Digital Humanities: A fancy word for blogging?

Here's an interesting article in "The Opinionator" of the New York Times about blogging, scholarly writing and the tension between the two. He says:

"… The digital humanities, it is claimed, can help alter that “monstrous terrain” in at least two ways. The first is to open up the conversation to the public whose support the traditional humanities has lost. If anyone and everyone can join in, if the invitation of open access is widely accepted, appreciation of what humanists do will grow beyond the confines of the university. Familiarity will breed not contempt, but fellowship. “Only in this way,” Fitzpatrick declares, “can we ensure the continued support for the university not simply as a credentialing center, but rather as a center of thought." (from The Digital Humanities and the Transcending of Mortality)

Interesting article, although itself a bit of a scholarly blog. After all he uses the word "teleological" in a sentence, which I admit having to look up 🙂

"There are two things I want to say about this vision: first, that it is theological, a description its adherents would most likely resist, and, second, that it is political, a description its adherents would most likely embrace." (from The Digital Humanities and the Transcending of Mortality)