DIGITAL
HUMANITIES
The above-mentioned pyramid suggests that
Literature has a very oppositional relation with Science and Technology as well
as religion. They hardly go in a parallel way. Sometimes seems perpendicular but
never linear. So here is an interesting discussion on how the ‘anti-scientific
spirit’ of literature merges with technology. Literature basically aims to opt
for liberty and spreading of humanity. Literature tries to revolt against any
kind of bondage that is making humans mechanical or inhuman.
With the advancement in technological
field, it can be observed that people are being spied over and they are beginning
to lose their private space and nowadays there has been a tremendous improvement
of artificial intelligence that it is very hard to say that our privacy is
maintained. Nothing is private or confidential nowadays. And literature
reflects this thought too like in the novel titled ‘1984’, George Orwell
creates a dystopian version of prescience of modern science.
Digital Humanities is an oxymoron kind of
thing. It’s a composition of two things- ‘Digital’ and ‘Humanities’. Well,
technology here is an interdisciplinary advancement utilized for research
concerned with the intersection of computing and disciplines of humanities. So,
digital and humanities are opposite words which generates a unique area or
scope of research.
1. Define Digital Humanities?
Before coming to a particular definition of
Digital humanities, let us explore to what Google has to say-
The Wikipedia defines-
“The digital humanities, also known as
humanities computing, is a field of study, research, teaching, and invention
concerned with the intersection of computing and the disciplines of the
humanities. It is methodological by nature and interdisciplinary in scope. It
involves investigation, analysis, synthesis and presentation of information in
electronic form. It studies how these media affect the disciplines in which
they are used, and what these disciplines have to contribute to our knowledge
of computing.”
Matthew G. Kirschenbaum, an associate
director of the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities at the
University of Maryland, in his article titled “What Is Digital Humanities and
What’s It Doing in English Departments?” explains that digital humanities is more
akin to a common methodological outlook than an investment in any one specific
set of texts or even technologies.
Digital Humanities is a social undertaking.
It keeps in mind the networks of people who work together, sharing research,
arguing, competing, and collaborating for many years. It involves
investigation, analysis, synthesis and presentation of information in
electronic form.
2. What is it doing in English Departments? Write any three reasons out of six given in the article by Matthew G. Kirschenbaum.
Matthew G. Kirschenbaum discusses six
reasons on the role of Digital Humanities in English Department-
First, after numeric input, text has been
by far the most tractable data type for computers to manipulate. Unlike images,
audio, video, and so on, there is a long tradition of text-based data
processing that was within the capabilities of even some of the earliest
computer systems and that has for decades fed research in fields like
stylistics, linguistics, and author attribution studies, all heavily associated
with English departments.
Second that there is the long association
between computers and composition, almost as long and just as rich in its
lineage.
Third that it is a modest but much-promoted
belle-lettristic project around hypertext and other forms of electronic
literature that continues to this day and is increasingly vibrant and diverse.
3. Do you think there is any need of it in the study / research of literature?
Definitely, there is need of it in study /
research of literature as every new field. The Digital Humanities provides a
space in which we can attack the three fundamental constraints that limited our
ability to contribute to the public good: (1) the distribution problem, (2) the
library problem, and (3) the comprehension problem.
Digital humanities in literature can
provide a new pattern of pedagogy.
4. Can it help in study / research of regional literature written in local languages (i.e. Hindi, Sanskrit, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu etc) as it helps in the study of literature in English?
Yes, it can help in study/research of regional literature written in local languages (i.e. Hindi, Sanskrit, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu etc) as it helps in the study of literature in English.
Thank you.
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