French Perspectives on Digital Humanities: Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité?

International audienceIn studying ‘digital humanities’, what might seem to be mainly technical or academic concerns proveto have real political implications. This paper discusses the infrastructure, methodology, andapplications created by a new generation of researchers with the help of digital humanities which canhelp lend academia a new sense of purpose, rather than a purpose per se, by questioning the notionsof literacy, accessibility, autonomy of thinking and learning at the heart of modern universities.Digital humanities may help rekindle academics’ embattled feeling that they belong to a community(of learning, of thought). This paper also argues that new forms of research require new evaluationcriteria which value collaboration and open access over competition and market-based point-scoring.Whether this can be achieved in France remains to be seen, but the freedom of expression, opennessand responsiveness afforded by digital humanities might prove truly revolutionary, allowing “thepeople” to educate themselves despite every effort by policymakers to determine who and whatshould be taught