Digital History: Understanding "Promise and Perils" to an Evolving Field

What is digital history and where did it come from? 

Digital History is understood to be the communication and expression of past historical fact and opinion through through representation in the evolving digital realm, per defined by Douglas Seefeldt and William G. Thomas (Seefeldt and Thomas, 2009). Over the past two decades, the realm of digitalization has taken off with more and more people using the internet on a daily basis for primary research. With this new technology, a multitude of opportunities are available to the research community at the cost of understanding limitations and preserving what some believe to be essential in the pursuit of historical knowledge. 

Where is it going? 

 The digitalization of history offers a bright, expanding future for how we are to approach research. Daniel J. Cohen and Roy Rosenweig help us understand how the digital realm of history has allowed for the progress of free access to archives. Prior to the digital efforts of the Library of Congress, high school students and non members of congress were often turned away from most collections, even reading rooms. Now, with the progress made by the digital efforts team of the Library of Congress, almost anyone has full access to archives with the click of a button; Online accessibility now gives us a easier solution to test intellectual connections and fact check historical hypotheses (Cohen and Rosenburg, 2006). Further down the line, digital history scholarship surrounds itself with historical GIS, a interdisciplinary field that uses computer spatial analysis to promote historical knowledge in areas of history, archaeology, law, demography,. geography, and environmental sciences (William G.Thomas II, 2004). Rosenweig is critically known, however, for expressing is view on the limitations surrounding the digital realm of history. Rosenweig criticizes the digital "undercut" of academic structure of trust and authority in publication; Online media does not have the same legitimacy as a fact check, peer reviewed journal because of it's wide access (Cohen and Rosenburg, 2006). Digital history is moving towards fixing the issues described here by Rosenweig, promoting a safer and more accurate way to promote unbiased research in the digital realm. 

How have people reacted to it's evolution from the 1990s to the present?

Digital history offers an approach in which the researching world never had before. In 1999, Edward L. Ayers from the University of Virginia describes the development of the world of digital history as the "great democratization of history", understanding that the availability of so many popular and demanded sources gave sight to new approaches to understanding; New approaches to culture, social, political, and women's history are results of a rising interest in narrative techniques sparked by the availability of documents and books (Ayers, 1999). Ayers continues, noting later on the worry surrounding the consciousness of the study of history;  Janet Murray and Espen J. Aarseth believed that the widespread digitalization of history would contribute to a loss of depth and understanding unless the poetics of narrative literature are disposed of. Even so, they argued are the simulations of the future truly "history"  (Ayers, 1999)? Ayers constitutes that we, as historians, need to understand the new abilities that come with the digital realm and it's implications, both in understanding how it can be used to promote our understanding and how it can bring erosion to the authority present in the realm of research (Ayers, 1999).  Even in the worry of credibility and depth brought in the evolving nature of digital history, the expanse of computer science widely promotes the technical aspects of preservation techniques. Daniel J. Cohen and Roy Rosenweig believed that the evolving nature of the computer meant a huge impact on tomorrow's historians. He quotes Michael Lesk who believed that the evolution of the disk space meant the evolution and expansion of storage of documents and primary sources; Why deleted anything if it costs so little to save it (Cohen and Rosenweig, 2006)? The issue that arises with the expansion of digital storage, however, is something I've previously discussed in last week's blog post. As we move further into the future, algorithmic bias and awareness is an ongoing discussion in the realm of AI and search mechanics. AI overwhelmingly is biased to mass media and minimizes on what is minimally represented. In a discussion by the American Historical Association, Ian Milligan makes his belief known that a retraining is needed for future learners and researchers to understand the bias that comes into the usage of digital technology. This means understanding awareness in search engine bias, knowing context behind searching and results, and implementing curriculum to understand the limitations and capabilities of digitalization (Milligan, AHA, 2021). 

The overarching idea surrounding the realm of digital history and it's evolution is the push for a common understanding of not only what it means for research, but also what practical steps are needed to protect the development of accurate and unbiased digital usage. It's important to understand that while digital media is ever evolving and become more accessible everyday, limitations are ever present and the digital realm still cannot account for every opinion and fact that is known in the wide historical discussion.  

References

AHA Roundtable: Future Directions in Research and Training for Digital History. 2021.

Edward L. Ayers, "The Pasts and Futures of Digital History". 1999.

William G. Thomas, III, "Computing and the Historical Imagination" 2004.

Daniel J. Cohen and Roy Rosenzeig, "Promises and Perils of Digital History" 2006.

Douglass Seefeldt and Willam G. Thomas III, "What is Digital History?" 2009.