Sunday, 29 April 2012
Thursday, 26 April 2012
History of the English Language: main features in the 19th century
These are some of the points from a powerpoint presentation I prepared for History of the English Language. (I have presented this in an annotated form. The referencing method in ELC modules is different to that of History modules)
The levels and varieties in the English language were examined by Kenyon, (Kenyon,1948:31)
Level in the context of language:
A metaphor denoting higher/lower position
Implying better/worse or more/less desirable
Indicates degrees of excellence/inferiority in language
Variety:
Different degrees of famliarity/formality
Informal/formal writing or speaking
Standard speech: began after the introduction of the printing press by William Caxton in 1476.
During the Early Modern English period/late 14th century onwards - still a variety of dialects and styles of speech/writing.
Latin, French and Scandinavian influences evident all over Britain.
The Tudor dynasty, Henry VII, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I - all encouraged educational expansion.
There were changes in cultural, social and religious attitudes-contributed to language change.
3 broad types, easily recognised, overlap to a certain extent (Baugh and Cable, 2002: 313).
Spoken standard; Written standard and Popular/colloquial speech
Spoken standard: A " process of language determination, codification and stabilisation " (Trudgill, 2011:1-15)
A social class dialect, no presciptive rules, has idiosyncracies
Not the only English language, but is one variety of it
Not an accent, nothing to do with pronunciation
9%-12% of this standard do not have a RP (Received Pronunciation) accent
Stylistic differences: indicated by lexical choice, formal/informal grammatical construction
Written standard: Began in the 15th century in the city of Westminster, the centre of government admiinistration. (Freeborn, 2006:255-7)
Chancery hand-originated from the Chancery, the court of the Lord Chancellor.
Became a standard in writing, vocabulary and grammar.
French had been used for over 300 years in upper class society and in the royal court, but in the Early Modern Period English became widely used.
English apparent in administrative documents after 1430, as opposed to the French language
Other writing hands/styles were Secretary hand, Court hand and Bastard Secretary hand
Popular/colloquial speech: Study of ideal English:originated from an investigation into the use of "correct" English used in the 18th century exemplars, used in linguistics and rhetorics. (Leonard and Moffett, 1927: 345-8)
Judged by a group of eminent linguistics scholars
Studies of grammatical correctness date back to Jonathan Swifts' "Proposal for Correcting, Improving and Ascertaining the English Tongue"
Seemed to be associated with i nformal speech, slang and "unculitvated" language in the 18th and 19th centuries
Monday, 23 April 2012
Reflection
on students’ online contributions (final assignment)
Internet discussion in Digital Histories provided
a communication platform for students to disseminate history-related ideas.[1]
Academic blogs were published in the form of diary entries. By creating a
Google account students were able to link into each others’ blogs and comment
on each others’ publications. Research
was inspired by a topic such as war photography; or a personality like Adam
Smith. Some students explained the methodologies and tools used in Digital History
such as XML or OCR which resulted in greater clarity when they simplified it in
their own words. Others created animations and posted history-related video
links. A range of learning processes was evident, unlike other modules where
contributions are more formal.
Students
were able to respond to each others’ experiences after a History conference.
Equally, an evaluation of topics such as Visualisations or Images was possible.
Reflection about an online conference
was achievable after access through a link on Twitter. This system provided a valuable
network for Digital History students because it was a swift means of accessing
links to relevant websites and blogs. Furthermore links to lectures were available
on Twitter; and these were generally quicker than the ones on Studynet.
However, contributions in the form of a blog in particular, had an
effect on the way students created academic entries. There were presentations
of student blog sites in the Digital History workshop: it was apparent that
this form of online discussion was more successful than on a network such as
Twitter or Studynet. This was probably because of the diary methodology and a
large amount of user-friendly space for history-related entries. Another reason
for the success of blogs could have been because it was in the public forum and
available for many people to read. The format used meant that students could
use different styles of text and images while adhering to university protocols.
[1] http://www.myuniversalfacts.com/2006/08/definition-and-purpose-of-blog-what-is.html published on 30.08.2006; accessed
02.04.2012
Friday, 20 April 2012
Challenges of final essay
I started with idealistics notions of learning to create my own website but soon realised how involved and how time-consuming it was. It is something I would like to do after graduation (whenever that happens), After a few hours/days of trying to do this I finally decided on a conventional essay topic, which was actually not as simple as I thought it was going to be,
A few sleep-disturbed nights later I completed my essay, submitted it as a hard copy and on to my blog. However I encountered some problems with formatting, which I resolved after some tips from my tutor, Tim Hitchcock. There is now a second copy of my essay on this blog!!
6HUM1014; Digital History Essay; 2nd blog post; 18.04.2012 (Changed word doc. to text file and used Notepad)
How does the digital change the nature of historical research?
Digital History has greatly influenced the means used by scholars to conduct historical research. This research is a methodical study or exploration of a history-related topic by historians who investigate and report about events, personalities or artefacts in a critical manner. It will be discussed with relation to the influence of the internet on this subject. New information technologies and digital advances have produced diverse tools that can be accessed by historians. This has made a difference to the way in which history is now analysed, represented and publicized. These methodologies will be examined later in the essay. They will include an examination of search facilities, social networks and presentation of data. Cultural, social, economical and political aspects of history will be considered throughout the essay.
Significant changes in research and the study of modern history began over 200 years ago. Ranke (1795-1886) was a German historian who introduced historicism by advocating the use of objectivity and original sources to present facts. He criticised the historiography of his time because it depended mainly on tradition.1 He established the use of seminars as a method of teaching history; and his ideas spread worldwide. He studied politics and diplomacy; and was concerned with individuality of existing governments rather than with revolution. 2 As result of Ranke’s contribution to history, historicism led to similar changes in other specialties. These included economics, philology, theology and the history of art.
By the end of the 18th century Dilthey (a historian) had presented these “historicized disciplines” as human sciences. History became related to other fields of study and was less isolated. Both he and Weber (an early 20th century social historian) proposed that sociology and history complemented each other.3 Text books and material sources continued to be utilized until computers were invented. Current computers date back to the first electronic digital computer which delivered its initial program in the late 1940’s. Its origins date back to Babbage’s plans for a Difference Engine in 1821. A prototype of this was later built in the mid-19th century by the Scheutz brothers. The “multi-register accounting machines” of the 1920’s were eventually used as Difference Engines.4
Professor Licklider of MIT (1965) published Libraries of the Future, a book that assessed methods of computer storage. He may have been the first to suggest the shift from print to electronics. The first digital library was invented in 1971 along with the creation of eBooks or electronic books, by M. Hart. The online literary Project Gutenberg was also established by him. He published the Declaration of Independence on a computer network on July 4th, 1971. Books and articles were published by information technology (I.T.) scientists from the 1970’s to the early 1980’s; about the conversion of information systems from print media to electronic media. 5 All this had a massive impact on history as a discipline and the nature of research changed considerably. When research was conducted offline it was not easily accessible to a wider audience. In contrast social and political historians no longer need to search for artefacts and parliamentary documents as most of these are now available in a virtual form.
In the 1980’s and 1990’s a range of electronic publishing devices such as video-discs and floppy discs were being used, followed by increased use of the internet. In the early 21st century most printing presses became digital, apart from the traditional ones. In 2003 the first automatic page-turning scanner was able to convert hard copies of books into digital files. Electronic books became widely used after this. In 2007, Amazon launched Kindle on which several hundred books could be stored. Universities and libraries are stocking fewer books and some institutions like the University of Texas, San Antonio were reported to be “bookless” in September 2010. By the end of 2010 virtual exhibitions on websites were shown. Apple’s iPAds and laptops are now used by many scholars to access the internet. 6 This means that cultural historical research could be carried almost anywhere without the need for static computers.
Historical research has progressed from a library-based discipline to an ever-increasing virtual and digital speciality. Greengrass stated that history can be a “digital representation” and a “digital reinterpretation” of past events.7 He observed that this is closely linked with historical artefacts and archaeological discoveries which need to be presented online in coherent and logical manner. Primary sources such as letters or legal documents need to be analysed so that events or biographies can be recorded within a certain degree of accuracy. Therefore it could be argued that digitization or virtual representation of the past could have a vital role to play in historical research.
Similarly Andersen observed that primary sources in digital history are unchanging but I.T. makes a difference to the way some aspects of history are presented. Advances in 21st century digital technologies have an impact on historical teaching communication, research and publishing. For example, at the turn of the 21st century the JAHC (Journal of the Association for History and Computing) used software, e-journals and interactive packages for teaching and study. These changes in research methods were largely due to historians’ innovative methods of using technology. Andersen concluded that a benchmark and analysis of digital history was needed for greater clarity.8
History is considered to be a branch of knowledge that records and analyses when and why past events occurred. 9 It consists of abundant, sometimes bewildering information which needs to be documented. This is where the skill of the historian is pertinent because the past can be represented in a rational way. 10 It may also rely on the opinion or interpretation of the historian. In this context, methodological and computing tools used for digital historical analysis of data: such as statistics and maps are important. It could be argued that this is applicable to the provision of historical records and information for historical research. 11
Search facilities such as key word searching are a relatively quick method of locating an article or website, providing the researcher has used an appropriate key word. The digitization of historical manuscripts in the last decade has made this possible. Scholars of cultural History are increasingly using the internet to validate their own work. They do this regardless of the emphasis on historiography and primary sources. For example in the past a vast range of visual sources was less accessible on the internet; but now art historians support their textual and academic work with art collections that are available online. 12 Search engines such as Google Search and Boolean Search have enabled quick access of sources and related articles or citations. Hitchcock observed that the resulting “Google-ization” meant the previous system of cataloguing and organisation of historical books and other materials is readily accessible to researchers. 13 However Google Search is not without its problems. There can be a large number of ‘hits’ in a short space of time but a search is unlikely to produce the same result every time.
As recently as 2009 the digitization of manuscript archives was still being accessed manually online, by going through each page, rather than using a key word search. 14 However since then there has been a significant switch over to keyword searching of archives on sites such as the Making of Modern London. This means that keyword searching has influenced research methods in a powerful way. Sites such as Plebian Lives (combined archives of three London parishes) and History On-line at the IHR (Institute of Historical Research) also made this important change. 15 URL’s (Uniform Resource Locators) can be read critically for information about key word searches because the researcher can trace where the search started and ended. URL’s consist of the protocol, the server location, and the path name.16 An example of a source URL is http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/782 . In this way the address of an internet document can be obtained which provides access to relevant information and other links needed by a digital historian.
This form of digitization would not be easy without browsers. Browsers are the main programs that search and identify data. For example Mozilla Firefox is a non profit-making browser that can be used with Google Maps. It enables maps to be displayed and facilitates access to related items. 17 An example of a faceted browser that searches for data is the Comedie-Franchise Project. Majority of websites in the English-speaking world have developed as result of our ideologies and values. Sites such as Wikipedia are protected against censorship and allow freedom of information. Users can modify and share information without too much restriction. URLs and browsers are both forms of digital access that are widely used on the internet system.
There is not one internet culture that connects us all, but several. For example China has its own distinctive web-world. Its web surveillance system monitors all sites and restricts what people can discuss online. Websites are liable to being defaced or hacked as shown by the recent episodes of mass website defacement in China. Hackers attacked the Chinese government for its authoritarian internet policies. 18 In contrast to this most Western internet facilities are usually democratic and do not completely restrict websites and social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. Twitter is a social network that enables dialogue as well as access to live conferences online. This can be a valuable source of inspiration or practical information for history researchers.
Blogs are a form of online social network that enable community discussion. They are also a type of public statement that can be expressed in a journal or a diary form. Scholars can use blogs to publish their opinions, and summarize their academic work. Examples are The History Blogging Project and Digital History Hacks. Wordpress and Blogger are a kind of open access discussion available to comments from other bloggers. They are free from the usual regulations and can be used by history researchers to publish their work in an informal setting. Connected Histories is another blog and website that can be used by researchers to comment on themes and information accessed from 15 major electronic sources. These are available through a federated search covering the period from 1500 to 1900. It includes Parliamentary papers, court records, newspapers and historical images. 19
Connected Histories completely changed the nature of historical research online because of the access to Big Data. There is accessibility to millions of text by using dates, names and places. This can be retrieved at a different level to keyword searches. Almost any topic in British History can be found: including criminal trials, parliamentary reform movements and royal celebrations. It encompasses digital sources such as British History Online and Burney Newspapers 1600-1800.20 Connected Histories and Nines both use Big Data. This is possible because they have access to large amounts of text using federated search facilities.
Other types of information are stored as Metadata. This is a compilation of data that provides information about other data. 21 An example is detailed citation of a book in a table or in a linear fashion. This change in historical data dates back to card catalogue systems used in libraries or archives. Metadata is linked to XML. This is EXtensible Markup Language which means one’s own tags needed to be used. 22 XML is what is underneath every online text and adds an extra dimension to its content. This is a unique aspect of digitization. XML is now considered to be one of the key methodologies underpinning online text. Digital historians could utilize this data in their investigations.
Another major methodology is mapping which involves manipulation techniques using layers of maps to create a digitized map. LLP (Locating London’s Past) provides this facility which allows researchers to visualise data containing both artefacts and texts. John Rocques 1746 map of 17th and 18th century London is an example of this. The innovative changes were made to the first accurate OS (Ordnance Survey) London map (1869 to 1880) by using polygons to link it to a Google maps depiction of the city. This means scholars can access Google maps along with historical records. 23
The Paleides site includes an aspect of crowd-sourcing because classical sites can be mapped on to classical literature.24 Similarly Geocommons can be used as an analytical tool; and enables the researcher to transfer their own data on to maps that are accessed on its site. 25 Other websites that facilitate crowd-sourcing are Wikipedia and Trove. 26 This is important for historians who can share information and add their own research. 27 Public history is an important part of this and enables researchers from academic and non-academic backgrounds to access information for their own particular needs. Information can be obtained about family archives or genealogy.
Visualisations are another kind of data similar to mapping. Visual data has changed dramatically from Florence Nightingale’s pie-chart to Hans Rosling’s Gapminder in 2003. 27 By using Gapminder one can depict data in an animated form to display a range of global or national statistics. These include population trends, alcohol consumption or crime rates which can be seen in terms of years.28 Google Ngram Viewer is a tool that can be used to produce instant graphs and statistics on a variety of topics. 29 For example an economic historian could obtain information about local population growth or petty crime rates in a particular area. This could be used as evidence for a book or journal article. Darwin’s Origin of Species is a subject that has been presented visually online, which brings his theory to life. 30 Along these lines historical data can be embedded into visualisations and is available for analysis by researchers. Images are other forms of data that can be obtained from The British Museum Collection. 31 The ones that are free of copyright can be used for academic purposes. The National Portrait Gallery is an excellent source for researchers to use when compiling a biography. 32
There have been significant changes in the presentation of History as a discipline over the last 200 years. The first computer network submission was introduced in the 1970’s; but in the last 2 decades new information technology advances had a significant influence on Digital history. Digital technologies and online accessibility enables extensive academic study and collaboration between scholars. The transformation in our research methods is probably due to changing attitudes towards the acquisition of academic knowledge. Latest digital technologies and online tools have enabled proficient analysis. This is largely due to the innovative methods that digital historians have employed; and has changed the nature of historical research in a powerful way.
Bibliography
Andersen, D. “Defining Digital History”, Defining Digital History, vol. 5, no. 1, (2002), pp.1-5
Greengrass, M. and Hughes, L. (Eds.) The Virtual Representation of the Past, (Surrey, 2008)
Jenkins, K. Re-thinking History (Routledge, 1991) in Richard J. Evans, In Defence of History (Granta, 1997)
Tyrell, H.“History and Sociology-the First century: From Ranke to Weber”, InterDisciplines, 1, (2010), pp. 94-111
Links:
http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/87324?rskey=BYnmNK&result=1#eid accessed 07.04.2012
http://www.arts-humanities.net/publications/virtual_representation_past accessed 08.04.2012
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ZZn3JnHW868C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=www.arts-humanities.net/publications/virtual_representation_past&source accessed 09.04.2012
http://www.ashgate.com/pdf/SamplePages/Virtual_Representation_of_the_Past_Intro.pdf accessed 10.04.2012
http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/ttp/ttpbooks.html# accessed 11.04.2012
http://www.shef.ac.uk/hri/projects/projectpages/plebeianlives accessed 11.04.2012
http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/258858?redirectedFrom=URL#eid accessed 11.04.2012
http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/23883?redirectedFrom=browser#eid accessed 12.04.2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17623939 accessed 13.04.2012
http://connectedhistories.wordpress.com/ accessed 13.04.2012
http://blogs.herts.ac.uk/research/2011/04/07/439/ accessed 13.04.2012
http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/117150?redirectedFrom=metadata#eid37413841 accessed 14.04.2012
http://www.w3schools.com/xml/xml_whatis.asp accessed 17.02.2012
http://www.gapminder.org/data/ accessed 02.03.2012
http://benfry.com/traces/ accessed 15.04.2012
http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/history/historian/Leopold_von_Ranke.html accessed 15.04.2012
"Ranke, Leopold Von." International Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences. 1968. Encyclopedia.com. 15 Apr. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com> accessed 15.04.2012
http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/publications/articles/papers/612.pdf accessed 15.04.2012
http://www.historyofinformation.com/index.php?category=Book+History accessed 17.04.2012
1 http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/history/historian/Leopold_von_Ranke.html accessed 15.04.2012
2 "Ranke, Leopold Von." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, (1968), Encyclopedia.com. 15 Apr. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com> accessed 15.04.2012
3 H.Tyrell, “History and Sociology-the First century: From Ranke to Weber”, InterDisciplines ,1, (2010), pp.99-100, 102-4,109
4 http://www.cs.ncl.ac.uk/publications/articles/papers/612.pdf accessed 15.04.2012
5 http://www.historyofinformation.com/index.php?category=Book+History accessed 17.04.2012
6 http://www.historyofinformation.com/index.php?category=Book+History accessed 17.04.2012
7 M. Greengrass, and L. Hughes, (Eds.) The Virtual Representation of the Past, (Surrey, 2008), p.2
8 D. L. Andersen, “Benchmarks”, Defining Digital History, vol. 5, no. 1, (2002), pp.1-5
9 http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/87324?rskey=BYnmNK&result=1#eid accessed 07.04.2012
10 K. Jenkins, Re-thinking History (Routledge,1991) in Richard J. Evans, In Defence of History (Granta,1997)
11 http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ZZn3JnHW868C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=www.arts-humanities.net/publications/virtual_representation_past&source pp.1-2, accessed 09.04.2012
12 http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ZZn3JnHW868C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=www.arts-humanities.net/publications/virtual_representation_past&source pp.84-5, accessed 09.04.2012
13 http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ZZn3JnHW868C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=www.arts-humanities.net/publications/virtual_representation_past&source pp.85, accessed 09.04.2012
14 This is displayed at: http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/ttp/ttpbooks.html# accessed 11.02.2012
15 More details at: http://www.shef.ac.uk/hri/projects/projectpages/plebeianlives accessed 11.02.2012
16 http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/258858?redirectedFrom=URL#eid accessed 11.02.2012
17 http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/23883?redirectedFrom=browser#eid accessed 12.02.2012
18 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17623939 accessed 13.04.2012
19 http://blogs.herts.ac.uk/research/2011/04/07/439/ accessed 13.04.2012
20 http://connectedhistories.wordpress.com/ accessed 13.04.2012
21 http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/117150?redirectedFrom=metadata#eid37413841 accessed 14.04.2012
22 http://www.w3schools.com/xml/xml_whatis.asp accessed 17.02.2012
23 http://www.locatinglondon.org accessed 24.02.2012
24 http://pleiades.stoa.org/ accessed 24.02.2012
25 http://geocommons.com/ accessed 24.02.2012
26 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page accessed 23.03.2012
27 http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper?q accessed 23.03.2012
28 http://www.gapminder.org/data/ accessed 02.03.2012
29 http://books.google.com/ngrams accessed 02.03.2012
30 http://benfry.com/traces/ accessed 15.04.2012
31 http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database.aspx accessed 15.04.2012
32 http://www.npg.org.uk/ accessed 07.04.2012
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6HUM1014, Digital Histories Shirley Arnopp, April 2012
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
6HUM1014; Digital History Essay Shirley Arnopp;18.04.2012
How does the digital change the nature of historical research?
Digital History has greatly influenced the
means used by scholars to conduct historical research. This research is a
methodical study or exploration of a history-related topic by historians who investigate
and report about events, personalities or artefacts in a critical manner. It will be discussed with relation to the
influence of the internet on this subject. New information technologies and
digital advances have produced diverse tools that can be accessed by historians.
This has made a difference to the way in which history is now analysed,
represented and publicized. These methodologies will be examined later in the
essay. They will include an examination of search facilities, social networks
and presentation of data. Cultural, social, economical and political aspects of
history will be considered throughout the essay.
Significant changes in research
and the study of modern history began over 200 years ago. Ranke (1795-1886) was
a German historian who introduced historicism by advocating the use of objectivity
and original sources to present facts. He criticised the historiography of his
time because it depended mainly on tradition.[1]
He established the use of seminars as a
method of teaching history; and his ideas spread worldwide. He studied politics
and diplomacy; and was concerned with individuality of existing governments
rather than with revolution. [2]
As result of Ranke’s contribution to
history, historicism led to similar changes in other specialties. These
included economics, philology, theology and the history of art.
By the end of the 18th
century Dilthey (a historian) had presented these “historicized disciplines” as
human sciences. History became related to other fields of study and was less isolated.
Both he and Weber (an early 20th
century social historian) proposed that sociology and history complemented each
other.[3]
Text books and material sources continued to be utilized until computers
were invented. Current computers date back to the first electronic digital
computer which delivered its initial program in the late 1940’s. Its origins date back to Babbage’s plans for a
Difference Engine in 1821. A
prototype of this was later built in the mid-19th century by the
Scheutz brothers. The “multi-register accounting machines” of the 1920’s were
eventually used as Difference Engines.[4]
Professor Licklider of MIT (1965) published Libraries of the Future, a book that assessed methods of computer
storage. He may have been the first to suggest the shift from print to
electronics. The first digital library was invented in 1971 along with the creation
of eBooks or electronic books, by M. Hart. The online literary Project
Gutenberg was also established by him. He published the Declaration of
Independence on a computer network on July 4th, 1971. Books and
articles were published by information technology (I.T.) scientists from the
1970’s to the early 1980’s; about the conversion of information systems from
print media to electronic media. [5]
All this had a massive impact on history as a discipline and the nature of
research changed considerably. When research was conducted offline it
was not easily accessible to a wider audience. In contrast social and political
historians no longer need to search for artefacts and parliamentary documents
as most of these are now available in a virtual form.
In the 1980’s and 1990’s a range of electronic
publishing devices such as video-discs and floppy discs were being used,
followed by increased use of the internet. In the early 21st century
most printing presses became digital, apart from the traditional ones. In 2003
the first automatic page-turning scanner was able to convert hard copies of
books into digital files. Electronic books became widely used after this. In
2007, Amazon launched Kindle on which
several hundred books could be stored. Universities and libraries are stocking fewer
books and some institutions like the University of Texas, San Antonio were
reported to be “bookless” in September 2010. By the end of 2010 virtual exhibitions
on websites were shown. Apple’s iPAds and laptops are now used by many scholars
to access the internet. [6] This means that cultural historical research
could be carried almost anywhere without the need for static computers.
Historical research has progressed from a
library-based discipline to an ever-increasing virtual and digital speciality.
Greengrass stated that history can be a “digital representation” and a “digital
reinterpretation” of past events.[7] He
observed that this is closely linked with historical artefacts and
archaeological discoveries which need to be presented online in coherent and
logical manner. Primary sources such as letters or legal documents need to be
analysed so that events or biographies can be recorded within a certain degree
of accuracy. Therefore it could be argued that digitization or virtual
representation of the past could have a vital role to play in historical
research.
Similarly Andersen observed that primary sources in digital history are unchanging but I.T. makes a difference to the way some aspects of history are presented. Advances in 21st century digital technologies have an impact on historical teaching communication, research and publishing. For example, at the turn of the 21st century the JAHC (Journal of the Association for History and Computing) used software, e-journals and interactive packages for teaching and study. These changes in research methods were largely due to historians’ innovative methods of using technology. Andersen concluded that a benchmark and analysis of digital history was needed for greater clarity.[8]
History is considered to
be a branch of knowledge that records and analyses when and why past events
occurred. [9] It consists of abundant, sometimes
bewildering information which needs to be documented. This is where the skill
of the historian is pertinent because the past can be represented in a rational
way. [10] It may also rely on the opinion or
interpretation of the historian. In this context, methodological and computing
tools used for digital historical analysis of data: such as statistics and maps
are important. It could be argued that this is applicable to the provision of
historical records and information for historical research. [11]
Search facilities such as key word searching
are a relatively quick method of locating an article or website, providing the
researcher has used an appropriate key word. The digitization of historical
manuscripts in the last decade has made this possible. Scholars of cultural
History are increasingly using the internet to validate their own work. They do
this regardless of the emphasis on historiography and primary sources. For
example in the past a vast range of visual sources was less accessible on the
internet; but now art historians support their textual and academic work with
art collections that are available online. [12]
Search engines such as Google Search
and Boolean Search have enabled quick
access of sources and related articles or citations. Hitchcock observed that
the resulting “Google-ization” meant
the previous system of cataloguing and organisation of historical books and
other materials is readily accessible to researchers. [13]
However Google Search is not without its problems. There can be a large number
of ‘hits’ in a short space of time but a search is unlikely to produce the same
result every time.
As
recently as 2009 the digitization of manuscript archives was still being
accessed manually online, by going through each page, rather than using a key
word search. [14]
However since then there has been a significant switch over to keyword
searching of archives on sites such as the Making
of Modern London. This means that
keyword searching has influenced research methods in a powerful way. Sites such
as Plebian Lives (combined archives
of three London parishes) and History On-line at the IHR (Institute of
Historical Research) also made this important change. [15]
URL’s (Uniform Resource Locators) can be read
critically for information about key word searches because the researcher can
trace where the search started and ended. URL’s consist of the protocol, the
server location, and the path name.[16] An example of a source URL is http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/782 . In this way the address
of an internet document can be obtained which provides access to relevant information and other links needed by a digital
historian.
This form of digitization would not be
easy without browsers. Browsers are the main programs that search and identify
data. For example Mozilla Firefox is a non profit-making browser that can be used
with Google Maps. It enables maps to be displayed and facilitates access to related
items. [17] An example of a faceted browser that searches
for data is the Comedie-Franchise Project.
Majority of websites in the English-speaking world have developed as result of
our ideologies and values. Sites such as
Wikipedia are protected against
censorship and allow freedom of information. Users can modify and share
information without too much restriction.
URLs and browsers are both forms of digital access that are widely used
on the internet system.
There is not one internet
culture that connects us all, but several. For example China has its own
distinctive web-world. Its web surveillance system monitors all sites and
restricts what people can discuss online. Websites are liable to being defaced
or hacked as shown by the recent episodes of mass website defacement in China. Hackers
attacked the Chinese government for its authoritarian internet policies. [18]
In contrast to this most Western internet facilities are usually democratic and
do not completely restrict websites and social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. Twitter is a social network that enables
dialogue as well as access to live conferences online. This can be a valuable
source of inspiration or practical information for history researchers.
Blogs are a form of online social
network that enable community discussion. They are also a type of public
statement that can be expressed in a journal or a diary form. Scholars can use
blogs to publish their opinions, and summarize their academic work. Examples are The History Blogging Project and Digital
History Hacks. Wordpress and Blogger are a kind of open access
discussion available to comments from other bloggers. They are free from the
usual regulations and can be used by history researchers to publish their work
in an informal setting. Connected
Histories is another blog and website that can be used by researchers to
comment on themes and information accessed from 15 major electronic sources.
These are available through a federated search covering the period from 1500 to
1900. It includes Parliamentary papers, court records, newspapers and
historical images. [19]
Connected
Histories completely changed the nature of historical research online
because of the access to Big Data. There is accessibility to millions of text
by using dates, names and places. This
can be retrieved at a different level to keyword searches. Almost any topic in
British History can be found: including criminal trials, parliamentary reform
movements and royal celebrations. It encompasses digital sources such as British History Online and Burney Newspapers 1600-1800.[20]
Connected Histories and Nines both use Big Data. This is
possible because they have access to large amounts of text using federated
search facilities.
Other types of information are stored as Metadata. This is a compilation of data that provides information
about other data. [21]
An example is detailed citation of a book in a table or in a linear fashion.
This change in historical data dates back to card catalogue systems used in
libraries or archives. Metadata is
linked to XML. This is EXtensible Markup Language which means
one’s own tags needed to be used. [22]
XML is what is underneath every
online text and adds an extra dimension to its content. This is a unique aspect
of digitization. XML is now considered to be one of the key methodologies
underpinning online text. Digital historians could utilize this data in their
investigations.
Another major methodology is mapping which involves manipulation
techniques using layers of maps to create a digitized map. LLP (Locating London’s Past) provides this facility which allows
researchers to visualise data containing both artefacts and texts. John Rocques
1746 map of 17th and 18th century London is an example of
this. The innovative changes were made to the first accurate OS (Ordnance
Survey) London map (1869 to 1880) by using polygons to link it to a Google maps
depiction of the city. This means scholars can access Google maps along with
historical records. [23]
The Paleides site includes an aspect of crowd-sourcing because classical sites
can be mapped on to classical literature.[24] Similarly Geocommons
can be used as an analytical tool; and enables the researcher to transfer their
own data on to maps that are accessed on its site. [25] Other
websites that facilitate crowd-sourcing are
Wikipedia and Trove. [26] This is important for historians who can share
information and add their own research. [27] Public history is an important part of this
and enables researchers from academic and non-academic backgrounds to access
information for their own particular needs. Information can be obtained about
family archives or genealogy.
Visualisations are another kind of data similar to
mapping. Visual data has changed dramatically from Florence Nightingale’s
pie-chart to Hans Rosling’s Gapminder
in 2003. By using Gapminder one can
depict data in an animated form to display a range of global or national
statistics. These include population trends, alcohol consumption or crime rates
which can be seen in terms of years.[28] Google
Ngram Viewer is a tool that can be used to produce instant graphs and statistics
on a variety of topics. [29] For example an economic historian could obtain
information about local population growth or petty crime rates in a particular
area. This could be used as evidence for a book or journal article. Darwin’s Origin of Species is a subject
that has been presented visually online, which brings his theory to life. [30] Along
these lines historical data can be embedded into visualisations and is available
for analysis by researchers. Images are
other forms of data that can be obtained from The British Museum Collection. [31] The
ones that are free of copyright can be used for academic purposes. The National
Portrait Gallery is an excellent source for researchers to use when compiling a
biography. [32]
There have been significant changes in the presentation of History as a
discipline over the last 200 years. The
first computer network submission was introduced in the 1970’s; but in the last 2 decades new information technology advances had
a significant influence on Digital history. Digital
technologies and online accessibility enables extensive academic study and collaboration between scholars. The
transformation in our research methods is probably due to changing attitudes
towards the acquisition of academic knowledge. Latest digital technologies and online
tools have enabled proficient analysis. This is largely due to the innovative
methods that digital historians have employed; and has changed the nature of
historical research in a powerful way.
Bibliography
Andersen, D. “Defining Digital History”, Defining
Digital History, vol. 5, no. 1, (2002), pp.1-5
Greengrass, M. and Hughes, L. (Eds.) The
Virtual Representation of the Past, (Surrey, 2008)
Jenkins, K. Re-thinking History
(Routledge, 1991) in Richard J. Evans, In Defence of History (Granta,
1997)
Tyrell,
H.“History and Sociology-the First century: From Ranke to Weber”, InterDisciplines, 1, (2010), pp. 94-111
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[1] http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/history/historian/Leopold_von_Ranke.html accessed 15.04.2012
[2] "Ranke, Leopold Von." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, (1968), Encyclopedia.com. 15 Apr. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com> accessed 15.04.2012
[3] H.Tyrell, “History and Sociology-the
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[10]
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[18]
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[19] http://blogs.herts.ac.uk/research/2011/04/07/439/ accessed 13.04.2012
[20] http://connectedhistories.wordpress.com/ accessed 13.04.2012
[23]
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[24]
http://pleiades.stoa.org/
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24.02.2012
[25]
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[26]
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[27]
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[30] http://benfry.com/traces/ accessed 15.04.2012
[31] http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database.aspx accessed 15.04.2012
[32]
http://www.npg.org.uk/ accessed 07.04.2012
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