“Digital work challenges many of these separations, promoting dialogue not only across established disciplinary lines but also across the pure/applied, qualitative/quantitative, theoretical/practical divides”
Burdick et al. “One: From Humanities to Digital Humanities,” in Digital_Humanities (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012), 7.
As a political science/international relations major, I study the world from multiple perspectives and analyze history in order to gain an understanding of solutions for the present and the future longevity of the world politically. I entered this class believing that it would be a good way for me to learn online technical skills for the purpose of creating infographics and ads to convey political information. I have however learned much more and gained a greater appreciation for digital humanities than I ever before. The quote above resonates with me because it reveals the broad scope of the field of Digital Arts and humanities.
Digital arts and humanities are not just about display and aesthetics layered with information but as the quote above suggests, it is a field that crosses traditional boundaries and eliminates divides that have historically withheld progress by hindering cross-examination of principals. I think this quote grabbed my attention because, despite the intersectional nature of my major, my mindset was still limited in the uses and applications culminating the knowledge of multiple fields. I now have a better understanding of digital humanities and can think of many ways in which I can use it to advance my interest as well as contribute to the field of digital humanities as well.
One of the ideas I have considered is creating and/or improving presidential ad records. This process would include many professional fields such as history, archaeology, computer science, and political science to accomplish effectively, and each field has the ability to bring a unique contribution that some of the others cannot. Computer science for example could help code qualitative data or transform data from quantitative to quantitative, history could explore the time period and context of the findings, political science can explore consequences and implications for the present and future, etc.
I believe that digital arts and humanities are going to be essential to the world moving forward, and I am excited to learn how I can contribute using my interest in data visualization and inforgraphics.
