Digital Scholarship is often portrayed as a potent transformational force capable of fundamentally altering how we think and practice History.

The industrious gathering and the creative analyses of large amounts of historical data have, to a certain degree, delivered on this promise, deepening our understanding of historical phenomena and opening up new pathways for historical investigation. On the other hand, however, theoretical reflections upon the implications of this digital transformation and what might be called the consequences of the Digital are few and far between.

This session of Channels will contribute to recent and ongoing efforts of rethinking the theories and practices of History in the light of Digital Scholarship by focusing on one of their main building blocks, namely, the Archive.

To what extent and in what way do the relative de-institutionalisation, diversification, and multiplication brought about by the digital constitution and exploitation of archives alter the authoritative status of “the Archive”, often understood as the ultimate foundation of historical thought and the unavoidable basis of historiographical practice? Likewise, what does this say about the ideological underpinnings of historical understanding and the political implications of historiographical narratives? Finally, in what way should these digital alterations of how we think and practice History be reflected in critically teaching History to future generations of scholars?

You are warmly welcomed to join us in tackling these questions in person at the Maison Française d’Oxford or online.