A lesson on Wikipedia as a born-digital source of history and how to apply digital source criticism to it. The lesson invites historians to adapt their critical approach to Wikipedia as a born-digital source for historical research. More specifically, it suggests ways to apply digital source criticism to Wikipedia’s infrastructure and content and to explore potential uses of Wikipedia for historians. The lesson proposes a short introductory video and a set of five assignments. No specific technical skills are required to complete the assignments.
Newspapers are imperfect recorders of history, yet they are a key asset for historical research. This lesson deals with how digitised newspapers that are available online change the way historians use newspapers as historical sources, and ask new skills for applying source criticism.
This lesson from Ranke.2 looks at how digital technology has stirred our imagination and enabled us to create new (and sometimes virtual) realities; and covers topics ranging from ancient Greek myths to snapchat filters. However, the availability of this technology to transform both us and the world around us should be treated with skepticism, as the merits of an all-encompassing digital lifestyle do not completely outweigh its disadvantages and pitfalls.
Understanding how digitisation of legacy data and digital technologies involved in those processes is key for a critical appraisal of digital history. This lesson examines the transformation of information from analogue to digital, using a collection of wire-recorded interviews conducted by psychologist David Boder in 1946 as a basis.
Have you ever reflected on the origin and authenticity of a historical source that you retrieved from the web? This lesson offers insights into how the practice of applying source criticism has been affected by the digital turn. What are the new questions that historians should ask of digitised and digital-born historical sources, and what new skills should they master to be able to answer these questions?
