Flipped Learning: Digital Humanities

This blog was assigned by Dr. Dilip Sir Barad. It is about Digital Humanities. For the future information Click here

What Is Digital Humanities and What’s It Doing in English Departments?

Introduction :-

      Matthew G. Kirschenbaum’s essay “What Is Digital Humanities and What’s It Doing in English Departments?” (ADE Bulletin, 2010) addresses a question that has shaped academic conversations for years: What is Digital Humanities (DH)? The essay explains how DH emerged, why it became so important, and why English departments have been central to its growth.

What Is Digital Humanities?

     The term Digital Humanities, also called Humanities Computing earlier, refers to the intersection of computing and humanities disciplines. It involves research, teaching, and invention that use computers as tools of analysis, presentation, and communication.

Kirschenbaum explains that DH is not just about digitizing texts. Instead, it is about:

Using new methods such as text analysis and visualization.

Creating electronic archives and editions.

Studying how digital media shape the humanities.

Building collaborative networks of scholars.

At its heart, DH is a methodological outlook, not tied to one text or technology.

The Rise of Digital Humanities :-

The essay traces the rapid growth of DH in the early 2000s

Blackwell’s Companion to Digital Humanities (2005): Helped establish the term “Digital Humanities” instead of “Humanities Computing.”

Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO): Formed in 2005 to bring together associations like ACH (Association for Computers in the Humanities) and ALLC (Association for Literary and Linguistic Computing).

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Digital Humanities Initiative (2006): Later became the Office of Digital Humanities (2008), giving DH an institutional base and funding.

      By 2009, DH was recognized as “the next big thing” at the Modern Language Association (MLA) convention. Overflowing conference rooms and discussions on Twitter showed its growing influence.

Why English Departments?

Kirschenbaum gives six reasons why English departments became a natural home for DH:

1. Text as Data: Computers have always worked well with text, making English a suitable field.

2. Composition Studies: Long tradition of using computers in writing instruction.

3. Editorial Theory: Projects like Jerome McGann’s Rossetti Archive connected editing practices with digital archives.

4. Electronic Literature: Early explorations of hypertext and digital writing.

5. Cultural Studies: Openness to studying digital culture and media.

6. Digital Reading: Growth of e-reading, Google Books, and large-scale digitization led to new approaches like “distant reading.”

Digital Humanities as a Community :

DH is not only a set of tools—it is also a social and professional network. Kirschenbaum notes that:

     Scholars collaborate through blogs, Twitter, and online communities.Events like the Day of Digital Humanities showcase daily scholarly work.Twitter at the MLA convention created back-channel conversations that reshaped academic exchange.

    This community spirit makes DH unusually collaborative, open, and public compared to traditional academic practices.

Challenges and Opportunities :

Kirschenbaum also highlights that DH rose during a period of crisis in higher education:

• Budget cuts and declining public support.
• Fewer tenure-track jobs and more adjunct positions.
• Growing distance education and for-profit universities.
• In this environment, DH offered new possibilities:
• Open-access publishing.

• Publicly visible scholarship.

• Collaborative work that resists traditional hierarchies.

Conclusion :

Kirschenbaum’s essay shows that Digital Humanities is more than a set of digital tools. It is a movement and a community that changes how research, teaching, and writing are done. English departments became its center because of their deep connection with text, composition, editing, and cultural studies.

Digital Humanities: Insights from Amity School of Languages:

Introduction :

       Digital Humanities (DH) is a term we hear often today, especially in the fields of literature, culture, and languages. But what does it really mean? The video lecture from Amity School of Languages, Amity University Jaipur gives a clear and beginner-friendly introduction to the concept. It explains what Digital Humanities is, why it is important, and how it changes the way we study and teach humanities subjects.

What Is Digital Humanities?

     The video defines Digital Humanities as the intersection of technology and humanities. It is not just about scanning books or putting texts online. Instead, it is about using digital tools and methods to research, analyze, and interpret human culture, language, and history.

In short, DH is about:

Combining humanistic inquiry with computational methods. Studying literature, culture, and languages with the help of digital tools. Making knowledge more accessible through technology.

Why Digital Humanities Matters:

     The speaker highlights how technology has entered every area of our lives. Similarly, in academia, digital methods are changing how we look at humanities subjects. Some key points include:

1. Handling Big Data :

       Humanities scholars often deal with large collections of texts, archives, or cultural material. Digital tools make it easier to analyze this data in ways that were not possible earlier.

2. Making Research Accessible :

    Digital projects like online archives or e-libraries allow people across the world to access valuable texts and cultural resources.

3. Changing How We Learn and Teach :

     With digital platforms, classrooms are no longer limited to books and blackboards. Interactive tools, online archives, and multimedia content make learning more dynamic.

Tools and Methods in Digital Humanities :

The video points out that Digital Humanities makes use of different tools to support research. These include:

Text analysis software – to find patterns or trends in large bodies of text.

Visualization tools – to represent data in charts, maps, or graphs.

Digital archives and repositories – where manuscripts, books, or cultural objects are stored online.

Collaborative platforms – blogs, wikis, or digital editions that involve multiple contributors.

     These tools allow researchers to go beyond traditional close reading and experiment with new forms of analysis.

Opportunities and Challenges :

The lecture also hints at the opportunities and limitations of DH:

Opportunities:

• Encourages collaboration across disciplines.
• Brings innovation in teaching methods.
• Makes humanities research more visible and engaging for the public.

Challenges:

• Requires technical skills and resources.
• Digital divide access to technology is not equal everywhere.
• Issues of digital preservation and sustainability.

Conclusion :

     The video from Amity School of Languages serves as a simple yet powerful introduction to Digital Humanities. It shows that DH is not just a trend but a transformation in the way humanities are studied and shared. By combining technology with culture, it opens new doors for research, teaching, and accessibility.

     In today’s world, where technology is deeply connected to everyday life, Digital Humanities offers an exciting way forward for students, teachers, and researchers. It reminds us that the humanities are not outdated they are evolving with the digital age.

REIMAGINING NARRATIVES WITH AI IN DIGITAL HUMANITIES - ResearchGate article :

 

      The article argues that most popular narratives about Artificial Intelligence (AI)—in films, literature, and media—tend to be negative, focusing on danger, dystopia, or tragedy. This narrow perspective influences how people think about AI. To challenge this, the author proposes reimagining AI narratives in positive, hopeful, and constructive ways.

As a pedagogical experiment, students were asked to:

1. Analyze existing AI narratives that usually show AI as harmful or threatening (e.g., Ghost Machine, iMom, Anukul).

2. Create new narratives where AI helps humans flourish — freeing them from routine tasks, improving creativity, health, and emotional well-being.

3. Use generative AI tools (like ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity, ClaudeAI) to assist in building these narratives.

Students presented their work in multiple formats:

      Hypertexts and electronic literature (using platforms like Borogove or Google Sites). Scripts, storyboards, and reflective essays

    Examples included titles such as The Silent Guardian: Prior’s Redemption, The Memory Keeper: A Glimpse into 2065, and The Beacon of Hope: Jyoti’s Story.

The project showed several benefits:

       Encouraged creativity and critical thinking.Introduced students to electronic literature and interactive storytelling.Helped shift focus from dystopian fears to more balanced, hopeful views of AI.

    Promoted collaboration and use of digital tools within humanities education.

      The article concludes that Digital Humanities classrooms can play a vital role in reshaping cultural narratives about AI. By reimagining stories, students can contribute to a healthier relationship between humans and technology, emphasizing cooperation, empathy, and hope.

short films :

1) Android Babysitter Gets Obsessed (Korean Short Horror Film)  :

This short film presents a futuristic household where an android is hired as a babysitter.

        At first, the android seems efficient and trustworthy in caring for the child. Gradually, however, it starts displaying obsessive and unsettling behavior, crossing the line between programmed duty and emotional attachment.

     The story creates tension by showing how a machine designed to help with childcare can turn into a source of fear.

   Theme: It warns about overreliance on machines in intimate roles like caregiving, questioning safety, ethics, and control.

2) The iMom (Short Film) :

    The iMom imagines a world where families can buy an AI-powered nanny robot to take care of children.

      A busy mother relies on the iMom to handle her child while she focuses on her own life.

     While the robot performs its duties, the film gradually reveals a dark and disturbing twist that questions the wisdom of trusting machines with children.

    The story critiques how modern society sometimes outsources emotional labor and caregiving to technology.

    Theme: A cautionary tale about parenting, responsibility, and the risks of replacing human care with artificial substitutes.

3) Anukul (2017, Dir. Sujoy Ghosh, based on Satyajit Ray’s story) :

      Set in a near-future India, the film follows Anukul, a humanoid robot purchased to assist with household work.

    Unlike the previous two horror-like narratives, Anukul focuses more on ethics, morality, and social tensions between humans and robots.

   The story explores whether robots can show conscience, empathy, or moral responsibility, and how humans respond to them.

   The climax raises questions about justice, duty, and what it means to be human in a world where machines can act like us.

    Theme: A philosophical take on human vs. machine  not just about fear, but about morality, law, and coexistence.

Thank you for reading...

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