These readings constituted a  peek into coding culture as experienced by digital humanists.

Ghajar

It seems Ghajar’s main point is that historians are always going to want context in relation to their digital projects. Just learning to code isn’t a destination in itself, but the historian who wants to be involved in the digital humanities will need to know the why of the tools, not just the how. Why should we be able to design a database, or write code for a project? What are the possibilities in collaboration with web developers, and why would we collaborate in the first place? Why does learning to code affect our methodologies, or become a new methodology to use?  I always say, if I understand why, it helps me understand how.

Wildner

I think Wildner wants people to understand there is a culture which goes along with coding.  Coding is a language, there are ideals, and a lifestyle  just like any foreign culture.  It’s not just syntax, grammar and vocabulary.  There are also shortcuts and best practices that help digital humanists use their time productively if they are involved in coding, so it pays to understand the culture.  In our class discussion we agreed that it made sense for liberal arts people to be familiar with technology and digital culture, because everyone else must be familiar with humanities as a core part of education.  So, coding literacy would be one way to have liberal arts/humanists get familiar with digital technology and culture.  I think that is a great idea and would go a long way towards bringing together science and liberal arts, which we have blogged about before.

Posner

Posner addressed the issue of exhorting women to code.  She agreed that coding is a good skill to have, but she also talked about the reality of the coding culture which is made up of “middle-class white men” who have had greater access to technology, for far longer than women, in the first place. I don’t know what else to say about it, but gender struggles in technology fields are a problem throughout society.  Posner really wants that part of technology culture to change, to be more welcoming to diversity.  Of course I agree.