17.077 history in terms

From: Humanist Discussion Group (by way of Willard McCarty willard.mccarty@kcl.ac.uk)
Date: Wed Jun 11 2003 - 02:11:30 EDT

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                    Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 17, No. 77.
           Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
                       www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/
                         Submit to: humanist@princeton.edu

             Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2003 07:09:14 +0100
             From: "Arianna Ciula" <ciula@media.unisi.it>
             Subject: Re: 17.066 history in terms

    I surely agree with these theoretical and practical stages at the same time.
    Just an observation: in Italian we use the term "informatica umanistica"
    which is quite deviating. It aims to represent the third stage, but exactly
    in opposition to the proper meaningful encapsulation English is able to
    express using composition. In fact the Italian term does imply the primary
    consideration of the field of computer sciences which comes first to mind
    because of the syntactic order and the phrasal primacy. The adjective is
    just a belittled specification. I guess this is one reason for which the
    discipline has been a bit boycotted by Italian humanists.

    Terminology hides (without big efforts) an ideology which is not accepted.

    Yours,

    Arianna Ciula
    Dottorato in Scienze del Libro
    Universit degli Studi di Siena

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: "Humanist Discussion Group
    <willard.mccarty@kcl.ac.uk>)" <willard@lists.village.virginia.edu>
    To: <humanist@Princeton.EDU>
    Sent: Saturday, June 07, 2003 8:44 AM

    > Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 17, No. 66.
    > Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
    > www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/
    > Submit to: humanist@princeton.edu
    >
    >
    >
    > Date: Sat, 07 Jun 2003 07:12:13 +0100
    > From: Willard McCarty <willard.mccarty@kcl.ac.uk>
    > Subject: history in terms
    >
    > I would very much like comment on the hypothesis that the development of
    > our field is historically marked in three stages by the terms we have used
    > to name it, as follows:
    >
    > (1) "computers and the humanities", which posits two distinct and
    separated
    > entities that put in juxtaposition suggest an initial realization that
    they
    > have or might have something to do with each other;
    >
    > (2) "computing in the humanities", which shifts attention from the rapidly
    > shrinking physical box and names an activity that is commonly found within
    > the practices of the humanities;
    >
    > (3) "humanities computing", which takes advantage of the ability in
    English
    > to adjectivize the noun "humanities" but simultaneously to counterbalance
    > its subordination by placing it before its now governing noun "computing"
    > -- which is, as above, present-participial in force; the result nicely
    > encapsulates a computing that is of as well as in the humanities.
    >
    > Yours,
    > WM
    >
    >
    > Dr Willard McCarty | Senior Lecturer | Centre for Computing in the
    > Humanities | King's College London | Strand | London WC2R 2LS || +44 (0)20
    > 7848-2784 fax: -2980 || willard.mccarty@kcl.ac.uk
    > www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/wlm/
    >
    >



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