McPherson: Race and DH
¶ 1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 1 As I began the article, I anticipated that McPherson would address issues such as “debates about access to media – that is the digital divide” (McPherson 143). In some ways, I feel as though McPherson is reading too closely into technology as means of a division of race. McPherson presents the question “might we argue that the very structures of digital computation develop at least in part to cordon off race and to contain it?” (McPherson 143).
¶ 2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 2 It’s not that I think there’s particularly anything wrong with being more inclusive as a field; quite the opposite. I believe it’s possible to argue that ‘structures of digital computation’ partition race, but I don’t believe that is their intent. And if that’s not their intent, then it doesn’t appear there are many options aside from drawing attention to the idea that the digital humanities are ‘so white’ and being conscious about including discussions of race moving forward. When McPherson states that we have to analyze technology “even when our objects of analysis (say UNIX or search engines) seem not to be about race at all” (McPherson 153), I think this is an example of reading too closely into issues of race being present in DH – maybe search engines ‘seem not to be about race’ because there’s little in a search engine to ‘be about race’. In some respects, I think it’s a matter of interest as well as a change of the times. It’s likely that ‘structures of digital computation’ will change as a result of different people becoming more interested in the field as time goes on. To observe that the field in the 60’s, 70’s and so on was ‘so white’ may just be an observation – that doesn’t necessarily mean the field will continue to. I think it’s important for people like McPherson to draw attention to these observations as long as they recognize the field probably won’t stay that way, as digital humanities appears to be changing in many ways. and not to read too closely into subjects like race and search engines.
When you say “McPherson is reading too closely into technology as means of division of race” are you indicating this as a negative or positive thing? In other words, do see her her argument effecting technology negatively?