Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 15, No. 84.
Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
<http://www.princeton.edu/~mccarty/humanist/>
<http://www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/>
Date: Thu, 07 Jun 2001 09:16:08 +0100
From: Matt Kirschenbaum <mgk@pop.uky.edu>
Subject: Re: 15.065 obstacles &c to humanities computing
Francois Lachance:
>[H]ow many
>subscribers who do or have done work in activities touching upon
>computing in the humanities can lay claim to possessing the basic skill
>set outlined in any or all of the lists that have been proposed recently
>for the trouseau of accomplishments to be possessed by a graduate of a
>degree program in humanities computing? I, for one, do not. Nor am I in a
>position to acquire them soon.
Good lists are heuristic devices, not policing devices. The lists posted
here were shorthand representations of various views of what humanities
computing is, and thus useful provocations. One of the lists, for example,
exposed a blind spot with regard to visual and aural media---and so a
discussion ensued. I don't think there were any higher (or lower) motives
in play.
That said, I don't think anyone here ought to be ashamed of putting out on
the table what they think a computing humanist ought to know; given the
various degree programs (and curricula) that are beginning to emerge, this
is an important and timely conversation to be having. And to say that
humanities computing is so utterly fluid and multifaceted as to resist
every attempt at curricula codification is not helpful in my view, as it
only serves to mystify what we do and what we have to teach. (Francois did
not say this, but I have heard the notion aired in other venues.)
Best, Matt
-- Please note: I will be moving to the University of Maryland, College Park, in July. I cannot guarantee delivery of mail sent to this <mgk@pop.uky.edu> Kentucky address after June 30, nor do I yet know what my email address at Maryland will be. Therefore, please send mail (particularly important mail) to my account at <mgk3k@jefferson.village.virginia.edu>, which will remain active during the transition. Thank you.
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