5.0138 Whither Humanities Computing? (3/67)
Elaine Brennan & Allen Renear (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Thu, 13 Jun 91 17:18:39 EDT
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 5, No. 0138. Thursday, 13 Jun 1991.
(1) Date: Wed, 12 Jun 91 03:21 PDT (8 lines)
From: Jack Kolb <IKW4GWI@MVS.OAC.UCLA.EDU>
Subject: Re: 5.0132 Humanities Computing
(2) Date: Wed, 12 Jun 91 08:23:16 MST (40 lines)
From: Skip <DUSKNOX@IDBSU>
Subject: Re: 5.0134 Computing in the Humanities
(3) Date: Wed, 12 Jun 91 16:52:32 EDT (19 lines)
From: Sheizaf Rafaeli <USERLLHB@UMICHUB.BITNET>
Subject: humans and computing, humanities computing
(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 12 Jun 91 03:21 PDT
From: Jack Kolb <IKW4GWI@MVS.OAC.UCLA.EDU>
Subject: Re: 5.0132 Humanities Computing
In my short time on The Humanist, I've been informed, amused,
exasperated. I haven't been inspired till now. Gary's post reminds
us, I hope, of the true meaning of our board's designation. Jack Kolb.
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------46----
Date: Wed, 12 Jun 91 08:23:16 MST
From: Skip <DUSKNOX@IDBSU>
Subject: Re: 5.0134 Computing in the Humanities
Willard, the fate of humanities computing on any one campus is going to
depend in part on organizational issues. On my campus, for example, the
humanities do not exist save anonymously as Core Area III. We have
Social Sciences here, and Arts & Sciences, but not a humanity to be
found.
I work in our Center for Data Processing providing PC support to the
entire campus. My PhD is in Early Modern European history. When I
provide support, is it humanistic?
I still can't make heads or tails out of what you mean by your term.
It's true that people in the humanities tend to analyze words more than
numbers, but further than that we tread into values not methodologies,
and computers don't do value systems.
The various departments usually tossed in a humanities salad bowl are
often more different than alike - their common ground again being words.
Most of our colleges now have a local support tech working for them, but
the impetus for this was the need for a supervisor for their student
lab, and that continues to be the main justification for the position.
We meet as a group regularly, and I have yet to discern any difference
in how they treat their users (they do, of course, deal with a slightly
different software suite though the differences in hardware are even
more pronounced).
A final point: last spring I gave a presentation on Bitnet for the
Humanities. I extended the invitation to all academic departments.
Humanists were in a distinct minority. I spoke only about lists like
this one, yet the people from the other disciplines still found the
information both interesting and useful.
Could you elaborate a bit?
ELLIS 'SKIP' KNOX
Historian, Data Center Associate
Boise State University DUSKNOX@IDBSU.IDBSU.EDU
(3) --------------------------------------------------------------23----
Date: Wed, 12 Jun 91 16:52:32 EDT
From: Sheizaf Rafaeli <USERLLHB@UMICHUB.BITNET>
Subject: humans and computing, humanities computing
To Willard's restated question:
You framed the five areas of service, evangelical, pedagogical,
infrastructural and research. And it seems to me that you left out
the one area within which you, I, and many others on this list
would locate ourselves at least part of the time.
In fact your note itself is part of this, sixth but no less
important area: Introspection. I believe that this area number
six, charged as it is with studying the role of computing in
expression, understanding, and thought, is to your area number
five (research) as that (research) is to area number one
(service).
Sheizaf