Humanities students don’t need to know how to build, but they do need to know how to read a blueprint.
Why?
- Efficiency! Sure, we could do things the old-fashioned way. But when such enormous computing power is at the fingertips of any average student, why be content to stay there? There are, quite simply, incredible capabilities to undertake large-scale data analyses and detailed historical re-creations that don’t exist without computers and the basic languages that run them. It is possible to take advantage of these capabilities without being fluent in computer languages, but it is very difficult to take advantage of them with absolutely no fluency.
- The Future! Even if the future of the humanities isn’t entirely digital, coding has already become an integral part of at least some humanities research. Humanities students should have enough background in coding to be able to understand the methodology of these research projects, just as any good scientist should be able to judge the credibility of a peer’s paper based on his/her methodology. An end result of research is useless if everyone is ignorant as to how the researchers came to that conclusion. This is certainly part of the reason why Donahue gives clear, direct advice to humanities students: Learn to program whenever it is convenient, but start thinking about the computer sciences as relevant areas of concern right now.
- Similar processes make creative results. As both Kirschenbaum and Donahue point out, the tactics used to solve problems in the world of humanities research and in the world of computer science are very similar. According to their argument, the actual coding isn’t even the most important part: it’s how the coding informs the student’s way of thinking about the humanities. Kirschenbaum describes coding as “about choices and constraints, and about how you choose to model some select slice of the world around you in the formal environment of a computer.” This is quite similar to what humanities students and researchers are required to do: to take one slice of the utter complexity of history or human relations surrounding us and make it fit into the predetermined structure of a book, presentation, or essay.
My Journey Into CS (So Far)
My (Not so Very Impressive) Badges of CS Glory
I came into this class with very little knowledge as to how computers work. And I still don’t really have any idea how they work! Y.I have already learned a great deal, and have felt my horizons broadened. My introduction to coding made me respect the world and the human brain in a different way that (for instance: how many logical if/then statements do I make in my head during one average lunch period? Or, if I had to write code to get me from my dorm to the Rec Center, how many pieces would it require?) This introduction has also already inspired me to think about how I would collect and use data and consider alternative methods that would make the process more accurate or more efficient. So far my brush with CS has given me skills I believe I will use for many purposes beyond this course or the humanities and challenged met I’ve begun to look at projects and problems in a much more creative and exciting way.
Great questions! And proof positive that coding has changed how you view the world and think about problem solving already. I can’t wait to see how you apply these new insights to your projects in this course.
Also, this post shows that you have impressively internalized the lessons of effective writing for the web and catching lazy internet eyeballs: bold colors! lists! inverted arguments! Yes, yes, and yes.
You make a good point here about learning to code simply because it will be expected in the future, since it’s a pretty realistic and logical approach to what can sometimes be a divisive question. Approaching it that way makes it into a “coding is important because our society makes it important”, not that it is necessarily better or more useful than other parts of humanities. Your blog is well-organized and easy to read!
It’s actually interesting you say that, because I hadn’t thought about that distinction. Thanks for pointing it out!
Very nice post– well thought out, and nicely layed out as well. I like the statement:
If projects that employ digital tools are coming into your field of humanities work, you might want to pick up some coding skills, to ensure you really understand what they mean.