The Importance of a Versatile Toolkit in a Digital World

I believe it is a good idea that everyone, not just humanities students, learn to code.  The modern era is inarguably moving into the digital sphere. Programming will form the backbone of this new world in everyone’s day to day lives, whether you are involved in the tech industry or not.  Considering this inevitability, I believe it is crucial that everyone learn to understand at least the gist of computer sciences, not only from a practical standpoint, but from the standpoint of social justice.  As Matthew Kirschenbaum says of his coding experience:

“I’m often asked how I came by my knowledge. Part of the answer is about generation and privilege: I grew up in a household that had both books and keyboards.”

Kirschenbaum, Matthew G. “Hello Worlds (Why Humanities Students Should Learn to Program).” WordPress, 23 May 2010.

While some people are able to receive education in new digital media and languages, whether it be through schools or parents, there remains a large slice of the population that does not have access to these resources.  The world is moving towards the digital realm and it remains a large concern that some people, if not given the education they need, will not be able to carve out a place for themselves in technical spheres.  I propose that people involved in humanities, as well as other professions, receive a baseline of coding knowledge so as not to be left behind in the rapidly digitizing world.

People focused on humanities are essential to society, yet in order to remain relevant in a rapidly modernizing field, the humanities must learn to adapt to a certain extent.  This is not to say that everything in the field of humanities needs to transition to a digital platform. On the contrary, I am a huge proponent of good old pen and paper. However, it is necessary that those in the field of humanities also gain technical skills both to open up pathways of creativity that before had been impossible as well as level the playing field for people who may not have otherwise been able to access the digital world from a privilege standpoint.  

I have absolutely no experience with coding.  Everything we have learned in class so far has been new and frankly, very confusing.  The technicalities of coding aside, my brain is simply not used to thinking in the way required for programming. One of the reasons why I wanted to take Hacking the Humanities was because I am the poster child of someone interested in the field of the humanities with absolutely no idea how to approach or engage with the digital world.  For this reason, my learning curve is steep. I am struggling with the specificities required when writing code and often times find myself just playing with symbols until something changes. However, I can also feel my understanding of the digital world expanding with each painful attempt to write a line of code. I took this class not so I could become fluent in coding languages but so I could at least understand the backbone of modern technology a little bit better.  I believe this is the level of depth that should at minimum be offered to everyone. That way, people of all fields and walks of life can have a place to begin if they wish to pursue technological development. It also opens up pathways of creativity that would have otherwise remained closed.