Moritz Feichtinger: Just a Little Bit? Historicizing Born-Digital Objects

The information age is intrinsically digital. Knowledge, culture, and communication are increasingly created, transmitted, processed, and stored in digital formats. Consequently, historical inquiry, particularly when engaging with the latter half of the 20th century and beyond, must grapple with digital artifacts. These artifacts, often termed “born-digital” objects, are created by and within digital environments. Their scale, diversity, and inherent technical and cultural characteristics present distinct challenges for historical research, requiring historians to adapt established methodologies, particularly source criticism, to address these nuances.

Born-digital objects demand an in-depth understanding of their specific attributes. These include their technical properties, such as file formats, coding structures, storage locations, and the systems in which they operate. This analysis is crucial for addressing fundamental questions of provenance, authenticity, and contextual origin. Yet, the significance of born-digital objects extends beyond their technical specifications. They also embody socio-cultural, historical, and epistemological dimensions that merit scrutiny. Investigating their origins, the implicit perspectives embedded in their design, their intended functions, and their actual impacts requires a holistic approach that considers both the digital environments in which they exist and the broader societal contexts they influence.

To fully understand a born-digital artifact, it is necessary to consider the conceptual-epistemological, technical-formal, and semantic decisions that shaped its creation. These choices often reflect underlying assumptions and abstractions that are not always apparent but are integral to understanding the object’s role and meaning. Furthermore, these decisions must be examined alongside potential alternatives, the infrastructures supporting the artifact, and the practices surrounding its use. This multifaceted analysis underscores the importance of robust archival standards and accompanying documentation to preserve not only the artifact itself but also its broader context.

However, the study of born-digital objects also requires specialized tools and expertise. Historians must employ forensic methodologies and possess a deep understanding of information technology infrastructures to analyze these artifacts effectively. These technical demands introduce practical limitations, as acquiring and applying such specialized skills can be challenging within the field of history.

Databases serve as a compelling example of the complexities involved in studying born-digital infrastructures. As pivotal technologies of the digital age, databases encapsulate the interplay between data, metadata, and the software systems managing them. Data stored within a database often exist as discrete elements, physically and logically distributed across various locations within a system. Metadata, in particular, can vary significantly in its source-critical value depending on how it is generated, stored, and contextualized. Similarly, the software underlying a database often reflects intricate dependencies on its system environment and the data it manages. The decisions surrounding data formats, coding standards, and significant properties are rarely self-evident, further complicating historical analysis.

Given these challenges, historians must also confront broader questions about the contextual and systemic embeddedness of born-digital objects. What can these artifacts reveal about the technical, historical, and societal contexts from which they emerged? To what extent can the traces left by these objects within their systems illuminate their functions and impacts?

Answering these questions requires an interdisciplinary approach, bridging historical inquiry with technical expertise. It also necessitates a critical perspective that accounts for the ever-changing nature of digital systems and the infrastructures supporting them. As born-digital objects continue to proliferate, developing methodologies to analyze them effectively will be essential for understanding the digital age and its place in history.

Lecture within the Open Research Colloquium Digital History
Time: Wednesday, 8 January 2025, 4:15-5:45 pm CET
Place: via Zoom – Request access via email (digitalhistory@hu-berlin.de) or Mailinglist

Image Credits

NARA, RG472, NND 994025, GNV Computer Center, 1972

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