Defining Digital History: Can We?

Like the term public history, “digital history” is not easily defined. Digital history falls under the umbrella term “digital humanities” which, of course, is also tricky to define. Both fields (yes, I’ve decided digital history is a field rather than an approach), are ever-changing, with recently acceptable practices quickly becoming obsolete. Digital history is also interdisciplinary and often collaborative, as with most public history work. And so, if I must define digital history, I will stick to a broad understanding of the field: Historical research, interpretation, presentation, and study completed using digital tools, widely accessible for interaction with the public. Good digital history, like public history, must cause one to pose new questions and consider topics in a fresh way. As you can see from my attempt at defining the field, I believe identifying aspects of digital history work that make it successful is more important than defining digital history at this time.

Here are a few of the characteristics I identified (after the first class and three batches of readings…I’m sure I will identify many more throughout the semester!) for “good” digital history work:

• ·      Permeable
• ·      Interdisciplinary/Collaborative
• ·      Widely Accessible
• ·      Thought-Provoking
• ·      Risky (In the sense that it has not been done before)
• ·      Authentic

Many digital history projects include these characteristics, including Virtual Watervliet http://virtual.shakerheritage.org/. The Shaker Heritage Society of Albany, New York created Virtual Watervliet as a digital representation of the first Shaker settlement in the United States. Much of the Shaker settlement no longer exists and creating a digital model allowed the organization to share the former settlement with both on-site and digital visitors.

The site and mobile site allow you to experience Watervliet at different points in history through 3-D maps, images, music, and biographies. The mobile website offers an on-site audio tour, while the web version offers map tours divided by theme, historic maps overlays (taking advantage of Google Earth), and guided 3-D tours. The site includes a section on building typology and 3-D views of several of the former structures.

Virtual Watervliet allows a wide audience to experience and interact with the first Shaker settlement in a unique way. It offers different ways of considering the evolution of the town and the relationships between townspeople. The project used new forms of technology to promote the history of the Shaker Heritage Society and is an example of successful digital history work.