"The Difference Between Digital Humanities and Digital History" - Rhetorical Precis and Presentation

Rhetorical Precis

In his article, “The Differences Between Digital Humanities and Digital History,” Stephen Robertson explains that “digital history’s use of the Web and computational tools are two areas that distinguish the discipline within digital humanities.” Robertson supports his claim by detailing how digital historians have used the Web to present and distribute material, have employed the use of digital mapping more than any other discipline within the digital humanities, and have adapted to challenges in using search tools. His purpose is to provide an explanation of how digital historians are different from other scholars in the digital humanities in order to show how other disciplines should embrace the disciplinary differences so that they, too, can contribute to the digital humanities as an interdisciplinary field. Robertson writes in a casual tone, but includes specific, academic language, indicating an intended audience of academic peers who are also interested in the digital humanities.

Presentation

Stephen Robertson begins his article, “The Differences Between Digital Humanities and Digital History,” by describing some of the similarities that are shared among most digital humanists, regardless of discipline. The author points out that, over time, digital humanities has come to be regarded as a single, over-arching field, and he claims that there needs to be a shift back to a more discipline-specific focus. Robertson suggests that digital humanists would be better served by “reimagining digital humanities not as a single all-encompassing tent, but as a house with many rooms, different spaces for disciplines that are not silos but entry points and conduits to central spaces where those from different disciplines working with particular tools and media can gather.”

To illustrate his point, Robertson discusses digital historians specifically and tells how they have embraced tools and practices that are beneficial to their specific field and how they have adapted to challenges specific to their field. First, Robertson explains how digital historians have used the web to share and present information to other scholars. Here he points out that digital historians were some of the first to create projects for audiences beyond academia. Next Robertson tells how digital historians have “turned to digital mapping to a greater extent than other disciplines in the digital humanities, adopting it as their favored computational tool.”  He describes how digital mapping allow for visual display of information in relation to geographic location. Looking at historical information from this perspective allows for news ways to analyze data, illustrate arguments, or present answers to questions.  Lastly, Robertson explains how the popularity of mapping amongst digital historians is a result of the limited use of textual analysis tools by historians. While textual analysis tools are quite popular in other fields, its use by historians is relatively limited. This is because the most important sources for historical scholarship have been digitized far less than the most important sources in other disciplines. This challenge has led many digital historians just accepting the limitations of search tools instead of looking toward other possible digital tools or software.

In the end, Robertson returns to his suggestion that digital humanities must acknowledge the different sources, approaches, and questions of the various humanities disciplines. He claims that, “To engages more scholars in digital humanities requires approaching them in disciplinary terms and showing how the values and practices of digital humanities can help them pursue their disciplinary projects.” Further, once scholars are able to recognize their discipline as a single room focused on their discipline within a larger tent that includes many disciplines, then all disciplines can effectively contribute to the larger field of digital humanities. 

Work Cited

Robertson, Stephen. "The Difference Between Digital Humanities and Digital History." Debates in the Digital Humanities 2016, edited by Matthew K. Gold and Lauren F. Klein. U of Minnesota Press, 2016