第八章

花不是向我开

Reading Note: Chapter 8 - The Meta-Issues of Digital Humanities 1

Introduction

Chapter 8 delves into the overarching challenges and transformative dynamics shaping digital humanities (DH), moving beyond tools to examine foundational issues like education, collaboration, and institutional structures. It highlights how DH redefines traditional humanities scholarship through digital lenses.

Education and Stratification

The chapter questions whether DH should be taught as a technical skill or a theoretical discipline, noting tensions between traditional humanist training and digital literacy. It also addresses stratification in academia, where digital projects often reinforce hierarchies—tenured faculty lead while staff or contingent workers handle technical work, exacerbating inequities.

Collaboration and Institutional Challenges

A key focus is the shift from solitary scholarship to collaboration, which DH promotes but academic systems like hiring, tenure, and promotion (HTP) often discourage. For instance, projects like The Rulers of Venice show teamwork’s value, yet HTP committees still prioritize single-author monographs, hindering recognition for collaborative digital work.

Publication, Sustainability, and Access

The chapter critiques digital publication models, including distribution via aggregators like JSTOR, and underscores sustainability concerns—many projects fade without institutional support. Funding strategies (e.g., Mellon Foundation grants) and open access are discussed, but imbalances persist, especially in global contexts where resource divides limit participation.

Gender and Theoretical Divides

Gender disparities in DH are examined, with men often dominating technical roles, while theoretical approaches (e.g., Franco Moretti’s “distant reading”) reveal tensions between computational methods and humanistic interpretation. The chapter suggests DH could either democratize scholarship or deepen existing divides.

Conclusion

Ultimately, Chapter 8 portrays DH as a field grappling with its identity, balancing innovation against academic traditions. It calls for rethinking norms around credit, access, and inclusivity to harness digital tools for broader, equitable scholarship.