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Aaron Lewis wrote a new post 8 years, 5 months ago
My DH project was borne out of a meeting with Dr. Schocket, during which I had few ideas and pulled this one out of thin air. For my project, I will be proposing a prototype for a much larger project that I feel […]
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Aaron Lewis commented on the post, Dh is the means not the end 8 years, 6 months ago
Tonya,
I agree with you on many of your points. The part that stood out to me most was your discussion of both the diversity and complexity of DH, as well as the rat-python example. I think they sort of go hand-in-hand, or at least they have for me. For all of our assignments, I have been relatively comfortable with completing them, except for…[Read more]
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Aaron Lewis commented on the post, DH Inclusion: BREAK THE CYCLE 8 years, 7 months ago
Liz,
As I was reading through the first paragraph of your post, the first thing that hit me was your argument that “DH is here to stay.” I am not disagreeing with you; in fact, I am whole-heartedly agreeing. However, while DH is here to stay, the DH that we are currently seeing might not be the DH we will come to know in ten years, maybe even les…[Read more] -
Aaron Lewis commented on the post, Macroanalysis vs. Close Reading 8 years, 7 months ago
I thought you did a great job of separating both macroanalysis and close reading. Both have their benefits when examining text. As Liz pointed out, dividing up the different analytical methods of any type of theory creates a divisiveness within the scholarly community. Your use of the “what” and “why” questions echoed what I had been thinking in…[Read more]
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Aaron Lewis commented on the post, Evaluating DH 8 years, 8 months ago
When I wrote this post, I had a project in mind. It ended up being a project designed by several members of the historic community. Because of this, I considered the usefulness of the project considering these people had strong historical backgrounds which, by my judgement, should indicate a relatively high usefulness of the project. On the other…[Read more]
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Aaron Lewis wrote a new post 8 years, 8 months ago
Like Liz and, it seems, so many others I am still struggling with the concept of DH. I am not necessarily struggling with the general definition of DH but rather what can be categorized as DH. Now, we have added […]
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I too felt very overwhelmed by this project. I didn’t understand how I was going to write about something that I feel I am still trying to pin down my understanding of. Your post was very helpful. Not only did it show me that I am not alone, but you proposed many questions that will help me while writing my 1000-1500 words.
It really is quite interesting looking at all of the different projects and accomplishments that these DHers have accomplished. Though the exact perimeters of What defines DH is constantly changing, we can see the different things people have accomplished because of DH.-
I also felt overwhelmed by the project because of the essential question of what really is DH? After picking a project and doing some research I found some very interesting things. It opened up a better understanding of what DH could potentially be especially while working in history. This is still a broad topic about what actually falls into DH, and like most others I am still struggling in other aspects of this course. The project was a nice opportunity to take a break from the coding aspect and frustrations. I picked DAACS a project focusing on slavery in the colonies and antebellum period it was very interesting, and fascinating to me as a graduate student studying American history!
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I want to comment on the part of your post that appreciates the people who had a hand in the DH project. How did you go about determining those involved, and how impactful their involvement was? For me, I find it hard to want to consider that as a criterion for evaluation because I’d wind up blurring the lines between what the creators intended and what the project really offers. Or maybe that’s a line that SHOULD be blurred in DH, as opposed to other areas?
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When I wrote this post, I had a project in mind. It ended up being a project designed by several members of the historic community. Because of this, I considered the usefulness of the project considering these people had strong historical backgrounds which, by my judgement, should indicate a relatively high usefulness of the project. On the other hand, after considering things, it is hard to consider that because they may not have the DH background necessary to complete a project that’s wholly interactive, in the case of the project I evaluated. I ended up not using that as one of my criteria because I ended up thinking how you did: Because there is a blurred line between the historical part of the project and what they intended to create.
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I agree with you Arron about the fluidity of the definition of Digital Humanities and its contents. I personally like to think of Digital Humanities as a tool that allows us to see the wider world of the study of humanities. Much like how a microscope allows us to see the microbial world. Like I mentioned in my last post, Digital Humanities functions better as a combination of practices rather than a defined methodology. Much like how we view modern History, we tend to avoid the trap of the one narrative perspective. With the combined practices we our taught in Digital Humanities the ability to observe multiple ideals allows us to make much more open ended narratives. In addition, I was also drawn to the Carolina Digital Humanities Initiative specifically Documenting the American South.
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Aaron Lewis commented on the post, Embracing ephemerality in the digital humanities 8 years, 8 months ago
I find Jeff Rothenberg’s quote about the potential length of digital information to be very interesting and relevant. As evidenced by some of the links Dr. Schocket provided, groundbreaking websites with new information get passed up constantly. In contrast, there are thousands of books sitting unused in libraries across the world. However, I t…[Read more]
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Aaron Lewis commented on the post, Debates in DH 8 years, 8 months ago
Kristen,
One of the parts of Gary Hall’s Critical Theory article that interested me was his discussion of critical theory in the context of Scheinfeldt’s claim that theory’s problem is a matter of scale and timing. The argument is that the theory of DH is being compared to humanities scholarship as a whole, which is to expect every scholar to…[Read more]
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Aaron Lewis wrote a new post 8 years, 8 months ago
After reading through Sarah’s and Dave’s posts, I am in agreement that the classification of what is and is not Digital Humanities is a major task in the field. As an undergraduate, I was both a History major and […]
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Thanks for your post, Aaron. It builds (see what I did there? eh?) nicely off of both David’s and Sarah’s posts. I found myself asking the same exact questions as to the “useless” material out there on Youtube. Do Matt Bellassai’s “Whine About It” videos count because they represent our culture in some way? I decided that they didn’t, but then I wondered if that was some insidious elitist streak in me.
As I read this week I felt like I was a kid again, making a sand castle. Each text I read helped me form my ideas of DH and pat down my definition, but each new text brought with it a wave that washed away the majority of my previous conception. I am currently re-reading with the intent of wrestling down some coherent thoughts that might form a better definition.
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The ocean metaphor really summed it up for me, Emily! 🙂
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I like your sandcastle analogy, Emily. I have been wrestling with the definition myself and found to be on shifting sand the further I got into the reading. It’s also been hard to explain the topic to my fiance when he asked about my classes this semester. I ended up giving up trying to explain it until I could get a better grasp on it myself. Good luck!
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Nice metaphor, Emily. But Emily and all, don’t get too discouraged. As you can see, there’s significant disagreement even among those steeped in the field (if that’s in fact what DH is) who have very differing conceptions of what it means, its boundaries, and who qualifies as doing it.
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I’m glad to hear there are others out there who were as “discouraged” as I. I thought I was having a seizure every time I would start a new section of the readings. Each definition would swirl around and in my head trying to make a connection or relationship with the other. There were some similarities that led me to believe there was an aha moment coming, but it never really came. It reminded me of my critical media class that continually led me to believe that each week was the answer and it wasn’t. So I’ve figured that all of this is relative to your own philosophies….. maybe. It is what you bring to the table and your research that clarifies the “definition” for you.
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Aaron Lewis commented on the post, Why are we here? 8 years, 9 months ago
Hello all,
My name is Aaron and I am a second year Master’s student in the History Department. I took this class because I feel that it would be a great supplement for my future as an educator. It seems that many colleges and universities are embracing the trend of having online classes. In addition, research through digital space is vital for…[Read more] -
Aaron Lewis became a registered member 8 years, 9 months ago
I really like this idea, especially since I am a history teacher. But besides that I obsessed with the Civil War. Awesome idea!