Abstract
Within the historiography of history of Europe in the 20th century, it can be observed that the methodologies are mostly structured on archival research and comparative methods. Currently, the digital revolution has enabled the management of large amounts of data, information, and statistics. The history of historiography could consider the innovative methodologies for historical research like the digital humanities. This chapter reports the test of Omeka-S, an open-source content management system (CMS) specifically designed for humanities studies, on the history of European historiography. Omeka has been applied for the functions of digitisation, metadatation, and geolocation in accordance with international standards. The case study is the Association of European Historians (AsE), a network of historians from several European and non-European countries founded in 1983. The use of Omeka-S, in combination with traditional methodologies and network analysis, allows a more in-depth examination of the AsE's network and its historiographical paradigm.
TopIntroduction
The paper analyses a methodological approach of the author’s PhD project in history of Europe entitled “From history of Europe to Digital Humanities: the Association of European Historians through digital history”. Starting from the description of the heuristic transition from digital humanities to digital history, the present study examines the application of Omeka-S, an open-source Content Management System (CMS) specifically designed for humanities studies, to the historical research. After the illustration of a significant example with regard to the employment of Omeka-S, the paper focuses on the author’s case study: the Association of European Historians (AsE), a network of historians from several European and non-European countries founded in 1983. Ultimately, the author discusses the added value of the application of Omeka-S to his research project.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Digital Humanities: The discipline which refers to the study, research and teaching through the intersection between electronic computation and human sciences.
Digital History: The discipline which refers to the use, study and processing of digital tools applied to historical research.
Plugin: Additional component which enables software customisation with specific features.
Distant Reading: Critical reading methodology that uses big data analytics and computer programs for the research purposes.
Content Management System: Computer software used to manage the creation and modification of digital objects.
Close Reading: Critical analysis of a text or object which focuses on significant details or patterns in order to develop a deep, precise understanding of the text’s form, craft, or meanings.
Network Analysis: Set of integrated techniques to depict relations among actors and to analyse the social structures that emerge from these relations.