Digital Humanities Manifesto

Created by William J. Allen (Arkansas State University) on January 13, 2009

Digital humanities is not a unified field but an array of convergent practices that explore a universe in which print is no longer the exclusive or the normative medium in which knowledge is produced and/or disseminated.With that begins one of the most exciting and provocative reads I have seen in a very long time. The document is the work of two faculty members leading the Mellon Seminars in Digital Humanities: Todd Presner (UCLA) and Jeffrey Schnapp (Stanford). The Manifesto is available at

Digital Humanities Blog

The Manifesto is reflective

Like all media revolutions, the first wave of the digital revolution looked backwards as it moved forward. It replicated a world where print was primary and visuality was secondary, while vastly accelerating search and retrieval. Now it must look forwards into an immediate future in which the medium specific features of the digital become its core.

and covers materials at a gallop. As should be with a minifesto, bombast of attitude moves the document from statement to action

Copyright and IP standards must, accordingly, be freed from the stranglehold of Capital. Pirate and pervert Disney materials on such a massive scale that Disney will have to sue… your entire neighborhood, school, or country. Practice digital anarchy by creatively undermining copyright and mashing up media.

Anyone may read the blog document. Blog becomes wiki if you register. Then you may comment on paragraphs or points. This is a document that will stir the community of scholars struggling with what the humanities need to be doing.

William's blog
Login or register to post comments
434 reads

		Digital Humanities Manifesto Created by William J. Allen (Arkansas State University) on January 13, 2009 Digital humanities is not a unified field but an array of convergent practices that explore a universe in which print is no longer the exclusive or the normative medium in which knowledge is produced and/or disseminated.With that begins one of the most exciting and provocative reads I have seen in a very long time. The document is the work of two faculty members leading the Mellon Seminars in Digital Humanities: Todd Presner (UCLA) and Jeffrey Schnapp (Stanford). The Manifesto is available at Digital Humanities Blog The Manifesto is reflective Like all media revolutions, the first wave of the digital revolution looked backwards as it moved forward. It replicated a world where print was primary and visuality was secondary, while vastly accelerating search and retrieval. Now it must look forwards into an immediate future in which the medium specific features of the digital become its core. and covers materials at a gallop. As should be with a minifesto, bombast of attitude moves the document from statement to action Copyright and IP standards must, accordingly, be freed from the stranglehold of Capital. Pirate and pervert Disney materials on such a massive scale that Disney will have to sue… your entire neighborhood, school, or country. Practice digital anarchy by creatively undermining copyright and mashing up media. Anyone may read the blog document. Blog becomes wiki if you register. Then you may comment on paragraphs or points. This is a document that will stir the community of scholars struggling with what the humanities need to be doing. blog \| digital humanities \| faculty members \| jeffrey schnapp \| manifesto \| mellon \| ucla \| Wiki William's blog Login or register to post comments 434 reads
		© Copyright 1999-2009 EDUCAUSE Need Help? \| Feedback \| Privacy Policy
	Unless otherwise noted, EDUCAUSE holds the copyright on all materials published by the association, whether in print or electronic form. In certain cases the work remains the intellectual property of the individual author(s) (see Special Circumstances). Content from conference speeches, presentations, blogs, wikis and feeds reflect the opinions of the author, and not necessarily those of EDUCAUSE or its members.