I would liken the learning of code to learning any language. Coding, as an artificial language, has much in common with natural languages as ‘symbolic representational systems, with a grammar and syntax, that can be used to convey meaning, to produce something that has never happened before, and to communicate about things that are displaced in time or space’ (Bers, 2019 p504). I have a slightly less sophisticated comparison: through listening and intermittent practice you pick up snatches, words begin to sound familiar and you can generally follow a conversation, but you can’t speak it fluently, the rules completely evade you, and if you attempt to write it chaos ensues! What does the ability to code add for the individual in the digital humanities? I believe that the answer to this speaks to how we identify ourselves as digital humanists – whether we are scholars of the humanities who believe that digital tools can enhance our practice, or digital scholars who like to apply tools to the humanities (Mullen, 2016). It appears that whether you believe you need to code or not depends on where you place yourself on this spectrum.
Ramsey suggests that we, ‘Learn to code because it’s fun and because it will change the way you look at the world’ (Ramsey, 2013, p245). I believe that understanding code would change the way I interact with technology, and the humanities. Ramsey’s enthusiasm for code is infectious, and aspirational, but perhaps somewhat redundant. Underwood (2015) lists many ways in which we can build and make, referring to coding only in passing, and concluding that he does not expect coding to become universal in the humanities. The growing ‘no code’ movement and greater collaboration between disciplines would also suggest that we do not have to code, that no matter what we want to achieve, someone else can design the necessary tool (Lincoln, 2016). For those of us new to the area, it is enough to use the tools already created and curated for us, an excellent example being the work of Alan Lui and specifically his DH Toy Chest. The role of the digital humanities is to use these tools to reshape ‘the representation, sharing, and discussion of knowledge,’ (Sample, 2016 p256), with the focus shifting to interpreting, rather than making (Fitzpatrick, 2012).
And so coding it would appear is not as important as Ramsey asserts, but looking at practical examples from our own experiences this year, we have written, or perhaps more accurately edited under guidance, small sections of code, and been successful in doing so. At the time. But issues arise later, when something doesn’t work or you simply want it to appear differently, and end up staring impotently at the code. Resorting to Google, results in a ‘fix’, but even to apply the fix, one needs a certain level of competence. Furthermore, projects in the digital humanities use tools and technology, and while not all of these require any knowledge of code, all require data – data which needs to be prepared in order that it can successfully address your research questions (Hoover, 2015). For some projects this relies on markup, so if we are to fall into the camp that defines markup as code, then yes we need eventually to have some skill in or practice at this.
Our course this year comprises a wide range of ages, interests and abilities, some with coding knowledge, others with none. As a demographic we are probably not dissimilar to those involved in a study, described as ‘a community response to Ramsay’s provocation’ (O’Sullivan, et al., 2015 p 142), of ninety-six digital humanities scholars, which found that only 52% of respondents were engaged in programming. Those who most believed coding to be a necessity were those in an older (50+) age-group, where the younger age groups favoured collaboration, or the outsourcing of programming elements. I would characterise those aged 50+ as a ‘make do and mend’ generation – they were born into a world that valued the ability to design, build, and fix, – perhaps explaining why they are comfortable at the ‘backend’ of applications. In contrast to this, research has shown the younger generation are adept at using and interacting with technology, but are not so adept at understanding it (Liu, 2007). This to me is the ‘work smarter, not harder’ generation, and far from considering this a negative, I think we can all learn from this more balanced approach. The study also points to the ‘genuine desire for collaboration,’ (O’Sullivan et al., 2015 p145) in the digital humanities as explanation as to why coding is not ubiquitous.
So perhaps to code or not to code depends on one’s age or other relevant factors. There are studies which suggest, as Miriam Posner does, that ‘programming knowledge is not a neutral thing, but something men will tend to have more often than women.’ (Posner, 2012). The 2015 study referred to above considered the gender of respondents, and concluded that ‘Considerably more males claim that software development is an aspect of their day-to-day, and furthermore self-identify as being technically proficient’ (O’Sullivan et al., 2015 p144). Reinforcing the notion that coding is a male domain is a very recent study which found that ‘Interest stereotypes involving gender may predict and cause girls’ lower participation in computer science and engineering classes and activities.’ (Master et al., 2021 p6). They argue that some of these stereotypes are based on ‘observed reality.’ Is this relevant to this essay? Well that depends on the extent one feels that gender informs everything. Are my opinions about code informed by reasoning and reading, or the deep seated belief I have that coding is not for girls, reinforced by my own experience of primary education where the class was divided so that boys learned how to use computers while the girls learned to sew? Another essay for another day, perhaps, but like it or not our own experiences and biases form part of our own code.
I think the question ‘do we need to code?’ is not about coding at all, it is about defining the digital humanities as a discipline, and despite many scholarly articles on the topic it does remain a moveable feast. So much is dependent on one’s particular interest. The skills needed to complete textual analysis are not the same skills required to create sound art, or to map the locations of witches in Scotland, or to curate a virtual exhibition, or to successfully design and create a game. Some of these tasks need significantly more specialised knowledge of code and the ability to manipulate tools than others. And so, to return to my original question about where we are positioned within digital humanities and the impact of this: I consider myself a scholar of English and education, who would like to explore how technology can enhance my practice and knowledge. To do this do I need to code? No I don’t think I do, but I do need to be able to collaborate and ‘work—effectively—with someone who does.’ (O’Sullivan et al, 2015. p147). But do I wish I was able to code? The simple answer is yes.
Bibliography
Bers, M.U. (2019) ‘Coding as another language: a pedagogical approach for teaching computer science in early childhood’, Journal of Computers in Education, 6(4), pp. 499–528.
Fitzpatrick, Kathleen. “The humanities, done digitally.” Debates in the digital humanities (2012): 12-15.
Gold, M.K. (ed.) (2012) Debates in the digital humanities. Minneapolis: Univ Of Minnesota Press
Hoover David, L. (2015) ‘The Trials of Tokenization’, Global Digital Humanities Conference Hosted at Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia June 29, 2015 – July 3, 2015
Liu, Alan. (2007) “Imagining the new media encounter.” A companion to digital literary studies: 3-25
Master, Allison, Andrew N. Meltzoff, and Sapna Cheryan. (2021) “Gender stereotypes about interests start early and cause gender disparities in computer science and engineering.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, no. 48
Mullen, Lincoln. (2016) “Digital Humanities is a Spectrum, or “We’re All Digital Humanists Now”.” In Defining Digital Humanities, pp. 253-254. Routledge
O’Sullivan, James, Diane Jakacki, and Mary Galvin. (2015):”Programming in the digital humanities.” Digital Scholarship in the Humanities 30, no. suppl_1 i142-i147.
Ramsay, S. (2013) ‘On Building’, in Defining Digital Humanities. Routledge.
