Decolonizing Digital Humanities:

Aiyegbusi, Babalola Titilola

doi:10.5749/j.ctv9hj9r9.26

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Even so, given the vagaries of funding and research, such questions that challenge African researchers routinely get ignored. For example, Aiyegbusi (2018, p. 441) argued that because the domain of digital humanities is preoccupied with Western institutions and research funds, the questions that might intrigue African researchers are often left unexamined. Language is a major part of how African analogue publics are defined, where ethnic communities of the modern age are united by only two things – a shared language and the perception of a shared homeland.…”

Section: Language Rights and Digital Citizenshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Citizenship, language and digital rights: the question of language in the process of decolonising the internet and digital rights

Nyabola

2024

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Purpose Much of the vocabulary of digital rights have not been translated into Kiswahili. This means that technology experts and digital rights defenders often use English words when they are discussing technology. This contributes to the frailty of efforts to defend digital rights because those who attempt to explain the importance of these issues to the broader societies are forced to rely on English vocabulary that is not rooted in or connected to Kiswahili contexts. This paper aims to discuss the importance of inviting people to use African languages on the internet. Design/methodology/approach Kiswahili is the most widely spoken African language in the world. Nearly 140 million people in East Africa speak Kiswahili as a first or second language, including in Kenya and Tanzania where it is the national language. There is a long history of Kiswahili writing, publishing and cultural production in Kiswahili. Kiswahili is also the only African language that is an official language at the African Union. Even so, Kiswahili lags behind significantly in the development of a vocabulary and grammar of technology. Findings Beyond vocabulary, the use of African languages online is important to strengthening democracy on the internet because language is keenly connected to identity. Efforts to translate the vocabulary of technology into Kiswahili are aimed at encouraging societies in East Africa to build communities online that represent their interests keenly. This article therefore looks at the importance of language in building society and the efforts by residents of East Africa to decolonise the internet, so that they are able to exist in their fullness on the internet. The article further examines the semiotics of language in digital innovation, and the importance of representing Kiswahili language communities properly online in efforts to decolonise the internet. This paper does not presume that Kiswahili is the only African language that can decolonise the internet, because even Kiswahili has a history of domination over other language communities in the region. Rather, the article uses the example of Kiswahili to urge the use of indigenous languages to defend digital diversity. Originality/value The importance of this article is in demonstrating the importance of language in the movement to develop digital rights and especially to remove colonial approaches to technology, an issue that, to the best of the author’s knowledge, has never been discussed in relation to the Kiswahili language.

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Section: Language Rights and Digital Citizenshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Citizenship, language and digital rights: the question of language in the process of decolonising the internet and digital rights

Nyabola

2024

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“…Recently, there has been a drive towards inclusion and diversity within digital humanities. Conference themes, presentations, and scholarly publications have included titles like "Towards an Open Digital Humanities" (THATCamp 2011), "Digital Humanities from a Global Perspective" (Fiormonte 2014), "Decolonizing Digital Humanities" (Aiyegbusi 2018), "Gender and Digital Humanities" (Smyth et al 2020), "Minority Report: The Myth of Equality in the Digital Humanities" (Bordalejo 2018), "Towards a Queer Digital Humanities" (Ruberg et al 2018), etc. These topics point to a shift in subject matter from one that centers primarily around pedagogical approaches, theory, practice, and tools, to a consciousness that reflects social trends, advances, and changes within the field.…”

Section: Inclusion and Diversity Within Dhmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, such engagements should be approached with caution and careful consideration in order to prevent a reinforcement of enduring global power dynamics whereby the center superimposes a Eurocentric DH discourse on Global South communities. Thus, as DH continues to struggle to gain legitimacy in places like Africa due to several reasons (Aiyegbusi 2018), it is important that the center engages with scholars across the globe in ways that impart knowledge to the peripheries while striving to gain perspective on realities from these local communities. An efficient way to achieve such a level of engagement might be to rotate the Big DH tent around the world.…”

Section: Geographical Locationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digital Humanities Outlooks beyond the West

AIYEGBUSI¹,

KHUMALO²

2022

The Bloomsbury Handbook to the Digital Humanities

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As Digital Humanities (DH) continues to grow, its landscape has become more inclusive. This is evidenced through its fast and vast reach across disciplinary and geographical borders. At the heart of DH discourse are themes of connectivity, access, infrastructure, cultural sensitivity, and inclusion, principles that are necessary to achieve the collaboration so essential to DH. The contribution of DH programs to the global knowledge economy has been noted, both in the humanities and beyond (Berry 2012; Warwick, Terras, and Nyhan 2012). Yet there remains some exigency to reflect on DH work from a global, rather than Western, perspective. Does the purpose of DH programs as observed in the West align with what the field achieves and seeks to achieve at the peripheries? What is the implication of studying or practicing DH for communities outside the West? Beyond the epistemological and the pedagogical, what is common or different in the conceptualization and operationalization of DH across spaces? And furthermore, why do these differences exist?Our purpose here is to consider how DH engages with cultures and societies beyond the West and proffer some explanations for some identified deviations. As such, a fundamental question from a macro (global) perspective is "Is DH intrinsically inclusive?" There are several factors that have made DH what it is today. One is the impact of globalization-a flow of people, culture, ideas, values, knowledge, technology, and economy across borders resulting in a more interconnected and interdependent world (Teferra and Knight 2008). Globalization, in this sense, has enabled the spread of DH beyond Europe and North America, and it is through this lens that DH is viewed as borderless both in terms of disciplinary boundaries and geographical (also continental) borders. Another is the deliberate effort by the DH community to build an inclusive field, one that is particularly focused on bridging the gap between the center and the peripheries (Fiormonte 2014), and that is representative of diverse cultures and languages (Risam 2018). It is unclear, however, how these originating forces have impacted DH's inclusiveness at the meso (country) and micro (individual communities) levels. Our focus is to situate DH in community contexts where it is still gaining roots with the intention to examine how as a field, it maps out, or remaps, its new domain. We will emphasize common traits and differences regarding how it is perceived in these communities with the aim of teasing out ways of thinking that could hinder the field's actualization of a truly inclusive space.

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“…Minghairi ya hayo maswala kama haya yanayokumba watafiti Waafrika mara nyingi huachwa kando kwa sababu ya ukosefu wa hela za kufanyia utafiti. Aiyegbusi (2018, p. 441) alisema kwamba utafiti katika sayansi za kijamii mara nyingi unaangalia vyuo vya Ulaya na hela hukusanyika kule, ikiacha maswali yanayokumba watafiti Waafrika nyuma. Lugha ni muhimu sana kwa kufafanua uraia wa umma wa analogi za Waafrika, kwa mfano tukizingatia makabila yalivyounganishwa tu na lugha na hisia za kutokea eneo moja.…”

Section: Lugha Haki Na Uraia Wa Kidijitaliunclassified

Uraia, Lugha na Haki za Kidijitali: umuhimu wa lugha katika harakati za kuondoa ukoloni katika teknolojia

Nyabola¹

2022

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Purpose Maneno mengi yanayohusu haki za binadamu na haki za kiteknolojia hayajatafsiriwa katika lugha ya Kiswahili. Kwa hivyo, wataalamu wa teknolojia na watetezi wa haki za kidijitali hutumia maneno ya Kiingereza – hata bila utohozi – wanapozungumzia haki za kiteknolojia. Hali hii ya mambo inachangia udhoofu fulani katika utetezi wa haki za kidijitali kwani wanaojaribu kueleza jamii umuhimu wa haki hizi hulazimishwa kutegemea msamiati wa Kiingereza usiyo na msingi au viungo na lugha ya Kiswahili Katika makala hii, tutazungumzia umuhimu wa kukaribisha watu kutumia lugha za Kiafrika kwenye mtandao. Design/methodology/approach Kiswahili ni lugha ya Kiafrika inayozungumzwa katika eneo zaidi sana duniani. Karibu watu milioni mia moja na arobaini Afrika mashariki wanazungumza Kiswahili kama lugha yao ya kwanza au ya pili, miongoni mwao Wakenya na Watanzania, wenyeji wa nchi ambamo Kiswahili ni lugha ya kitaifa. Tena kuna historia ndefu ya kutumiwa kwa lugha ya Kiswahili katika uandishi, uchapishaji na ubunifu wa utamaduni wa kisasa. Kiswahili pekee yake ndiyo lugha ya asili ya Kiafrika inayotumika kama lugha ya maalum ya Umoja wa Mataifa za Kiafrika. Hata hivyo, kwa upande wa matumizi ya Kiswahili, hasa kwenye mada ya teknolojia, Kiswahili imewachwa nyuma. Findings Zaidi ya maneno rasmi, uwepo wa lugha za Kiafrika ni muhimu kuimarisha jumuiya za Kiafrika mtandaoni kwani lugha inalenga sana haki na utambulisho wa watu. Miradi za kutafsiri maneno za kiteknolojia katika lugha ya Kiswahili inahimiza jumuiya za Afrika Mashariki kuunda jamii inayosimamia matakwa yao vyema. Makala hii basi inazingatia umuhimu wa lugha kwenye kuunda jamii na katika hatua za kuondoa mbinu za kikoloni mtandaoni ili wenyeji wa Afrika Mashariki wajione mtandaoni kwa ujumla wao wote. Makala pia itazingatia semiotiki ya lugha katika ubunifu wa teknolojia, na umuhimu wa kutafsiri jamii ya lugha ya Kiswahili katika harakati za kuondoa ukoloni katika ubunifu huu. Lakini sio tu kwamba lugha ya Kiswahili ndio pekee inayoweza kuondoa mbinu za kikoloni mtandaoni, kwani pia lugha hiyo ina ishara za kutawalwa kwa jamii fulani. Bali makala hii inatumia mfano wa Kiswahili kuhimiza utumiaji wa lugha za kiasili au za kimama mtandaoni ili kulinda mustakabali wa kidijitali wa umma. Originality/value Umuhimu wa makala hii ni kuashiria jipya umuhimu wa lugha katika harakati za kuendeleza haki za kidijitali na hasa kuondoa mbinu za kikoloni kwenye teknolojia, swala lisilowahijadiliwa katika lugha ya Kiswahili.

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Decolonizing Digital Humanities:

Cited by 4 publications

References 3 publications

Citizenship, language and digital rights: the question of language in the process of decolonising the internet and digital rights

Citizenship, language and digital rights: the question of language in the process of decolonising the internet and digital rights

Digital Humanities Outlooks beyond the West

Uraia, Lugha na Haki za Kidijitali: umuhimu wa lugha katika harakati za kuondoa ukoloni katika teknolojia

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