The Swiss Journal of Sociology has published a special issue on Digital Academia. This special issue aims to explore digital technologies’ roles inshaping the present and future of science and higher education. Obviously this cannot do without a contribution examining digital humanities! Michael Piotrowski and I contributed an exploratory study on the way digitalization of humanities research becomes embedded in higher education institutes. We show that underdefinition enables flexibility in institutionalization, while the local contexts that lead to diverse institutional arrangements may necessitate the underdefinition of DH. The entire special issue is available open access here.
Institutional Arrangements in the Absence of Disciplinary Definitions: Digital Humanities in Switzerland
The digitalization of research practices in the humanities has led to the emergence ofthe field of digital humanities (DH). DH has made significant progress in institutionalization,while remaining underdefined. Through a qualitative study of Swiss universities we explorehow institutional structures and definitions of DH interact. We show that underdefinition enables flexibility in institutionalization, while the local contexts that lead to diverse institutional arrangements may necessitate the underdefinition of DH.