The Role of Digital Humanities in Preserving Classical Literature

Abstract

This paper examines the role of digital humanities (DH) in the preservation of classical literature critically, looking at how technological innovation is affecting preservation, study and publication of ancient works.  Depending on new research, the paper demonstrates how digitisation, text mining in computers and active learning platforms have been used to preserve as well as re-interpret historical writings.  The results show that digital archives preserve fragile manuscripts by preventing the process of deterioration as well as enhancing global access to manuscripts and facilitating interdisciplinary cross-referencing.  Computation, such as text mining and authorship attribution, augments interpretive possibilities; participatory digital tools also transform the approach to teaching and learning, by opening up new possibilities of engagement with the classical text.  Ongoing challenges detailed in the report include the sustainability of infrastructures, the dangers of technological obsolescence, world enclaves in the allocation of resources, and possibilities of re-instituting canonical omissions.  The discussion highlights that the process of digital preservation should be considered as a technological and a political process dependent on a long-term process that should be inclusive.  The study culminates in assessing that digital humanities transform the process of preserving classical texts in classical literature into one that is fluid rather than stagnant and gives to interested patrons of classical literature access to texts in the twenty-first century that are not just alive but that are rich in interpretive webs.