Table-ronde: « Une perspective historique des humanités numériques / digitales »

Value of the Information & Strength of the Argument

The value of the information lies in the critical and corrective perspective on the standard history of digital humanities. Le Deuff offers a well-argued case for a longer genealogy, connecting contemporary tools to pre-computational practices and lesser-known pioneers. Sinclair provides a useful overview of the Canadian institutional landscape, drawing on his own involvement. However, both presentations are programmatic and openly acknowledge their preliminary and partial nature. The argumentation is solid in its critique of the dominant ‘Busa-centric’ narrative, but remains limited by the lack of in-depth archival evidence in this format.

Scientific Rigor, Source Quality, Title Accuracy

The scientific rigor is acceptable for a public round table. Both speakers rely on their expertise and mention specific works and projects, though they do not provide formal citations. Le Deuff refers to his own publication and the work of Michael Buckland, among others. Sinclair mentions Canada’s scholarly funding agencies and projects. The title accurately represents the content. Overall, sources are those that would be known to specialists, but the format limits their verification.

The title accurately reflects the content, a round table on the history of digital humanities. The content closely matches the announced theme.

7/10

The round table features two established academics (Olivier Le Deuff and Stéfan Sinclair) with relevant publications. They present programmatic and historical reflections based on their own research, with references to specific works and archives. The discussion is exploratory and openly admits gaps, but does not provide formal citations or verifiable data for all claims.

Markers derived by PSI from the transcript: the creator did not define chapters.

• 02:30Introduction by Michaël Sinatra and Joanna Casenave, presenting the round table and speakers.
• 07:00Olivier Le Deuff begins his talk, proposing a long history of digital humanities and questioning the focus on Roberto Busa.
• 15:00Le Deuff discusses early indexing practices and the role of Emmanuel Goldberg, a forgotten pioneer of information retrieval.
• 25:00Le Deuff concludes with programmatic ideas for collaborative research on the history of digital humanities.
• 30:00Stéfan Sinclair begins his presentation on the history of digital humanities in Canada, stressing the importance of institutional history.
• 40:00Sinclair discusses the founding of the Society for Digital Humanities and the role of funding councils.
• 50:00Discussion on the definition of digital humanities and whether it is a discipline or a community of practice.
• 1:05:00Q&A session, where speakers address questions about the future of the field and the challenges of historical research.

• Les humanités digitales; historique et développements — Olivier Le Deuff mentions his book published by Iste éditions, which serves as the basis for his presentation.
• Hermeneutica: Computer-Assisted Interpretation in the Humanities — Stéfan Sinclair co-authored this book with Geoffrey Rockwell (MIT, 2016), mentioned in the description.
• Visual Interface Design for Digital Cultural Heritage — Another book by Sinclair with Stan Ruecker and Milena Radzikowska (Ashgate, 2011), referenced in the description.

• Michael Buckland's work on information retrieval history — Le Deuff references Buckland's research on the history of hypertext and information tools.