Digital History Today

When researching digital histories, I thought it would be interesting to look for websites pertaining to my concentration in history.  I found a couple that will probably be good resources in the future.  Digital histories like these are revolutionizing the way in which research is conducted.  By placing primary sources and images on the web, research no longer has to be conducted solely in an archive, let alone in the same city as the archive.

Digital History Websites

A photo of me with The Death
of Marat by Jacques-Louis David
at the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts

Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution

http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/

George Mason University's Center for History and New Media created this website dedicated to information regarding the French Revolution.  The website boasts "12 topical essays, 250 images, 350 text documents, 13 songs, 13 maps, a timeline, and a glossary."  This website is gauged towards almost anyone looking for information on the French Revolution.  There are essays outlining general themes and theories concerning the revolution along with more specific digitized original documents.  It is easy to search for articles and images related to specific topics and people on this website.  One historian from UCLA and one from George Mason authored and edited the information on this site, so the website appears as reliable as other scholarly publications.  A companion book and CD-ROM of all the information available on the website is also available.

Napoleon.org

http://www.napoleon.org/en/home.asp

Napoleon.org is the history website of the Foundation Napoleon.  The foundation is committed to the study and preservation of Napoleonic heritage.  Much like the website mentioned above, Napoleon.org provides a multitude of images, texts, timelines, and maps pertaining to Napoleon.  A very neat aspect of this website is 'thematic mini sites' that are available.  These 'mini sites' are usually run in conjunction with another organization/museum and pertain to a specific topic related to the Napoleonic era.  Napoleon.org compiles tons of information pertaining to this period in history, and it seems to be a valuable resource for anyone researching this subject.  A section labeled "Kids' Corner" is broken down into activities for ages 3+, 6+, and 10+ and teaches Napoleonic history through age appropriate activities.  This website is useful and for all ages and all purposes, and the information is not questionable in the least bit.  

Digital History Reader

http://www.dhr.history.vt.edu/index.html

The Digital History Reader, created by Virginia Tech, is intended to serve as a survey of of United States History and European history at the college survey level or advanced secondary level.  The website is broken into US and European History, which is then separated into modules.  The US section has ten modules, and the European section has six.  This website is more geared toward a general knowledge of US/European history.  The information available on the website looks very much like information in a textbook, so it would be helpful for anyone looking for a basic foundation in these two areas.  My search for French Revolution digital histories brought me to this website, although the revolution is summed up in one minor paragraph about suffrage.  All of the people involved in the production of this website are history professors or graduate students.  For purposes of research, this website would not be helpful, but if it was just going to be used for general information, then it would be perfect.  

Digital History Articles


What is Digital History? A Look at Some Exemplar Projects
by Douglas Seefeldt and William G. Thomas
published in the May 2009 issue of Perspectives on History
http://www.historians.org/perspectives/issues/2009/0905/0905for8.cfm


"For history, the future digital environment might challenge some of our traditional methods, perhaps even the craft-oriented practices of our discipline. Our sources alone in the future will be almost entirely digital—instant messages, e-mails, doc files, pdfs, digital video, podcasts, and databases. Their scale and complexity will demand that historians use tools and techniques not yet a part of our practice to create their own digital sources and employ those created by others."


Tenure, Promotion and Digital Publication
by Joseph Raben
published in the Spring 2007 issue of DHQ: Digital Humanities Quarterly
http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/001/1/000006/000006.html

"The generation of students in our graduate schools today has already become completely at ease with computers and online communication. Even in their non-academic activities, theses students rely increasingly on computers for access to information of almost every sort. In their academic activities they download electronic information to such an extent that their instructors must plead for at least the partial use of print media. Now, with the drive promoted by Google to scan the contents of several major university and public libraries, the time is drawing close when very few reasons will remain to argue the superiority of books and print journals over online databases. Thus the arguments for directing publishing scholars toward the devious route of publishing new material in print, only to have it then scanned for online access become increasingly illogical."


These two articles both discuss how a movement to complete digitization will take redefining some of the bounds of historical publication.  Both articles also acknowledge that the student base is ready and capable of utilizing this technology.  The first article gives some really great examples of digital histories available on the web today.  Both of these articles give insight into the present state of digital history and the possible future of digital history.