Digital Humanities in Developed and Emerging Markets (Company Overview‪)‬

In this article I address examples of humanities institutions, pedagogy, and digital humanities with the example of an emerging market--Turkey--within the socio-economic frame of creative economy, a term coined to describe the recent synergism of technology and creativity as generators of innovation and thus wealth for the global community (Howkins; Florida, Rise). My discussion of the humanities and digital humanities in Turkey is located in relation to the current situation of e-culture in developed markets such as Australia, Germany, and the U.S. Acknowledging "the profundity of what the internet offers humanity as a model of a learning institution," the humanities are adapting increasingly to the demands of the creative economy's e-culture (Davidson and Goldberg 2). Seen as a symptom of "what has been termed the 'culturalization of economic life'" (Hartley 36), this adaptation is discussed critically and has been met with considerable reluctance by some traditionalist scholars in the Western world (see, e.g., Nida-Rumelin; Munch). Old-guard keepers of the institutional status quo are still "grappling with the question of whether and how they can educate for the new economy" (Hartley 25; see also Lopez-Varela Azcarate and Totosy de Zepetnek; Totosy de Zepetnek). And given the historical prerogative of academic freedom and absence of direct instrumental valuation, creative economy poses challenges for change and renewal to the old-European-model in the humanities, some which are admittedly hard to accommodate. As a result of this critical dialogue on the one hand, but spearheaded by innovative scholars and institutional endeavors on the other, technological and economic demands become integrated into disciplinary identity. However, the imperatives and processes of this integration of e-culture into humanities pedagogy vary across borders and cultures. When we compare the state of the humanities in affluent countries and in an emerging market like Turkey, different educational trajectories become apparent. Despite both domestic and global economic disparities and unevenness, Turkey embraces--albeit uncritically--technology to promote the country's economic development, which includes a rapidly growing private educational sector. In Turkey humanities teachers educate increasingly large numbers of intelligent and eager young people from rural areas, many of whom are in dire need of vocational skills, but are often lacking a foundational education in critical thinking, as well as analytical skills. Thus, while students everywhere need to be provided with the intellectual tools to critically read, understand, prioritize, structure, and evaluate easily accessible, highly interdisciplinary and randomly assembled online information, the social, cultural and political urgency of integrated digital literacy training in the humanities is most pressing in emerging markets. While in affluent Western countries digital literacy, online creativity, and ethics are add-ons to the traditional learning objectives in the humanities, they are paramount in an emerging market like Turkey. Clearly, given the economic and political trajectory of Turkey, education in an integrated humanities and e-readiness works to the benefit of society and will help to reduce social, economic, and juridical disparities.