The digital history collection project in the WEB 1.5
article really got me thinking about how much this field has evolved over the
last 20 years. I realize that this is
the point of the class, but prior to that historians never were met with as
many new developments as have occurred over my life time. The project that I am planning for this class
was not even possible back then, and now an undergrad student has the resources
necessary to attempt it. Reading how
historians are beginning to compile these digital histories and allowing more
people than ever to have voices is very exciting, but as the writers point out
brings about challenges as well.
I feel like the issues drawn upon in this article reflect on
the discussions that we have had all year in class, but Brennan and Kelly do a
good job of articulating the dilemma that new digital histories give us. When we open these collections up to anyone,
then eventually the day will come that we cannot read all of them. If we cannot be sure that our collections are
completely accurate, how are we supposed to display them? I do not think that there really is an answer
to this question, but also believe strongly that the creators of the databases
need to be able to make these decisions on their own with out
interference. It is possible that out of
twenty years from now this will no longer be an issue and the field will reach
a consensus, but the only way for that to occur is for us to work through our
differences now.
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