Digital Humanities

There is this course that I am taking that deals with Digital Humanities. This course has allowed me to understand that exploration of literature, history, and philosophy in digital capacities can increase engagement with younger learners. 

Just to digress a bit, let’s start with what digital humanities mean. Although I did not think it possible, this is an academic discipline that allows technology to intersect with culture. 

Think of the implications of that. The history that is said to always have a biased nature, won’t be biased anymore, because these collections are actual historical accounts. Any subject or topic that is of interest has the capacity to have be catalogued in libraries around the world.

I find it fascinating that these collections are available digitally around the world. For example, there is the Frederick Douglass Newspaper collection from 1847 to 1874 where this series highlights self-improvement and responsibility from a historical perspective. Does that not show some relevancy to some of the current social issues we are facing today? Should our young learners know that this was an issue then in human fragility? Or perhaps one of human resilience? 

These topics and others provide an interesting way to explore literature, history, and teaching philosophy through the ages. That is what inspires collaboration of ideas through concept exploration.
Coming from a fellow educator…