For this week\u2019s reflection, we\u2019ve been tasked with answering the following: To what extent do you think the Digital Humanities (inadvertently or not) embraces neoliberal values in higher education? My background in answering this question comes from, \u201cNeoliberal Tools (and Archives): A Political History of Digital Humanities,\u201d Matthew Kirschenbaum\u2019s \u201cAm I a Digital Humanist? Confessions of a Neoliberal Tool,\u201d and Grace Afsari-Mamagani\u2019s \u201cIn Defense of DH,\u201d as well as, of course, my own experiences with the digital humanities over the past four weeks.
\nTo begin, I think it\u2019s important to have a definition of neoliberalism in mind. According to Wikipedia, neoliberalism is the 20th-century resurgence of 19th-century ideas associated with laissez-faire economic liberalism and free market capitalism. When first presented with this week\u2019s question, my gut reaction was to reject lumping the digital humanities in with neoliberal tools. After all, the digital humanities allow people with diverse backgrounds and experiences to share knowledge of importance to them, with less of a focus on an elite background. Is this not counter to neoliberalism? I attempted to go into the article with an open mind (understanding the weaknesses and criticisms of your field of interest is vital, after all) but finished the \u201cPolitical History of Digital Humanities\u201d unconvinced by the authors\u2019 arguments. Moving to Kirschenbaum\u2019s article, a direct response to the former, the author discusses his own path in the Digital Humanities, ultimately arguing that he is a digital humanist due to \u201cthe socialization of academia\u201d and is not a tool of neoliberalism. To these points, Kirschenbaum\u2019s article is largely an argument rejecting the idea that the digital humanities embrace neoliberal values in higher education.
\nAlong a similar line, Afsari-Mamagani\u2019s article differentiates between the agenda\u2019s of projects created by corporations like Google Books projects created to promote access by academic departments or libraries. I agree that lumping both together is to misrepresent the diversity of digital humanities projects. I particularly agree with Afsari-Mamagani\u2019s conclusion that the digital humanities foster \u201ca sense of sociopolitical consciousness.\u201d A value which is not consistent with neoliberalism.
\nDoes this mean that the neoliberal criticism of the digital humanities completely without merit? Certainly not. The digital humanities are beholden to outside funding, often with an agenda. Is this a unique, defining factor of the digital humanities warranting the scorn of the \u201cPolitical History of the Digital Humanities article?\u201d I would say not. It is, however, an existing factor worthy of consideration in analyzing this reflection\u2019s question. Overall, I would argue that the digital humanities is largely a rejection and counter to neoliberal values in higher education, at least, as much as any field of scholarship can be that has its roots in a Western, capitalist society. <\/p>\n
– Michaela<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For this week\u2019s reflection, we\u2019ve been tasked with answering the following: To what extent do you think the Digital Humanities (inadvertently or not) embraces neoliberal values in higher education? My background in answering this question comes from, \u201cNeoliberal Tools (and Archives): A Political History of Digital Humanities,\u201d Matthew Kirschenbaum\u2019s \u201cAm I a Digital Humanist? Confessions … <\/p>\n