The digital humanities is an intersectional and constantly changing field that looks at the intersection between digital tools and its landscape and the humanities. because of this intersection, the field seems to be inherently political. It is also a field of constant communication and collaboration, differentiating it from many other academic disciplines. The peer review system in contrast to social media platforms such as substack or even the in-between of blogging is an interesting one as it brings out questions about legitimacy and authority within the field. It seems to attempt to be academically inclusive to differing technical levels with digital tools. It is a Humanistic study of digital practices, digitising materials and objects, objects that might not exist outside of a computer and also the methods used perform analysis. It is also to disseminate ideas and present them in conversation with computational methods applied to humanistic study. It might include data bases for intellectual problems. Data structuring is political- Johanna Drucker. It helps us question what is at stake- when we use the rigid boxes of computers to analyse the world, often built by engineers who might not always think of the epistemological structures of these tools. The subject of the digital humanities introduces itself imperatively and through audacity (in a good sense or possibly bad as well- a different word could be used to described what I mean) , but the subject holds an intriguing ethical imperative.
Tag: field of digital humanities
How do I understand the field of digital humanities
Digital Humanities, is as Matthew K. Gold described, a continuation of New Media Studies, it is crucially about building things, with the potential to assist humanities advocacy and advance humanities teaching. Recently, in an increasingly charged technological environment, it is inextricably linked to contemporary political or cultural moments. In a digital space, there is the potential to create an equalising field for humanities, which endeavours to create greater transparency in access to institutions, methods of research, and the academy more widely. There is, despite this drive for ethical intellectual engagement with the humanities, a need for further diversity in research and a movement away from anglocentric positions of study.
Projects that employ some of the principles of digital humanities (e.g. available and accessible to the public, explorative engagement with primary texts) can widen the scope of interpretation available to traditional humanities. By adapting literary or written documents into visual resources, these projects can bring previously dense or obscure information to a wider audience.
