Historians and Computers

Article Review # 99800

Computer and Technology
Computer and Technology > Internet
History

A discussion of the article "Computers and the Subversion of British History" by R.J. Morris.

1,000 words () | 4 sources | MLA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how R.J. Morris in his 1995 article "Computers and the Subversion of British History", attempted to qualify some of the challenges and opportunities that the computer revolution would have in store for historians. The paper explains Morris' thesis that with the advent of computing technology and the availability of vast stores of data such as the World Wide Web, the historian's abilities have changed. The paper posits that to some degree, his thesis was correct; there have been changes that have required shifts in the way that historians think about and process information.

From the Paper:

"The still developing computer and technology revolution that began in earnest in the latter half of the Twentieth Century has had a decidedly impressive impact on academic disciplines well beyond the scope of computer science or engineering. In fact, disciplines in the humanities are being significantly affected by the incredible changes that computing technology has wrought. History, in particular, has undergone major--but also superficial--changes as a result of the computer revolution."

Sample of Sources Used:

Fraser, Michael. "A Hypertextual History of Humanities Computing." 4 Feb. 1996. 14 Oct. 2006 <http://users.ox.ac.uk/~ctitext2/history/converge.html>.
Morris, R.J. "Computers and the Subversion of British History." Journal of British Studies 34 (Oct. 1995): 503-528.
"Technology Plan 2004-2007." Grossmont College. 13 Oct. 2006 <http://www.grossmont.edu/GCTechPlans/techplan0407/History.htm>.
Trinkle, Dennis A. "History and the Computer Revolutions." JAHC 2.1 (Apr. 1999). 12 Oct. 2006 <http://www.mcel.pacificu.edu/JAHC/JAHCII1/ARTICLESII1/Trinkle/Trinkleindex.html>.