[Commlist] New book: History in the Age of Abundance?

*History in the Age of Abundance?***

How the Web Is Transforming Historical Research

*Ian Milligan***

https://www.combinedacademic.co.uk/history-in-the-age-of-abundance

"A foundational study written with impressive clarity, /History in the 
Age of Abundance? /provides effective guidance on how we might approach 
the archived web as a historical source and represents a clarion call to 
rethinking history training.” --*Steven High, Concordia University and 
editor of /Occupied St. John's: A Social History of a City at War, 
1939-1945/*

"This is an important, indeed necessary book, which promises to set the 
agenda for historical research in the next decade. Milligan challenges 
historians to reflect on their theory and practice so that they can 
begin to adapt to a research environment characterised not by the 
scarcity of primary sources but by quantities of data too vast for any 
human to read. Crucially, the book does not just pose questions, but 
sets out a pathway for historians to work more collaboratively, to 
develop the skills to work at scale, and to place ethics at the heart of 
the research process. As one of the few historians who has engaged with 
large-scale web and social media archives, Milligan is ideally placed to 
chart a way through the pitfalls of practising history in an age of 
abundance. He demonstrates why historians should step up and participate 
fully in conversations about the creation, presentation, use and 
preservation of digital sources, and what they stand to lose if they do 
not. This book is essential reading not just for the skilled digital 
researcher, but for anyone who has ever used a digital library 
catalogue.” --*Jane Winters, University of London*

"The entire context of historical scholarship is changing, and 
historians are not ready. This is not just an issue for those who study 
the most recent 30 years of history but a concern for all historians. As 
a discipline we have little handle on dealing with either the bounty of 
born-digital sources, nor do we understand the algorithms that drive 
much discovery in digital and digitized sources. The further we get from 
the inception of the World Wide Web in 1991 the more of a problem this 
becomes. With this important book, Milligan does historians now and in 
the future a vital service. Part history of the internet, part practical 
guide to how to manage the vastness of sources from the web/, History in 
the Age of Abundance?/ is a must read for all historians as digital 
historical records become ever more present. The future of the past is 
in jeopardy, and Milligan's book will help historians defend against the 
coming digital dark age." Seth Denbo, American Historical Association

*Ian Milligan*is associate professor of history at the University of 
Waterloo.


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