“If our peers in the DH are “scholarly editors, literary critics, librarians, academic computing staff, historians, archaeologists, and classicists,” I believe it’s their duty, as is with any scholar, to progress their field by using any skills they can apply.”
Yes! I love this point, and to continue from HIST 6760, I agree with you again, Becky! In fact, I actually noted exactly what you did about digital libraries from Ramsay. As a “historian in training”, I am so very thankful for the growing digitization of artifacts and documents. Making these items available to scholars around the world in an instant is a powerful thing. (I’m also totally grateful that you referenced Back to the Future!)
Obviously, for me being the public historian of the group, I immediately think of an archive when I think of traditional. I can’t help it. My mind lives in the museum field. So, for me, the similarities between traditional and digital scholarship lies within the museum. Traditional artifacts, documents, and what have you are important for education. But, digitizing these objects is just as important if not more. Yes, having the privilege to hold a Civil War letter is way more enriching than seeing a scanned copy of it, but it is enriching nonetheless.
I’m sure I’m totally off with my comments, but I guess digital humanities means something different to each one of us. This is what it means to me. (Plus it’s pretty late, and I’ve been writing a paper about 1984. So my mind is all jumbled about.)
