Bridging the Divide: Connectivity

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Image courtesy of naomi83
Wikimedia Commons

Digital writing further demonstrates the usefulness of the humanities through its emphasis on connectivity and its potential for a socially-mediated research process. In saying "digital writing," I do not mean simply using a computer to produce writing. Rather, it implies an entirely new writing environment--one that is integrally connected to the Internet and, as such, to a broad network of readers and contributors. It can thus, in some sense, be seen as more of a culture than a mode of production. This "culture" of connectivity, however, is proving increasingly vital in the modern economy, and scholars within the humanities will benefit greatly in seeking to harness the sociality of digitally-mediated writing.

One key principle in understanding digital writing's advantages over traditional scholarship is the concept of social proof. Social proof centers around creating a sort of social feedback loop by integrating people into the research and writing processes. Whereas traditional scholarly inquiry within the humanities emphasizes a fairly isolated approach to research and writing, social proof asks the scholar to 'test out' his ideas in a variety of real and online communities, seeking feedback from the very first stages of research to the very final steps of peer-reviewing and publication. In addition to consulting traditional academic resources and contacts, scholars carry out an initial casting of their nets within more informal settings like Twitter or blogging platforms to determine the level of public interest in the topic. They likewise carry out [social discovery], looking for people--be they scholars, curators, or enthusiasts--who could offer valuable experience and/or resources during the research process. This network of scholars and enthusiasts not only becomes a resource for feedback throughout the research and writing processes but also functions as a built-in audience for the completed work. Acknowledging this, the digital scholar distributes excerpts of his content at various stages of completion, assessing which of his points are most relevant to current discourse on the topic and likewise asking for suggestions and resources to improve the quality of the research and streamline the process as a whole. Establishing these so-called professional learning networks can assist humanities scholars in finding valuable resources and in narrowing the scope of their research to a topic that will be both manageable and relevant to a broader readership.

Aside from this, digital writing offers the potential to more fully engage readers through links, graphics, and feedback or comment sections. In such a way, the reader enters into a current conversation and has the ability not only to engage the work through a variety of media resources and platforms but also to "speak back" to the work and provide meaningful commentary and/or critique of the work. The writer, on the other hand, receives the validation of knowing that people care about his/her topic as they comment on, link to, and provide feedback for his work. Thus, in a world where popular and scholarly writing are growing more and more distant--their goals more and more disparate--digital writing bridges the gap and invites scholars and the public to learn from one another and grow together. In such a way, digital writing points to the usefulness of the humanities in a modern setting and provides means for revitalizing the discipline as a whole.

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[Over to "The Watermill Principle"]   [Over to "Social Proof in Action"]