Transformation: How the Digital Creates New Realities

As historians, we are confronted with an abundance of data in digital form that can be searched, annotated, analysed, presented and reused with the help of a broad array of digital tools.

But what do we know about how digital technology affects the artefactual and informational value of a source?

When looking through the lens of source criticism to digitized and digital born sources, there are so many mediating processes going on before a source can appear on our screen, that historians run the risk of getting detached from the original context of the source.

The premise of the lesson Transformation: How the Digital Creates New Realities available on the Ranke.2 platform is that the idea of ‘transformation’ is not a novel concept, but rather one that has been around for millennia. However, the advances of technology have allowed new and different ways for us to understand and practise transformation in the digital realm.

This lesson incorporates video animations, assignments and quizzes to support your learning.

#Learning outcomes

By the end of this lesson you should:

• Understand the difference between scholarly criticism and digital scholarly criticism
• Understand how definitions of ‘metamorphosis’ and ‘transformation’ have evolved
• Identify and appreciate the impact digital transformations can have in our society, including on our mental health, and the rise of ‘fake news’

Note - This resource is available in English, French and German.