Historians’ (con)figurations in times marked by technological disruption

Abstract

This article seeks to examine some practices that can be incorporated by historians considering the possibilities of the digital age. We analyze, on the one hand, the linkage between humanities and computers, understanding it as an exercise of enthusiasm and conservation, as far as technologies are either approached as future possibilities or held responsible for the dissolution of our professional field. We also address, on the other hand, certain pressures suffered by history as a discipline and the consequent desire for being updated, in view of a recent study by Valdei Araujo and Mateus Pereira regarding “updatism”. Technological disruption seems to be shaping new identities for history and historians, while enlarging the frontiers of the history and reinventing its traditions. Internet projects, for example, from YouTube channels to podcasts, are emerging as new outlets for professional action and represent the (con)figurations of historians in times marked by innovation. Lastly, we briefly discuss the discipline of emerging theoretical fields or movements such as digital humanities and digital history. Is there any reason to restrict the digital sphere to disciplinary boundaries? We argue that digital recreations of the past, stimulated by highly sophisticated technologies, must inspire historical imagination, while remaining always untied to disciplinary imperatives.