Defining the Digital Humanities

How scholars define the Digital Humanities is as ongoing and fraught conversation. Here I offer a simple working definition to continue the conversation about its definition and present my own approach to the field. It is not meant to be exhaustive or all-encompassing.  Please share what you believe to be the essence of DH in the comments section below!

DH is the study, exploration, and preservation of, as well as education about
human cultures, events, languages, people, and material production in the past and present
in a digital environment
through the creation and use of dynamic tools to

• visualize and analyze data
• share and annotate primary sources
• discuss and publish findings
• collaborate on research and teaching

for scholars, students, and the general public.

Stay tuned for Day of DH 2014 for a new batch of definitions! This will be hosted by MATRIX: Center for Digital Humanities and Social Sciences (Michigan State University). Check either the MATRIX website or CenterNet for updates.

Related articles

• RESOURCE: Defining Digital Humanities: A Reader (acrl.ala.org)
• Finding the Digital Humanities: A Response to Lisa Spiro’s “‘This is Why We Fight'” (elysianmusings.wordpress.com)
• Debates in the Digital Humanities (barnesmatthewc.wordpress.com)
• Decolonizing DH: Theories and Practices of Postcolonial Digital Humanities (dhpoco.org)