Digital Research in the Study of Classical Antiquity

Citation

Isfandyari‐Moghaddam, A. (2011), "Digital Research in the Study of Classical Antiquity", Online Information Review, Vol. 35 No. 6, pp. 974-975. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684521111193256

The digital revolution and digital technologies have wrought outstanding changes in the way we think, work and communicate, and it has affected all fields of endeavour. Undoubtedly, classical fields like archaeology, ancient history and philology are no exceptions to the influence of the digital revolution.

This book has been published to show how classicists are using advanced digital methods and technologies, and to illustrate some of the main challenges and opportunities offered to classical scholarship by the digital humanities.

This edited collection consists of three parts. Part 1, Archeology and Geography, in three chapters deals with capturing archeological project data electronically using digital systems because of their contribution to the online accessibility of needed information and their subsequent cost‐effectiveness concerning post‐excavation publication of experience and digital preservation; the digitisation and reuse of material culture of the ancient world within publicly accessible digital arenas like the Internet that help realise openness and access; and the emergence of “neo‐geography” rooted in the application of Web 2.0‐based methods and technologies to visualise and analyse geospatial information.

The three chapters in Part 2, Text and Language, revolve around research trends regarding ancient texts and languages, highlighting a migration from traditional methods to modern ones. Its chapters discuss digital methods of publication (including XML) and their application to the study of inscribed funerary monuments; the virtual research environment (VRE) reinforced by developments in technology and digital imaging for the collaborative study of ancient documents and manuscripts; and the facilitation of studying the Greek language historically through digital technologies (e.g. the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae (TLG) as a digital library of Classical Greek texts).

Part 3, Infrastructure and Disciplinary Issues, has four chapters that report the Homer Multitext Project, which digitally represents the historical tradition of the Iliad; discuss the implementation of a model for digitally archiving and preserving electronic materials on the basis of principles of permanence as well as survival of ancient works; discuss a project of e‐learning in the classics and the possibilities of digitally disseminated resources for an innovative, collaborative and powerful pedagogical environment; and explore the interdisciplinary vision of the digital classicist and its benefits, underlying the importance of interaction among classicists, engineers, computer scientists and other related parties which led to the success of two projects.

The bibliography, which includes many of works cited in the text, is indicative of the book's depth and richness. Taken as a whole, this multidisciplinary book can inspire future research, future writers and future creations in the field of classical studies. It is of value for a much broader audience than it is likely to attract.