“Digital Humanities necessarily partakes in and contributes to the “screen culture” of the 21st century”
Burdick et al. “One: From Humanities to Digital Humanities,” in Digital_Humanities (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2012), 11.
This quote caught my attention as I am part of the generation that grew up without the modern technology seen today but was exposed to it at a very young age. I remember the first time I held my grandfather’s iPad in fourth grade, it is surreal to think about how quickly technology has changed since then. In my opinion, the “screen culture” of the 21st century is one of our greatest tools and our greatest downfall. “Screen culture” has contributed to fast fashion, consumerism, and the spread of false news. Even now I see how it affects the youth of America. My cousins, who are in 6th and 4th grade, have grown up surrounded by iPads and other technology, the main way they interact with their friends and family is through technology. I once asked my cousin what games she plays during recess and she gave me a strange look and responded with “Usually Minecraft or Roblox”. This was surreal to me as when I was her age I was playing tag or monkey on the ground. “Screen culture” does not only have a strong effect on our youth, even I spend way too much time on my phone mindlessly scrolling on social media. More often than not when my friends and I hang out it’s to sit around on our phones together instead of interacting. However, I recognize the “screen culture” of the 21st century has also contributed to many advancements in modern technology. I am excited to learn more about how digital humanities contributes to the screen culture of the 21st century.
Under the general umbrella of Digital Humanities, I am most excited to learn how to model buildings and apply them to maps I have created for geospatial analysis. I took a class last term where we had to utilize maps of Carleton over the years. I was impressed that the maps not only gave me a sense of what the campus looked like years ago but also gave me a good understanding of the building’s architecture. The online maps of the campus over the years remind me of the quote because I was relying on screens and modern technology to explore these maps.
