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Category: digital humanities

On “Exploding, Centralizing, and Reimagining: Critical Scholarship Refracted Through the NewRadial Prototype,” by Jon Saklofske

On “Exploding, Centralizing, and Reimagining: Critical Scholarship Refracted Through the NewRadial Prototype,” by Jon Saklofske

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In “Exploding, Centralizing, and Reimagining: Critical Scholarship Refracted Through the NewRadial Prototype,” Jon Saklofske discusses NewRadial, an Implementing New Knowledge Environments (INKE) prototype. In Saklofske’s own words, “NewRadial is a data visualization environment that was originally designed as an alternative way to encounter and annotate image-based databases” (n.p). Here, he situates NewRadial within the larger context of INKE’s focus (at the time) on alternative models for journals and monographs. Saklofske argues for the value of multimodal, non-linear interaction with cultural…

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On “Building Expertise to Support Digital Scholarship: A Global Perspective,” by Vivian Lewis, Lisa Shapiro, Xuemao Wang, and Jon E. Cawthorne

On “Building Expertise to Support Digital Scholarship: A Global Perspective,” by Vivian Lewis, Lisa Shapiro, Xuemao Wang, and Jon E. Cawthorne

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“Building Expertise to Support Digital Scholarship: A Global Perspective” is a Council for Library and Information Resources (CLIR) report compiled by  Vivian Lewis, Lisa Spiro, Xuemao Wang, and Jon E. Cawthorne. The authors comment on the rise of digital scholarship centres internationally, but the lack of research regarding best practices for running such a centre. Lewis et al. stress the importance of gathering information about digital scholarship expertise, institutional structures, and requisite competencies. To remedy the want of pragmatic information…

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On “Dissemination as Cultivation: Scholarly Communications in a Digital Age,” by James O’Sullivan, Christopher P. Long, and Mark A. Mattson

On “Dissemination as Cultivation: Scholarly Communications in a Digital Age,” by James O’Sullivan, Christopher P. Long, and Mark A. Mattson

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In “Dissemination as Cultivation: Scholarly Communications in a Digital Age,” James O’Sullivan, Christopher P. Long, and Mark A. Mattson link form to content in the context of publishing. That is, they argue that the digital realm allows for scholarly content to be presented in more representative forms than print publication can offer. Although this may not ring true for all fields, it can for the digital humanities, which is often characterized by its openness and collegiality (as Elika Ortéga and…

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On “Editing as a Theoretical Pursuit” by Jerome McGann

On “Editing as a Theoretical Pursuit” by Jerome McGann

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In the chapter “Editing as a Theoretical Pursuit” from Radiant Textuality, Jerome McGann considers how scholarly editing can be a theory-based activity rather than a straightforward attempt to provide a faithful version of a particular text (the dreaded “factive obligations” [81]). He argues that electronic textual editing can be especially fruitful for theoretical editing, because it can blend the procedures of documentary and critical editing. To demonstrate his argument, McGann uses the creation of The Rosetti Archive as an example. He…

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On “The Productive Unease of 21st-century Digital Scholarship,” by Julia Flanders

On “The Productive Unease of 21st-century Digital Scholarship,” by Julia Flanders

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In the classic 2009 digital humanities (DH) article “The Productive Unease of 21st-century Digital Scholarship” Julia Flanders explores the unique position of DH vis-a-vis the larger narrative of the inherent progress of technological development. She suggests that although DH is innately tied to changes in technology, it doesn’t “progress” in the say way (or else isn’t as driven by the concept of progress as industry might be) — rather, it creates a productive unease. Flanders points out three examples of productive…

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On “Publications,” by Steven E. Jones

On “Publications,” by Steven E. Jones

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A chapter on publications in Steven E. Jones’s 2014 book The Emergence of the Digital Humanities” might seem out of place at first. (As in, “Hey, this is a DH book, why are we talking about scholarly communication?!”) But Jones is quick to point out the close ties between the digital humanities and publishing, which he frames under the conception of publishing as a means of the academy’s own production. Digital humanists, Jones argues, “are in a good position to…

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On Reading Writing Interfaces: From the Digital to the Bookbound, by Lori Emerson

On Reading Writing Interfaces: From the Digital to the Bookbound, by Lori Emerson

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In Reading Writing Interfaces: From the Digital to the Bookbound, Lori Emerson takes contemporary interface designers and their drive toward transparency to task. She questions the validity of seamless connection, an occasional side effect of ubiquitous computing — why would we want to be unaware of the many ways that computers, networks, and algorithms are shaping our lives, decisions, and interactions? Emerson frames her study through the concept of readingwriting: “the practice of writing through the network, which as it…

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On “Breaking the Book: Print Humanities in the Digital Age,” by Laura Mandell

On “Breaking the Book: Print Humanities in the Digital Age,” by Laura Mandell

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In Breaking the Book: Print Humanities in the Digital Age, Laura Mandell contends with the form and function of the book (and especially the book of literary or cultural criticism) as well as the shift from a print-based to electronic-based humanities. She suggests that it is timely to critically engage with the academic book as universities and their outputs increasingly move online. In this sense, Mandell’s topic is akin to Kathleen Fitzpatrick’s in Planned Obsolescence: Publishing, Technology, and the Future…

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On “Humanistic Theory and Digital Scholarship,” by Johanna Drucker

On “Humanistic Theory and Digital Scholarship,” by Johanna Drucker

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In the classic chapter “Humanistic Theory and Digital Scholarship,” Johanna Drucker argues that computational methods are at odds with humanistic approaches. She suggests that the digital humanities needs to develop humanistic models for computer-based inquiry. In doing so, practitioners can actively resist the flattening affects of using tools, platforms, and systems that were created through purely quantitative methods, rather than the qualitative approach inherent to the humanities. Drucker’s chapter has become a digital humanities touchstone since its publication. Many DH…

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