Digital Humanities Futures, Open Social Scholarship, and Engaged Publics

Abstract

Are academics alone responsible for the evolution of the digital humanities, and its future? Will the future of digital humanities be shaped by pieces in collections such as this, typically written for other academics? We think not, or at least, not entirely. Rather, we begin with the premise that, while the exact future of the digital humanities is ultimately unknowable, it will be shaped by a number of current and emerging forces—academic, individual, institutional, social, societal, and infrastructural among them. More than an academic thought experiment, the impact and influence of these broader forces draw on the interrelation of theory, praxis, and extra-academic involvement, and necessitate the involvement of all those who have a stock in that future. In this context, we are increasingly invested in the concept of open social scholarship, and how the digital humanities embraces, and may one day even fully embody, such a concept. Originating in partnered consultations among a group representing these broader perspectives, the term open social scholarship refers to academic practice that enables the creation, dissemination, and engagement of open research by specialists and non-specialists in accessible and significant ways.1 Our contribution to the present volume suggests that open social scholarship supports many possible futures for the digital humanities, especially as its foundation incorporates a shift from notions of audience for academic work to publics engaged by and in that work.