An identity built around making things—of being “a maker”—pervades technology culture. There’s a widespread idea that “People who make things are simply different [read: better] than those who don’t.”
Chachra, Debbie. “Why I Am Not a Maker.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 23 Jan. 2015, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/01/why-i-am-not-a-maker/384767/.
When I was 14, I wrote my first “Hello World” on the computer screen. Since then, computer science became my favorite subject, and by the time I graduated high school, I knew I wanted to become a software engineer. Summer 2020, I interned at Microsoft and rotated through two roles: a Software Engineering (SWE) intern and a Program Manager (PM) intern. This was the first time I thought about the difference between being a maker or not in the technology industry and culture.
In my first and only week as a PM, I noticed that I was being treated slightly differently in standup meetings as if the work was not as important as the one of a SWE. I was on the same team, but I was not a coder (maker) anymore. I knew the program manager work was relevant and necessary to structure the project, however, I still felt somewhat weird. I firmly believe that the traditional tech culture has a lot to change in this context (and many others); software engineers have to understand all other professionals’ values – from finance and human resources workers to designers and program managers. No work is more important than the other; they are complementary, and one cannot be done without the other.
Under the large umbrella of Digital (Arts &) Humanities, which areas of inquiry, methods or techniques are you most eager to pursue this term and why?
In this class, I look forward to exploring humanities more in-depth and discovering how technology can make a difference in the field. More specifically, I hope to learn new tools, like 3D modeling and data visualization, and the power it could have making humanities more “concrete”.
Hey Luisa,
I thought that you made a really good point. We are all interested in unique careers that require many different skills. This specialization of skills allows us to focus on something that is important to us, or that we do well. It is definitely important to respect others regardless of what career they have. The only way society can function is if we each do our own unique tasks.