Michael E. Sinatra visits library to lecture on the impact of digital knowledge
Co-operation and sharing of knowledge is essential for good communication, not only in academics, but in the public as well. When is also important is the study of the digital age, the social and cultural impact of media, and the Internet as a whole. Michael E. Sinatra from the Université de Montréal gave a talk about this exact point, speaking mainly from the perspective of a social scientist. Sinatra’s lecture, titled “The Future of Digital Humanities: Disciplinarity or Interdisciplinarity?” took place in McLaughlin Library on Monday, Jan. 27, as part of the DigiCafé lecture series.
In essence, what Sinatra lectured on can be applied to many fields, as he is pushing for interdisciplinary change. “It’s about asking the right question…a vast modernizing opportunity,” said Sinatra, when it comes to the ease of allowing access to the knowledge base of academics in the humanities across the country, or even to the public. He advocated for the openness of data to the people, whether it be through peer-reviewed journals through e-access, or as a digital outreach program.
An example given by Sinatra was the use of Google. When you type an inquiry, Google can give a guess as soon as the first word is inputted, and it narrows down even closer as you finish the sentence. Most of the time, people don’t even need to finish writing to find the question they were asking. The system “knows you,” as the people at Google analyze the digital culture and the people who use this search engine en masse.
Sinatra has worked tirelessly to see this openness accomplished as a part of Synergies Canada. The website describes Synergies as a subset of GERFLINT, which is an accumulation of journals for francophone research in the humanities and social sciences, and contains a plethora of Synergy subsets around the world. Researchers and the public alike can view many different journals in their bi-annual volumes from many different parts of the world. This sort of free access is what Sinatra strives for: open communication between people, and the use of the digital culture that the younger generation uses now. This way, research can stay relevant, as research can now be read online – sometimes for free as is the case with Synergies, keeping the public informed of varying research studies and keeping academics up to date with other’s research.
Sinatra stated that digital centers, places where this data and information can be kept for the public to see, are very important. Libraries, Sinatra mentioned, are the perfect place, with infrastructure already in place for this sort of idea, rather than spending more money on creating it from scratch.
“I think it is very important that scholars take a less passive approach,” said Sinatra when asked about the disseminations of articles, as most of the publishing is done by companies. They can choose to upload it on the Internet or somewhere that the people can easily access it, rather than use a pay-to-view format.
So as the information age progresses, digital humanities will continue forward as well, analyzing how the social and cultural changes occur with the rise and fall of different social media outlets. Sinatra is optimistic for the future, as he believes “Digital Humanities is a tool that contributes to all disciplines.” Open access and continuous use of the Internet only reinforces that point.