6.7.2023
In the spring of 2023 marked the beginning of my journey teaching an introductory course in Digital Humanities. This course introduced students, who predominantly came from humanities backgrounds, to the use of Python for analyzing data sourced from museums, galleries, film archives, and historical databases. They achieved remarkable success in identifying trends in artistic movements, fluctuations in the value of popular artists, gaps in historical records, and concealed gender and regional disparities.
As I prepared for the course, I had reservations about immersing humanities students with just two months of programming experience directly into data analysis – it seemed almost like a fanciful leap. Yet, the first half of 2023 saw seismic shift in various fields driven by AI innovations. This transformation opened up numerous new avenues within the humanities field, most notably making the integration of data processing and analysis into humanities studies more accessible and straightforward.
Instead of feeling anxious about using AI inappropriately, my students and I embarked on a journey of experimentation with various AI writers, including ChatGPT, Lex, and Writesonic. This exploration brought us to an unexpected insight: the essence of humanistic writing or creation lies in imbuing our work with personal thoughts. Machine writing, fundamentally rooted in statistical models, mirrors the established frameworks of existing knowledge. This contrast has prompted us to more actively pursue and express our genuine ideas and sentiments. Humanities writing, at its core, is a form of artistic experimentation, where the emphasis is on exploring questions rather than adhering to predetermined answers.
After a year in the field of Digital Humanities, I often feel like a salesman, pitching the concept of digital humanities to scholars in literature, history, philosophy, and social sciences. Quantitative methods aren't new to these fields, yet this time, the challenge appears greater for the traditionally qualitative realm of humanities. The irreversible alteration of human experience by digital devices is a key factor here; what floods our vision are images and data streams, encapsulating the codified experience of humanity. In this context, Digital Humanities isn't just a debate about the precedence of digital over humanities or vice versa, nor is it about one becoming a tool for the other.
It's impossible to ignore the growing anxiety about the inability to control data in the digitization trend, just as we can't satisfy our curiosity about creating new stories on our social media. My perspective on Digital Humanities involves directly addressing the sense of losing control to big data algorithms during digital transformation. It's about mastering techniques of managing and navigating through data, confronting the discomfort brought on by privacy concerns, and contemplating our individual roles and experiences in this change. Ultimately, this field is steering us toward a unique blend of creativity and critical thinking.