Seventeenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

Big data research is gaining popularity in digital humanities as a reliable method for sifting through massive quantities of information. What might be missing when machines do the sorting, potentially removing the humans from the humanities? In intelligence studies, big data methods may paint a partial picture because wording is so important, language so subjective, and context while sorting information is key. Colossus of Bletchley Park was one of the first recorded “big data” machines. Colossus alone would not have solved the Allied intelligence problem during the Second World War. People had to sort, prioritize, make educated inferences, and process the information generated by Colossus. This paper draws a parallel between contemporary use of big data methods for the study of history, and the historic use of the first big data machine at Bletchley Park. I argue that without the people, important connections are missed. Feminist theorists have raised concerns about exclusion of particular voices in historical research. Machines may efficiently sort data, but risk missing those excluded from general knowledge held in mainstream databases. Is big data too exclusionary for the telling of history or can its limitations be overcome by blending old machines and new interpretations?