Blog post 1

After some technical issue I have access to the site and therefore posts my blog a bit delayed.

I enjoyed this week’s readings because they gave me an insight into the changes of the field of digital humanities over time. They showed different aspects of digital humanities, and at the same time more or less all of them acknowledge that digital humanities can’t not easily be defined and should not be defined. It is a field that is changing and evolving over time which can also be seen as a strength. I find this aspect relevant when looking at the two projects “Colored Conventions Project ” and “The early Caribbean Digital Archive”, since both projects work with archival material but gives the opportunity for the user to explore and understand the material in different ways. In ways the projects reflect ideas from the readings about not narrowing down and putting the projects in a specific box. 

Both projects look at archival material and historical periods with new approaches than the traditional way. The project Colored Conventions uses historical images and documents to expand our understanding of early Black organizing, and The Early Caribbean Digital Archive wished to expand how we discuss and think about history, colonialism, and the experiences of enslaved. When looking at the projects with the gaze of digital humanities their use of history and wish to create a change stands out. Something that the reading “A DH that Matter” touches upon with the potential for DH to be a technically and historically informed resistance. Both these projects reflect these ideas as they both present a push back to traditional storytelling of their fields, and ask the user to reflect on a new way to approach the specific historical context. Both are created with the idea of representing parts of history that are often forgotten or not given space. In many ways both projects can be defined as digital humanities projects today even though the discussion of digital humanities as a field is still changing and probably will continue to be debated.