DH can do
¶ 1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 1 Now that we are at the end of talking about DH, I feel a little disappointed and perhaps sad that this exciting field is being drifted in the talk about “the corporatization of the academy”, but I guess since DH a part of scholarship, there is no escape from talking about the university. After reading “The Dark Side of the Digital Humanities”, I developed a feeling of sympathy towards DH because I felt that because it’s considered a part of the humanities, academics included it in the attack on the humanities. As Wendy Chun said “the dark side of the digital humanities is its bright side, its alleged promise to save the humanities by making them and their graduates relevant” In the light of this quote, I share the same opinion with Chun, DH doesn’t have to be the rescuer of the whole humanities. I feel this is a huge burden that neither DH nor any other field can bear because it consists of many tangled issues, a couple of which are the economy and the society.
¶ 2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 1 Therefore, the first thing I believe scholars in DH should do to prevent increased corporatization within the university is to draw clear guidelines of what DH is, and what the relationship is like with humanities. If DH remains in the uncertain and undefined zone, there is a very small chance that it would make change in anything, let alone the university. Also, I think that when the relationship between DH and humanities is specified or determined, the field will have a new chance to prove itself as an independent and a promising field. Away from proving that humanities are worth every penny spent on it. The relationship between DH and humanities should be set on basis that scholars from both fields think are accurate, so from people inside the fields not outside them.
¶ 3 Leave a comment on paragraph 3 1 After the DH is positioned with a definition and a relationship with humanities, I feel the next step should be trying to connect with the other fields in the university. I think by stating that the work done by scholars in DH is relevant to the work done by scholars in other disciplines the DH will become reasonable and even necessary. This is very important if you want to make a change in the university because we live in a society that, generally speaking, think of science or business majors as important and necessary; therefore, these kind of fields that have influence over those in power. All the skills that are pointed by Rita Rally should be emphasized in this convergence approach “visual literacies, communicative competence, technological proficiency, data management”
It is a little sad, eh? We go through this entire semester of thinking that DH could possibly save the humanities and make it as interesting and wanted as STEM fields but it is a hard act to do.
I agree with you and Chun that DH doesn’t have to be and really can’t be the savior of the humanities, but it is a start. It has it’s issues but I think were making progress just trying to solve these economic and social issues within DH and within the humanities as a whole.