Institute of Historical Research

From computers and history to digital history: a retrospective

Sir Roderick Floud

(Gresham College)

Historians were among the first humanities scholars to utilize computers as research tools, recognizing their value as early as the mid-1960s. Since that time, as the technology and the field have both evolved, computers have remained important tools for research, teaching and communication. With an ever greater breadth of scholarly activities for which computational tools are used, the Digital History Seminar has convened a panel the reflect on the ongoing dialogue between information technologies and their use in the discipline of history.

The panel will be made up of pioneers in historical computing including Sir Roderick Floud (Gresham College), Robert Shoemaker (Sheffield) and Don Spaeth (Glasgow) who will discuss the past, present and future of digital history. Each of the panelists has played a significant role in the development of the use of computational methods for historical phenomena. They will collectively provide a fascinating picture of the shift from historical computing to digital history. Each panelist will speak for about 15 minutes on their use of computers and digital tools for historical research and teaching. The talks will be followed by a moderated discussion.

Sir Roderick Floud is a distinguished professor of economic history and has been Provost of Gresham College since 2008. Previously he was Dean of the School of Advanced Study of which the IHR is a part, Provost of London Guildhall University and the first Vice-Chancellor of London Metropolitan University. Among many honors and fellowships he is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, the Royal Society of Arts and the British Academy. He has published widely on topics as diverse as technological change, the use of IT in the study of history, the evolution of technical education and changes in human height, health and welfare. He was knighted in 2005.

Digital History seminar series