Jenny Reeder


History Polyglot–How to Translate or Interpret in a Digital Age
February 10, 2007, 3:14 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized

I am intrigued with Manan Ahmed’s discussion, The Polyglot Manifesto. He raises some important esoteric questions about identity, community responsibility, and public responsibility. But I am most intrigued with his ideas about historian as translator or interpreter. As I commented on Bill’s blog, I believe that digital history changes the way we do history. I think the connection between “past-ese” and “present-ese” is one that we cannot take too lightly. Can we really “toggle” between the two, to borrow Ahmed’s phrase?

I like to hope we can. And yet as I anticipate dealing with job searches and how I will figure out how my skills can match the needs of whatever department, I question how it will all add up. Does my ability to use digital media make me a better historian? Or am I learning how to appeal to the popular masses? Do the two connect? Does plodding through somewhat technical and foreign reading on CSS help me do or interpret history better, or does it help me present history better? I honestly think both skills are vital. And that is exactly why I am pushing and pulling along, trying to piece together the meaning of CSS and design. I have important history to do and I want to know how to present it.