Computation is not just a tool but a medium of humanistic inquiry.
Matthew G. Kirschenbaum
The debate over whether humanities students should learn to code has strong arguments on both sides. Personally, I think coding is an incredibly useful skill for humanities students—not because it replaces traditional analytical methods, but because it adds a new dimension to them. As Kirschenbaum says, “Computation is not just a tool but a medium of humanistic inquiry.” By learning code, humanities students can better understand digital texts, archives, and the infrastructure that shapes the modern flow of knowledge.
Before this assignment, my coding experience was pretty basic—just some Python and Java from my CS classes. This was my first structured dive into HTML and CSS. The tutorials on HTML Dog were easy to follow, and they helped me see the logic behind markup and styling. Instead of building everything from scratch, I found that modifying existing code made the process feel much more hands-on and relevant to digital humanities work.
Some argue that coding takes away from the core focus of humanities. For example, Donahue claims that “forcing humanities students to code shifts focus away from critical engagement with texts and towards an unnecessary technical literacy.” I don’t agree with this argument. Coding isn’t an all-or-nothing deal—it’s just another tool, one that can actually deepen our understanding of digital media.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style>
body {
font-family: "Georgia", serif;
line-height: 1.6;
margin: 20px;
padding: 10px;
}
h1 {
color: #333;
}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Understanding Digital Texts</h1>
<p>By tweaking typography and spacing, we can make digital texts more readable and engaging for audiences.</p>
</body>
</html>The HTML code above is a basic webpage that demonstrates how typography and spacing adjustments can improve text readability. This code shows how humanities scholars can use digital tools to improve accessibility and engagement. Rather than taking away from critical analysis, coding gives us new ways to present and interact with texts. Coding is not about replacing traditional humanities method. Instead, it’s about complementing them. As the world becomes increasingly digital, having even a basic understanding of how digital texts work can only make us better scholars.
1 thought on “Lab 2”
Leave a Reply to Sylvie Marie Olson Cancel reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Well done, Chloe! I appreciate the argument in your second sentence. The concept of adding a “new dimension” is a cool articulation of coding’s benefits. Well said. The excerpt you chose from Donahue I did not catch when I read his post. Even though I sided with Donahue for giving nuance to Kirschenbaum’s arguments, I find myself persuaded by your confrontation of this all-or-nothing coding mentality. You make a great point, coding is a tool that enables us to “deepen our understanding of digital media.” Your thoughtful example of code’s ability to improve accessibility and complement humanistic scholarship really drove your point home. Great work. 🙂