history


On Losing the Past

A common question in digital humanities, particularly digital history, is whether or not to preserve as much as possible, and how to accomplish that preservation. The debate has strong arguments on both sides and applies equally to born-digital and analogue materials. During a recent trip to Harpers Ferry, however, I […]


Spreadsheets for Historians

Historians’ Spreadsheet Many scholars, even historians, use spreadsheets for tasks such as grading or accounting. Some might use programs such as Microsoft’s Excel Spreadsheets, while others use Google Spreadsheets or even Open Office. Regardless of which program we use, spreadsheets are powerful tools that allow us to collect and query […]


Reading Series: Part 5, History in the Digital Age 2

The year is 1959, and as a graduate student in history, I’m currently studying the approaches that are emerging from the Annales School in France. My doctoral supervisor is familiar with the topic and uses similar approaches in her own work. As we discuss the themes and recent publications, she […]