Comments on: Lincoln's Future Is Digital –Deal With It!

By: Jason

Jason — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:40:48 +0000

Digital media is going to be really big in near future. And the boom of internet is primary reason behind this phenomenon. Although the traditional marketing will not die but the application of the traditional media will surely change.

By: smithti

smithti — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:57:24 +0000

I don’t think there is any question that digital resources are revolutionizing the way we research and discover new materials. The wealth of information that is collected online gives us easy access to information that we never could have found in the past. The work of individuals, such as that done at House Divided, where people transcribe various letters, diary entries, newspapers, etc. into a fully searchable digital archives is just one example of this rapidly expanding tool. Over time, more and more of these hand-written primary sources will be digitized and made available to everyone.
Pieces of work, such as Russell Toris’ interactive essay, enable us to produce work that is no longer linear as it is in books. These tools make learning much more entertaining and allow us to be fully immersed in the topics we are learning about.
The rising conversion of historical sources into digital format helps bring history to life.

By: sk

sk — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:55:39 +0000

Digital resources have become key to doing research and in the classroom as an aide. The only negative to using digital resources is that it takes away from the use of books, which have been our resources for so many years in the past. However it is always good to improve and increase the accessability of information so moving in this direction of the digital is benefical.

By: hirschj

hirschj — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 16:41:41 +0000

I agree with Professor Pinsker’s assertion that the digital age should be utilized for greater access to resources. We live in an era of technological advancement and to not utilize this resource to our advantage is shameful. Throughout history people have been taking advantage of the resources that were available, and using them to further their studies. I fail to see how the digital age is any different than any other advancement. For example, when Professor Donald gave his class a floppy disk (as articulated in Professor Pinsker’s essay) he was using innovation to his benefit. Why would we not implement the tools we are given?
The digital age has helped me in history classes. Earlier this semester I wrote a paper on the kidnapper of Solomon Northup. Without the help of online census records and tax forms, I would never been able to write this paper. One of the reasons why this paper was enriching was the mere fact that I had the capacity to access all these resources that was impossible a few years ago. We cannot be stagnant in our pursuit of knowledge, and not using all of our resources to further our studies is detrimental to the education system on the whole.

By: gmazzoli

gmazzoli — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 15:33:37 +0000

Lincoln’s future is digital? Of course it is…but then again everything is. The rapid rise of technology and its prevalence in modern society makes it impossible to say otherwise; denying the fact that history, or anything else, is moving towards the digital age is simply ignorant. I believe what is most important is that the stigma of technology use for academic purposes will eventually fall. Yes, Wikipedia is still a source unfit to use in academic purposes, but I truly think that it, or something similar, has the potential to become a respected source in academia. Web 2.0 concepts are strange, yes, but effective, and putting research on Lincoln into the same context can only help the field.
The most important aspect of this digitization is the accessibility it gives to the common person. Yes, some may claim that allowing everyone access to the entirety of Lincoln research will water down the field. Again it would be ignorant to ignore the voices of non-professional historians; the study of Lincoln can only benefit from the views of many people, and truly the best way to do so is to create digital resources that all can use easily. I truly do commend Prof. Pinsker and others like him for working to advance his field…without him, the study of Lincoln, and history in general, would be left in the dust.

By: Evil Jared

Evil Jared — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 14:00:50 +0000

It’s strange to think that for our age group, all we have ever known of research has been based on computers and research technology. The idea of having to go to different libraries or databases to find information is so foreign to us now, and seems almost tedious. The future of historical research, along with the future of everything else, is going to be based on the internet and the information age technology. These new methods can be extremely beneficial not only as researchers, but as contributers as well. It is possible now for any average person to publish new findings online at little (or no) cost.

By: chobanim

chobanim — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:56:30 +0000

I am very traditional in regards to historical research and find much of my fascination with history arises out of the independence and liberty that the research process generates. With the materials not so easily at hand, one has to establish their own path in researching—filtering through tertiary sources, scholarly works, and then primary sources—to formulate an individual thesis and argument. As an undergraduate so-called historian-in-the-making, I am attracted to the conventional methods of the research process, but I do understand that, as Catherine Clinton stated, “we are in a period of transition.”
As such, like everyone else, historians must bear to manage the change directly. In a positive light, digitizing documents make research easier and faster, as well as less financially burdensome (take, for example, the interactive essay and the full-text recollections). Furthermore, with the developing technology, such graphs and maps—like the hypergraph, timemap, and word cloud—can be created to instigate new insight on a seemingly exhausted topic (for example, the word cloud technology sheds light on the significance of word usage in various documents). Even though this technological evolution is unavoidable and historians must be prepared for it, I still find the apparently “dated” method of historical research essential.
I am not against amateur historians, but easy access to materials can undeniably allow almost anyone to voice their perspective on a topic—the gradations of education may then become democratized. Moreover, although I advocate Professor Pinsker’s immense efforts to adapt to this global transformation in technology, I agree with Professor Holt on a criticism of Pinsker’s outlook: “Pinsker seems to believe that fresh and compelling interpretations of Lincoln depends on as-yet-unrecovered evidence rather than on rethinking what we already know, even though we may not have looked at the already available information as closely as we should have.”

By: Hank Williams Jr

Hank Williams Jr — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:42:07 +0000

No one can deny that technology controls the future. Just like Professor Pinsker explained on Tuesday that smart phones are going to revolutionize the way people visit historical sites, the ease and availability of digital resources open up thousands of opportunities for scholarship. JSTOR, House Divided, 19th Century Newspapers and Ancestry.com are all prime examples of how sources, once buried in archives much like the microfilm containing information on Lincoln, are now readily accessible to the masses. I think that this wealth of easy to use material is beneficial, and it is best to just accept that this is where technological advancements are taking us.

By: Takehiko Takahashi

Takehiko Takahashi — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 01:37:04 +0000

I believe that these digital resources make research faster, and therefore more efficient. The word cloud effect for the Lincoln-Douglas Debates is a prime example. Through this program any person can find out which words were said the most during each of the debates. From there, a person can then locate the most important words in the debates and view them in the context in which they were used. Researching the traditional way by reading the content and then meticulously highlighting every time slave or slavery was said is very slow process. Now, researchers can quickly find the major words said and then interpret them in the context and issues of the period. The word cloud is just one of many examples of digital resources that can help make researching faster and more effective.

By: niedermk

niedermk — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 01:11:11 +0000

I can see why historians such as Catherine Clinton and Michael Holt can find objections to Professor Pinsker’s heavy promotion of the use of digital technology. However, I think that the use of technology for historical research is imperative for historical research the future. I too think that technological historical bases are extremely helpful to undergraduates. Interactive websites, such as the one provided above, are helpful in contextualizing information that might otherwise be difficult to interpret. I find the word clouds to be particularly helpful. With that said, I think that making historical documents available online should not replace further research because obviously it will be nearly impossible to get every historical document to be available online. Additionally, I think with the rising prevalence of technology in our society, I do not see how there is any option other than making history more technologically accessible. In my opinion, it is just a matter of time before virtually every aspect of our lives becomes enhanced by some sort of technology so why not incorporate history?