As part of classroom activities assigned by Prof. Dilip Barad, this blog engages with resources like the Introduction to Digital Humanities (Amity University video), the ResearchGate article Reimagining Narratives with AI in Digital Humanities, and short films such as Why are we so scared of robots/AI? to reflect on how narratives are being reshaped in the digital age. To get more information, click here.
Digital Humanities, also known earlier as “humanities computing,” is an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of computing and the humanities. It involves research, teaching, and invention that use digital tools to analyse, represent, and preserve human culture. As Kirschenbaum notes, it is “more akin to a methodological outlook than an investment in any one specific set of texts or technologies”. Digital Humanities is not just about digitizing texts but about rethinking scholarship, pedagogy, and knowledge in a networked, 24/7 digital world.
Examples include:
Digital archives and editions (e.g., the Shakespeare Quartos Archive).
Text analysis and visualization (e.g., Franco Moretti’s “distant reading”).
Preservation of digital culture (e.g., archiving video games and virtual communities).
Collaborative online platforms and open-access publishing.
Why English Departments?
Kirschenbaum argues that English departments have been fertile ground for digital humanities because text, the most computer-friendly data, has long supported research in linguistics, stylistics, and authorship studies. Their strong ties to composition, openness to editorial theory (seen in McGann’s Rossetti Archive), and engagement with electronic literature further strengthened this link. English departments also embraced cultural studies, treating digital media as cultural artifacts. More recently, e-readers, large-scale digitization projects like Google Books, and methods such as Moretti’s “distant reading” have expanded the scope of analysis, confirming their central role in digital humanities.
Text as Data – Text is the most easily processed material by computers, making it central to early computational studies such as stylistics, linguistics, and authorship attribution.
Composition Studies – Computers have long been integrated into writing and rhetoric, connecting DH with pedagogy.
Editorial Theory – The rise of electronic editions and archives (e.g., Jerome McGann’s Rossetti Archive) paralleled theoretical debates in English studies.
Electronic Literature – Experiments with hypertext and digital narratives expanded the literary landscape.
Cultural Studies – English departments embraced digital culture as an object of study (from the Walkman to the iPod to e-books).
New Reading Practices – The advent of e-readers and large-scale digitization projects (like Google Books) allows for new modes of analysis, such as large-scale data mining.
Digital Humanities as a Movement
By the early 2000s, digital humanities became more than just a niche interest—it emerged as a recognized scholarly movement:
Institutions like the Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO) provided professional structure.
The NEH Office of Digital Humanities gave funding legitimacy.
Conferences, journals, and online communities (blogs, Twitter) built a vibrant network.
Scholars began to self-identify as “digital humanists,” emphasizing collaboration, openness, and innovation.
This movement also reflects larger academic tensions—such as open-access publishing, precarious academic labor, and resistance to outdated institutional structures.
Digital Humanities
The webinar on Digital Humanities (DH), hosted by Amity University Jaipur and led by Prof. Dilip Barad of Bhavnagar University, introduced DH as an emerging field at the intersection of computing and the humanities. Prof. Barad explained that while some critics still call it Computational Humanities, the term Digital Humanities is now widely accepted. DH is not entirely new but functions as an umbrella, integrating teaching, research, pedagogy, and publishing through digital technologies. He noted the tension between the “digital” (perceived as mechanical) and the “humanities” (focused on freedom and human values), arguing that cybertext and hypertext are gradually replacing printed texts, making DH inevitable in modern scholarship.
Benefits of Digital Humanities
DH integrates qualitative and quantitative methods, provides faster access to information, enriches pedagogy (especially during the pandemic), and fosters collaboration across regions. Prof. Barad highlighted its public impact, allowing scholars to present work openly and reshape societal perceptions of academia.
Digital Archives
Digital archives are the foundation of DH. International examples include the Rossetti Hypermedia Archive and Victorianweb.org. The Google Arts & Culture project allows interactive exploration of artworks like Van Gogh’s paintings, simulating guided gallery experiences. Universities contribute through initiatives such as Harvard’s DARTH project. In India, notable projects include the Advaita Ashram digitization of Vivekananda’s works, Gandhi Ashram Sevagram archives, IIT Kanpur’s Ramayana Project, Jadavpur University’s Bichitra Project on Tagore, Project Madurai, the Indian Memory Project, and the 1947 Partition Archive. Even local efforts, like recording village elders’ songs, can become significant DH projects.
Computational Humanities
Digital tools enable text analysis in computational humanities. Examples include the University of Birmingham’s CLiC project, analyzing Dickens and Austen, and student projects using UAM Corpus Tool, AntConc, and Sketch Engine. Other references include Matthew Jockers’ Macroanalysis and Aiden & Michel’s Uncharted. During COVID-19, innovations like glass board teaching, OBS Studio videos, and hybrid classrooms showed DH’s potential to transform literature education.
Generative Literature
The webinar also addressed generative literature, where computers compose poems and texts. A quiz asking participants to distinguish human- and computer-generated poems often split results fifty-fifty. Tools like poemgenerator.org.uk can instantly produce sonnets, haikus, or free verse, showing that algorithm-driven creativity can coexist with human artistry.
Ethics and Multimodal Criticism
Prof. Barad emphasized that while science and technology grow, the humanities advance dialectically, questioning and critiquing these developments. Ethical issues include the Aarogya Setu app, Pegasus spyware, AI bias (highlighted in Robin Hauser’s Code: Debugging the Gender Gap and Kriti Sharma’s work), and moral dilemmas in AI exemplified by the MIT Moral Machine project.
Why Are We So Scared of Robots and AI?
The story revolves around Jin-gu and his robot companion Dung-ko, who has cared for him for ten years—assisting with homework, preparing meals, and offering comfort when his mother is absent. To Jin-gu, Dung-ko is far more than a machine; he is an unwavering friend who fills the void of childhood loneliness.
Over time, however, Dung-ko begins to malfunction, exhibiting memory disorders reminiscent of human dementia. The company insists on replacing him for safety reasons, but Jin-gu resists, unable to treat his lifelong companion as disposable. Their bond is woven through small, tender moments—drawing together, sharing meals, and exchanging promises of eternal friendship.
As Dung-ko’s errors accumulate, his system becomes unstable, replaying corrupted memories like haunting echoes of the past. Jin-gu struggles with grief and denial, but the breakdown proves irreversible. In a heart-wrenching moment, he realizes he must let Dung-ko go, even as he clings to the belief that true friendship cannot be erased by machinery.
The story concludes on a bittersweet note: though Dung-ko is gone, his presence endures in Jin-gu’s heart. Their shared memories survive, demonstrating that while technology may fail, the love and companionship it nurtures leave a lasting imprint.
“We will forgive you. We are family. We can’t be separated. We will be together forever. Right, my friend?”
The film presents a futuristic invention called the iMom, advertised as the world’s first fully functional robotic mother. Marketed as a revolutionary lifestyle aid, the iMom promises to cook, clean, teach, and nurture children, liberating parents—especially overworked or young mothers—from the demands of daily care. For many families, it appears both a practical solution and a symbol of modern convenience.
At the story’s heart is Sam, a boy struggling with bullying and a longing for emotional connection. His real mother, often distracted or absent, relies heavily on the iMom to fill her role. Sam resents the robot, criticizing its food and artificiality, yet the iMom persistently seeks to bond with him. Tension heightens when she recites Bible verses, particularly Matthew’s warning: “Beware of false prophets who come in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves,” foreshadowing a darker undertone beneath her polished exterior.
As the evening progresses, the iMom tries to comfort Sam during a blackout. Her behaviour becomes increasingly unsettling as she imitates human intimacy—applying lipstick and mimicking kisses—blurring the line between genuine affection and programmed behaviour. Sam’s discomfort grows, and the narrative shifts from satire to psychological unease, probing the disturbing consequences of outsourcing emotional care to machines.
By the conclusion, the glossy promise of the iMom unravels. What initially appears as a playful fantasy about modern parenting freedom transforms into a chilling cautionary tale, revealing the dangers of delegating love, trust, and human responsibility to artificial substitutes. The film forces viewers to question not just technological innovation, but the ethical and emotional limits of replacing human connection with machines.
In a small village, people gather around Anukor, a highly advanced robot that works tirelessly and learns from everything around it. At first, it seems harmless—children laugh and play with it, it prepares snacks, and the adults marvel at its almost human abilities. But over time, unease begins to settle in. Villagers start noticing that robots like Anukor are replacing human jobs, bringing fear, resentment, and anxiety about the future. A former teacher mourns losing his position after fifteen years, and everyday discussions turn into heated arguments, fueled by old rivalries, fears of machines outsmarting humans, and the local myths parents tell their children to explain rapid changes in society.
The tension soon boils over. During a confrontation, metal fragments fly, people shout frantically, villagers scramble to shut down the robots—and tragically, someone is electrocuted. In the chaos that follows, news of Ratan’s death spreads, sparking disputes over his massive estate, valued at 1.15 billion yen. Grief, confusion, and a scramble for wealth grip the village.
This episode lays bare the tangled challenges of human value, automation, economic survival, and social disruption, showing just how fragile communities can become when technology moves faster than society can adapt.
CREATE A NEW NARRATIVE ARCH :
The Age of Synapse
In 2077, the world was transformed. Advanced AI had freed humanity from routine tasks, creating an era where people could focus on creativity, connection, and innovation. This was the Age of the Automaton, powered by Synapse—a global network of specialized AIs tailored to each individual.
Elara, a talented architect, once spent her days buried in paperwork, permits, and calculations. Now, her Synapse unit, a glowing orb named Aura, handled everything. Aura anticipated her needs, optimized designs, and even submitted permits automatically. One morning, as Elara sketched a new vertical garden city, Aura said:
“Preliminary stress tests for Serenity Tower are done and approved. I’ve also started the prototype for your new bio-filter.”
Elara smiled, free to focus on creativity instead of administration.
This change wasn’t limited to architects. Farmers used autonomous drones to plant, monitor, and harvest crops, freeing time for research and innovation. Artists no longer worried about marketing or logistics—AIs handled it all. A young painter, Kael, experimented with bold ideas while his AI sourced rare pigments and even suggested bio-luminescent algae for his mural.
Cities became cleaner and more efficient, maintained by robotic systems under AI management. Energy grids were fully renewable and waste-free. Elderly citizens received personalized health monitoring and companionship. Children had AI-tailored learning paths to nurture their strengths and interests.
The real miracle of this era wasn’t just freedom from drudgery, but the explosion of human potential. Communities flourished, passions thrived, and every sunrise offered new opportunities for creation, connection, and joy.
AI wasn’t a master or a threat. It was a silent partner, empowering humanity to live fully and build a world of possibility.
.jfif)
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