Decomposition as Practice and Process: Creating Boundary Objects in Computational Humanities

Abstract

The emergent reflexive process, by which researchers in a computational humanities project work towards a viable organizational modality for interdisciplinary collaboration, is analyzed. Using the metaphor of decomposition, successful collaboration between computer scientists and humanities scholars can be seen to require a reflexive scrutiny — a decomposition — of the disciplinary research processes that are involved, thus allowing crucial differences with respect to typical ways of posing research questions, the role of data, and the rhythm of the research process to be highlighted. It is argued that the currently popular expectation towards data as a self-identical organizational unit tends to downplay the role of decomposition as practice and process. A European cyberinfrastructure initiative that tries to respect the specificities of scholarly practice in the humanities is critically assessed, reflecting in particular on the inherent tension between ‘mutual shaping’ of digital tools and their users on the one hand, and the policy interest in efficient, functionalist design principles on the other.