Reading just how much gate-keeping is present in the digital humanities and how much of a tug and pull is seen within scholars goes to show that all the change happening in our environment is necessary. Whether it be political, environmentally, or academically, it’s apparent that it should be a topic taken seriously in conferences; a place where every walk of life should be welcomed. When reading “The Digital Humanities Moment” I personally found it funny how the peer-to-peer reviews lead to small arguments in the margins but with all the discourse happening it only strengthened their voices, so much that it “led some authors … to cite one another’s essays and peer reviews.” I feel that this goes to show that arguments at the end of the day are still necessary and it helps people grow and tune their ideas and helps them better understand what they are either fighting for or protecting. Personally I believe that the “digital” in digital humanities truly means approaching the internet as a new medium. People are connected to the web in more ways than one at the moment, whether it’s through Facebook, Instagram, or twitter, since it gives more and more people a platform to voice their opinions. 

What truly resonated with me is Lisa Spiros’ piece “This is why we fight” where she not only acknowledges the gate-keeping but brings up wonderful arguments for how digital humanities is in essence about activism and how it can grow into a valuable community where not only scholars are welcomed but anyone that wishes to voice their concerns and how necessary it is to have it placed in academia, where the ideas can grow and be challenged. Going back to “The Digital Humanities Movement” I found surprising how Ramsey went from saying you need to know how to code to saying building makes you a digital humanist where it’s more of “moving from reading and critiquing to building and making.” Not only should you gather ideas but also make something of those topics to further challenge yourself.

The Torn Apart / Separados website helps drive the fact that DH is about activism since the map shows just where exactly government money is being allocated and to who and which company makes a profit. Coming from a first generation Mexican family living in the United States I believe that more and more people need to become aware of the true nature of ICE and how the detainees are being treated and how children are forcefully being separated from their families. If it’s one thing that truly gets to me it’s kids being placed in vulnerable settings. What better way to challenge this then to show what living conditions they are being placed in with the help of social media, where information is spread within seconds. But with this comes a great downside, people may place their biases and come off as one sided. Although it should be our responsibility to give them the facts and bring the truth forward. It’s exciting to see where the digital humanities have a place in the future and how and who partakes in it. At the moment it has a plethora of resources to get around but it needs that drive from us, scholars, and those at academic platforms to keep it moving forwards.

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