diffused infrastructure capable of supporting community-owned digital humanities projects.