Humanistic informatics is one of several names chosen for the study of the relationship between

human culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

. The term is fairly common in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, but is little known in the

English-speaking world The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English language, English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the ...

, though

digital humanities Digital humanities (DH) is an area of scholarly activity at the intersection of computing or Information technology, digital technologies and the disciplines of the humanities. It includes the systematic use of digital resources in the humanitie ...

(also known as ''humanities computing'') is in many cases roughly equivalent. Humanistic informatics departments were generally started in the 1990s when universities rarely taught humanities-based approaches to the rapidly developing computerized society. For this reason, the field was quite broadly defined, and included courses in humanities computing, basic introductions to how computers work, historical developments of technology, technology and learning, digital art and literature and digital culture. Today several departments have declared more specialized areas of research, such as digital arts and culture at the

University of Bergen The University of Bergen () is a public university, public research university in Bergen, Norway. As of 2021, the university had over 4,000 employees and 19,000 students. It was established by an act of parliament in 1946 consolidating several sci ...

, and socio-cultural communication with and without technology at the

University of Aalborg Aalborg University (AAU) is an international public university with campuses in Aalborg, Esbjerg, and Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1974, the university awards bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and PhD degrees in a wide variety of subje ...

. Digital humanities is a primary topic, and there are several universities in the US and the UK that have digital arts and humanities research and development centers. One aspect of digital humanities that will grow will be the intersection of new digital media and the humanities, particularly in the gaming industry which has developed both casual and serious gaming and game design strategies to foster learning in the humanities and all other academic disciplines. A key principle in all digital interactive media or games is the storyline; the narrative or quest or goal of the game is primary to both literary works and games. Characters and players go on the quest, and playing the game becomes the narrative. Game design principles, also relevant in literature and the fine arts, include visual literacy and empowering players/learners to align with great artists and writers who believe in the creative process.

References

* {{Digital humanities Digital humanities Computational fields of study Information science by discipline