BY AARON BARLOW What is a writer? What is a Digital Humanist? These sound like disparate questions, but they both are based on the academy of division that has grown up over the past century and more, particularly in American universities. Specializations are created and claims are staked. You’re either on the bus, as Ken…
BY AARON BARLOW When I first heard the term “Digital Humanities” a decade ago, it seemed like something brewed up for use by those who want to poison the humanities—still does. It appeared to be nothing more than something developed by those with a little knowledge of C. P. Snow’s The Two Cultures and the…
BY AARON BARLOW Every discipline falls into a pattern of standard practice; every few years each must reassess. The same is true for the institutions that house them. This happens, of course, too rarely—in both cases. Over the weekend, I read two pieces—an essay and a book review—that made me think about the staleness that…