Historical Production and the Web
The World Wide Web, as distinct from the Internet within which it was
constructed, is now over ten years old. This would hardly seem old
enough to make it a subject of history, regardless of the fact that
quite a few "histories" of its development have been written. Yet in
terms of the conceits of technological change and innovation, ten years
is considered quite a few generations. If measured in terms of the
amount of writing that has been generated about the web and its impact
on society, the field is as broad as many in historical study.
As the web continues to expand and to change it offers new
opportunities for historians to both redefine how they "do" history and
to help alter the course of how the web develops by how they use it.
Are historians pouring the old wine of their historical craft into the
new bottles being shaped by the web? Are they re-shaping those bottles
by the work that they do in and through the web?
In this paper I will propose that the answer to both questions is yes
and will explore some of the dimensions of that shaping. I will begin
with a brief look at the craft of the historian. Although teaching
plays a large role in the historian's craft, indeed is perhaps
inextricably entwined in that craft, I will try to limit my focus to
the other areas of historical production: research, writing,
communication, and analysis and synthesis.
This will not be an examination, per se, of the web-related
technologies that apply to or are applied by historians in these areas,
though it will, inevitably, explore how these technologies can limit or
enable historical production. For example, the web has been called a
"digital library." I will not detail the technologies involved in
creating a digital library, but will explore how the technical
necessities that shape the creation of such libraries might impact
their use by historians.
Central questions will focus on:
- research: does the web enable (privilege) certain types of
research over others? certain subjects over others? certain
methodologies?
- writing/publishing: how have historians responded to the expanded
publication possibilities the web offers? how has formal and informal
writing altered in the presence of the web? how have the possibility of
web projects like the Valley of the Shadow or Rosetti Project altered
our perceptions about what historical writing is and what kinds of
historical projects are possible?
- communication: how are discussion forums being used by
historians? what impact do history-related forums that mix
non-academics and academics have on historians' work? are blogs, as
spaces that allow both web publication and discussion, simply
extensions of current discussion forum technologies? when
academic discussion moves from the relatively slow medium of print
journals to the faster, yet more ephemeral world of the web, how does
this effect academic discourse?<>
- <>analysis and synthesis: how do historians handle the increasing
amount of data the web can provide? how do current copyright
restrictions effect the kinds of data that can be made available? how
does historical analysis change in the face of new web-based
technologies? can historians drive technological development based on
their needs?
hope.greenberg@uvm.edu,
created/updated: 21-Oct-2004/22-Oct-2004
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