What is Digital Humanities?

The definition of digital humanities (DH) provides the foundation for an interesting debate.

DH Involves Computing

DH involves computing, but computing itself has a wide definition. Further, computing does not require the use of computers, for example, the census. In the nineteenth century, the census consisted of handwritten records completed by thousands of people. The result was a big data amalgam of all the citizens in a given country. From this data, various conclusions were drawn. So while computing may not involve computers, it does involve generating data. DH transforms data into a different format, which provides new insight into the original material.

DH Spreads Knowledge

With its multichannel formats, DH has the potential to allow mass audiences to consume academic works. Scholarly knowledge can now be made more accessible to a broader audience. Audiences that formerly had no way to access this knowledge may have an in-depth engagement with the humanities.

DH Entails Creation

DH involves computing and it also involves the creation of resources. This could be coding, running an analysis, text mining, mapping, data visualization, building a game, or communicating an interpretation of humanities materials using the web. Regardless of the form it takes, DH entails the production of new and creatively presented scholarly resources.

DH Uses Digital

The practice of DH typically involves the use of digital media, data science, and technology. These tools allow digital humanists to ask new kinds of questions. It also allows practitioners to organize and present their research in various digital forms. DH can also involve the use of digitized materials. Below are some examples.

DH Means Thinking Digitally

DH allows us to think differently about sources in light of new technology. It allows for experimentation, where humanists can develop and try out different digital approaches.

DH Can Be Applied Across Any Humanities Discipline

DH can be applied to the study of any of the humanities. It is a technique that crosses disciplines. It offers opportunities for practitioners in the humanities to pursue a wide range of quantitative and qualitative research methods. How a DH project manifests itself depends largely on the academic discipline from which it is derived. Each discipline has developed a unique set of methods and tools that remains unique to the discipline and influences the DH end product.

Here are some examples of DH projects from the discipline of history and languages:

Humanities, Digitally

Reversing the term digital humanities to “humanities, digitally” introduces yet another framework to DH. Rather than presenting humanities in a digital format, it looks at the influence of humanities on the digital to reenvision it.

DH Can be Collective

DH projects are often collaborative and involve participation from multiple parties. Digital humanists often work in a collective environment that includes significant participant interaction.

The Future of Humanities

One day, all studies of humanities will be digital, perhaps making the term “digital humanities” defunct. DH may be the standardized way in which all humanities research is conducted. Theses will be executed using digital tools. Traditional humanities research will be conducted using digital methodologies. All humanities will be digitally mediated. Regardless, digital humanities should be a discipline unto itself, one in which research into digital methods and tools are continuously being innovated.

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