The Humanist in the Computer Lab

Abstract

The attempts made so far to utilize computers in studying the humanities have resulted in a fundamental analysis of the subject areas themselves rather than in any significant results. The problems of inputting and outputting, of determining what processes may appropriately be employed, and of developing new processes not derived from the customary numerical approaches which presently dominate computer thinking—all these have retarded what had been expected to be a dramatic advance into a new order of humanistic criticism. The most substantial accomplishments to date have been the rationalized lists of words (dictionaries, indexes, and concordances) for which the computer’s capacity to sort rapidly without fatigue or error has accelerated production of these traditional aids to scholarship. A new breed of humanistic scholar now evolving—highly trained genuinely relevant to his studies—will contribute to the creation of new programming languages specially designed for this word, assist in the training of others who follow, and help to guide computer-assisted instruction beyond the mechanistic mode in which it currently operates.