History in the Digital Age

Historians have only very recently started thinking about the impact of the digital age on how we study history. This book explores changing perceptions of the field of history in the digital age, and examines new questions, challenges and opportunities in the field of historical study, teaching and learning. The volume includes chapters on the conceptual challenges and opportunities faced by scholars and students of history brought about by the digital age, the topicality of the issue and the differences and similarities in geographic approach, especially in the UK and North America, and discusses whether the digital age is helping history become more universal.

The digital age is affecting all aspects of historical study, but much of the existing literature about history in the digital age can be alienating to the traditional historian who does not necessarily value or wish to embrace digital resources. History in the Digital Age takes a more conceptual look at how the digital age is affecting the field of history for both scholars and students. The printed copy, the traditional archive, and analogue research remain key constitute parts for most historians and for many will remain precious and esteemed over digital copies, but there is a real need for historians and students of history to seriously consider some of the conceptual and methodological challenges facing the field of historical enquiry as we enter the twenty-first century.

Including international contributors from a variety of disciplines - History, English, Information Studies and Archivists – this book does not seek either to applaud or condemn digital technologies, but takes a more conceptual view of how the field of history is being changed by the digital age. Essential reading for all historians.