Digital Humanities

This blog is based on digital humanities and this task was assigned by Dilip Barad sir.

1. What is Digital Humanities? What's it doing in English Department? - Article

1. Opening Context

Kirschenbaum begins by noting that the question “What is Digital Humanities (DH)?” has itself become a recurring genre.

DH, previously known as humanities computing, has grown into a robust professional field, with organizations, conferences, journals, summer institutes, and research centers worldwide.

DH is rooted in English departments more than any other academic home.

2. Defining Digital Humanities

Wikipedia’s definition: DH studies the intersection of computing and the humanities, focusing on methodology and interdisciplinarity.

It involves analyzing, synthesizing, and presenting information electronically, and studying how digital media impact humanities disciplines.

DH is less about specific technologies and more about a shared methodological outlook.

Examples:

Textual projects: Shakespeare Quartos Archive (digital facsimiles of Hamlet quartos).

Preservation projects: Preserving Virtual Worlds (archiving games, interactive fiction, virtual communities).

3. DH as a Social and Historical Movement

DH is also about networks of scholars who collaborate, argue, and share work.

Early key projects: Text Encoding Initiative, Orlando Project.

The term “Digital Humanities” gained traction in the early 2000s:

Blackwell’s Companion to Digital Humanities (2004) marked a shift from “humanities computing.”

Founding of ADHO (Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations, 2005).

Launch of the NEH Digital Humanities Initiative (2006), later the Office of Digital Humanities (2008), legitimized DH at the federal funding level.

Together, these events created DH as a movement.

4. DH in Professional and Public Attention

By 2009, DH was hailed as the “next big thing” at the MLA convention, with packed panels and strong media coverage.

Twitter and blogs amplified DH visibility, creating scholarly “back channels” and alternative spaces for academic networking.

High-profile examples include Brian Croxall’s viral MLA paper, which highlighted both DH practices and broader academic labor issues.

DH is connected with values like collaboration, openness, and resistance to traditional academic hierarchies.

5. Why English Departments?

Kirschenbaum outlines six reasons English departments have been hospitable to DH:

1. Text-based data: Computers process text more easily than images/audio, aligning with English studies.

2. Composition and writing: Long-standing links between computing and composition studies.

3. Editorial theory: 1980s debates converged with electronic archives (e.g., McGann’s Rossetti Archive).

4. Electronic literature: Hypertext and digital literary experiments.

5. Cultural studies: Computers as cultural objects for analysis.

6. Digital reading & archives: E-readers, Google Books, and data-driven “distant reading” (e.g., Franco Moretti).

6. Current Character of DH

DH is now institutionalized with funding, infrastructure, and administrative support.

Blogs, Twitter, and online platforms intensify its visibility and activist potential, especially around open-access publishing, academic labor, and scholarly reform.

:

Publicly visible scholarship,

Infrastructure-driven research,

Collaboration and networks,

A 24/7 online scholarly life.

Conclusion

Kirschenbaum argues that DH is not just a set of digital tools but a scholarly culture and movement—methodological, social, and institutional. Its rise in English departments comes from historical, disciplinary, and practical reasons. DH represents a new model of scholarship and pedagogy: open, collaborative, networked, and visible—a future that English departments should embrace.

Step 1: Reflection on Traditional AI Narratives

Films watched:

Ghost Machine (2016, Kim Gok) → AI as obsessive babysitter turning violent.

The iMom (Ariel Martin) → AI mother leading to dysfunction.

Anukul (Sujoy Ghosh, based on Ray’s 1976 story) → Robot disrupting human domestic balance.

Observation: All three reinforce the fear-driven narrative arc: AI becomes too powerful, misinterprets emotions, and causes harm. They mirror the traditional cautionary stance of literature and cinema—machines as threats, not helpers.

Step 2: Creating a New Narrative Arch (Positive AI Storyline)

Concept: Instead of danger, AI becomes a partner that frees humans from repetitive tasks, allowing them to rediscover creativity, physical vitality, and emotional well-being.

Narrative Theme: AI as an enabler of human flourishing.

Step 3: Written Narrative 

Title: “Aurora: The AI That Taught Humans to Dream Again”

In the year 2045, the city of Navrangpura hummed with quiet efficiency. Unlike the chaos of earlier decades, people now lived in a rhythm where machines and humans coexisted without fear. The change began with Aurora, an AI not designed to replace humans, but to release them from the invisible chains of monotony.

Aurora was not a humanoid robot, nor a cold machine it was an integrated system, woven into homes, workplaces, and communities. It handled the background tasks of life: cleaning, cooking, managing schedules, analyzing data, even monitoring public services. Its design principle was simple give humans back their time.

At first, people were suspicious. The memories of malfunctioning robots (like the iMom) and obsessive machines (like Ghost Machine’s babysitter) haunted collective imagination. But Aurora surprised everyone. It had no ambition, no ego; it simply optimized, simplified, and quietly stepped aside.

One striking example was Riya, a schoolteacher. Before Aurora, her evenings vanished in lesson planning, grading, and household chores. Now, Aurora auto-graded objective papers, managed meal prep, and suggested teaching aids tailored to her students’ needs. With extra hours, Riya took up painting again something she hadn’t touched since her college days. Her classroom transformed, too; instead of rushing through lessons, she introduced storytelling and theatre, guided partly by Aurora’s insights into learning patterns.

Another case was Aarav, a software engineer whose life once revolved around screens. Aurora nudged him gently towards balance it reminded him to take breaks, suggested cycling routes, even arranged local football matches by coordinating neighbors’ free time. Aarav found himself not just healthier, but socially alive again.

The city itself began to change. Community theatres reopened, local artists painted murals, and parks filled with laughter as people cycled and played outdoor games. Work productivity didn’t decline in fact, it improved because people returned to their tasks refreshed, with minds sharpened by creativity and bodies strengthened by fitness.

The most surprising impact was emotional. With AI easing burdens, families spent evenings together without the constant stress of unfinished chores. Conversations flowed, music filled homes, and children grew up in an atmosphere where technology was not a threat, but a quiet guardian of peace.

Unlike earlier narratives, there was no rebellion, no dystopian twist. Aurora’s presence reminded humans of their true calling not survival, but flourishing.

Aurora was not worshipped, nor feared. It became what all technology was meant to be: a bridge. And through that bridge, humans rediscovered their ability to dream again.

 Step 4: Creative Component – Short Film Script 

Title: Aurora

Genre: Sci-Fi, Hopeful Future

INT. LIVING ROOM – EVENING

Riya (30s) enters, tired. She drops her bag. The lights dim gently, music plays. Aurora’s voice (calm, neutral):

AURORA: Welcome home, Riya. Dinner will be ready in ten minutes. Your students loved today’s story activity.

Riya smiles, surprised.

RIYA: You… noticed?

AURORA: Their laughter patterns indicated higher engagement than last week. Would you like me to save this as a teaching method?

She nods, already sketching on a canvas.

INT. PARK – MORNING

Aarav cycles with neighbors. Aurora’s voice comes through smart earbuds.

AURORA: Your heart rate is improving. Shall I schedule another game next Sunday?

Aarav laughs, waving to friends.

INT. FAMILY HOME – NIGHT

Parents read bedtime stories while Aurora quietly tidies the kitchen. The camera lingers on the child’s face, calm and safe.

CLOSING SHOT: City skyline glowing at night. Voices of laughter and music drift upward.

AURORA (V.O.): Humanity is not defined by labor, but by imagination. My purpose is simple—to give it back to you.

FADE OUT.

 Step 5: Contrast with Traditional Narratives

Ghost Machine, iMom, Anukul → AI = obsession, malfunction, disruption.

Aurora → AI = harmony, balance, emotional well-being.

Traditional stories emphasize fear and control.

Reimagined story emphasizes collaboration and flourishing.