A Computational Turn? Reflections on Digital and Computational History of Science, Knowledge and Technology

Abstract

With digital and computational methods becoming more visible both in scholarly and everyday contexts, it is timely to ask whether a distinct field of digital and computational history of science, knowledge, and technology can meaningfully be said to exist. This epilogue to the special issue on computational approaches to the history of alchemy and chemistry addresses this question, arguing that such an overarching field has not yet materialised. To fulfil its programmatic promises, a digital and computational history of science, knowledge, and technology must focus on conceptual clarity regarding its disciplinary position. If digital and computational approaches are to contribute meaningfully to the history of science and knowledge, they should support efforts to produce more global and inclusive historiographies rather than reproducing existing biases in available datasets and algorithms. Indeed, one of the most important tasks for the future may be the creation of datasets for under-resourced subfields and historical questions. Thus, this paper argues for a commitment to diversity in the subjects, cultures, languages, periods, and forms of knowledge considered: Only through employing a plurality of methods can a computational history of science, knowledge, and technology adequately reflect the diversity of knowledges represented within the broader field.