Curation, analysis, editing, and modeling comprise fundamental activities at the core of Digital Humanities.
Burdick et al. “One: Humanities to Digital Humanities,” in Digital_Humanities (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012), 1-26.
After my first class, I came to understand Digital Humanities as a subject that uses information technology to assist humanities research. However, since I haven’t taken many humanities courses in college, I wasn’t sure how digital tools contribute to this field in practical terms. The sentence I quoted from the article helped me clarify this. It offers a clear direction for understanding what DH can do. The author highlights curation, analysis, editing, and modeling as the four key activities that can be applied to different research. This provides concrete methods where technology enhances research.
This made me reflect on an art history course I took last trimester. My professor tried to minimize technology’s role in the class by requiring handwritten work and using static images to present artworks. However, one day, we were shown digital reconstructed models of ancient artifacts, an example that aligns perfectly with the modeling phase described in the article. Compared to physical restoration, digital modeling is safer, easier to share, and allows people to engage interactively. We tried different colors on that artwork to hypothesize its original appearance. This demonstrated the significant educational and research value DH brings.
The article emphasizes how technology serves as a tool to support and advance humanities research, but I am interested in the opposite side of this process. From a computer science course I took, I learned how social platforms have transformed communication, and I have a similar question: how do technologies impact humanities research? For instance, in art, AI-powered tools challenge traditional notions of creativity and aesthetics. I am curious how other advancements, like machine learning or interactive simulations, might reshape our understanding of culture and history. Exploring these intersections is something I look forward in future classes.
