Humanities Computing (to be, or not to be servile?) is debating a question that is central to the larger Academy moving forward in the digital age.Where do we draw the line between techne and knowledge-for-knowlede's sake? because we must now all have a machine and use it to write and read does that make us machinists? Are we blue collar workers now because we man the factory? I have always had a problem with the idea that Art is-useless by definition, and anything with a practical use must therefore be of lesser status, and indeed a servant of some stripe. I understand the debate about disciplinarity for Humanities Computing to stem in part from the identity crisis about its proper role, and whether it is a craft, and whether that is good enough to pass the test of liberal studies. I think we must take a very open-minded and progressive attitude these days about questions of what the Academy is and should be, lest we make ourselves redundant and repent this at leisure. Digitally mediated networked communications are what human society (ideas/commerce/connections/identities) flow inside of now and with more to come in ways we can't even imagine. Any way that educational institutions can position themselves within this flow will keep them relevant; ways that schools stand in opposition to the digital revolution will render them passe.Of course computing in many permutations, from theory to practice belong within Humanities-- just as computing and the ripple effects of all its changes to subjectivities and epistemologies belongs in Literature, Composition and Rhetoric. What I am waiting for is the announcement of the re-naming: Posthumanities is a name that helps to make the digital shift both real and squarely at the forefront of educational goals and purpose. Our mission is to preserve the past, yes-- but crucially--- to anticipate the changes in the 21st Century and beyond-- should the human species become smart enough to survive until then. Lets all get smarter in a hurry! Computing is not about a machine- it is a system of capabilities, capacities, strategies, and skills necessary for literacy and participation in society in our time.
Humanities Computing (to be, or not to be servile?) is debating a question that is central to the larger Academy moving forward in the digital age.Where do we draw the line between techne and knowledge-for-knowlede's sake? because we must now all have a machine and use it to write and read does that make us machinists? Are we blue collar workers now because we man the factory? I have always had a problem with the idea that Art is-useless by definition, and anything with a practical use must therefore be of lesser status, and indeed a servant of some stripe. I understand the debate about disciplinarity for Humanities Computing to stem in part from the identity crisis about its proper role, and whether it is a craft, and whether that is good enough to pass the test of liberal studies. I think we must take a very open-minded and progressive attitude these days about questions of what the Academy is and should be, lest we make ourselves redundant and repent this at leisure. Digitally mediated networked communications are what human society (ideas/commerce/connections/identities) flow inside of now and with more to come in ways we can't even imagine. Any way that educational institutions can position themselves within this flow will keep them relevant; ways that schools stand in opposition to the digital revolution will render them passe.Of course computing in many permutations, from theory to practice belong within Humanities-- just as computing and the ripple effects of all its changes to subjectivities and epistemologies belongs in Literature, Composition and Rhetoric. What I am waiting for is the announcement of the re-naming: Posthumanities is a name that helps to make the digital shift both real and squarely at the forefront of educational goals and purpose. Our mission is to preserve the past, yes-- but crucially--- to anticipate the changes in the 21st Century and beyond-- should the human species become smart enough to survive until then. Lets all get smarter in a hurry! Computing is not about a machine- it is a system of capabilities, capacities, strategies, and skills necessary for literacy and participation in society in our time.
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