The digital environment offers expanded possibilities for exploring multiple approaches to what constitutes knowledge and what methods qualify as valid for its production.
Burdick et al. “One: From Humanities to Digital Humanities,” in Digital_Humanities (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012), 24.
In “One: From Humanities to Digital Humanities,” Burdick et al. present an account of the origin of digital humanities within the historical context. By tracing the intertwining of technologies, computational methods, and new modes of knowledge formation, they provide the audience with a clear roadmap for the rise of the Generative Humanities. I found this article interesting primarily because it not only defines the digital humanities but also details how its knowledge production fits with the digital age. The above quote is one of many arguments made in the article highlighting the opportunity offered by the digital environment for exploring new knowledge production methods. With the advent of web technologies and the established screen culture in the 21st century, the article makes a compelling case for how digital humanities should be a generative enterprise in which multimedia making is integral to knowledge production. After reading this article, I am well aware of the new modes of humanities knowledge production and the making practices that support them in digital humanities.
The discussion of how new media empowers scholars to explore new forms of knowledge production resonates with my experience. I have been publishing articles online since high school, and the display screen lets me incorporate images, layouts, and other elements beyond plain text in my articles. These additions provide visual context, quantitative support, and multiple layers of meaning for readers. However, there is little systematic training or a clear theoretical framework for using these tools effectively. As a result, in this course, I am hoping to be exposed to frameworks and theories in digital humanities for producing multimedia scholarship. I am looking forward to learning how to combine the texts with which we are all familiar with other media, such as visualizations and interactive interfaces. This new set of practices and mindsets will enable me to effectively leverage these technologies in my writing for the digital age.
