
The Archived Web
Doing History in the Digital Age
Niels Bruegger(Author)
MIT Press
Published on 31. October 2023
Book
Paperback/Softback
200 pages
978-0-262-54971-4 (ISBN)
Description
An original methodological framework for approaching the archived web, both as a source and as an object of study in its own right.
As life continues to move online, the web becomes increasingly important as a source for understanding the past. But historians have yet to formulate a methodology for approaching the archived web as a source of study. How should the history of the present be written? In this book, Niels Brügger offers an original methodological framework for approaching the web of the past, both as a source and as an object of study in its own right.
While many studies of the web focus solely on its use and users, Brügger approaches the archived web as a semiotic, textual system in order to offer the first book-length treatment of its scholarly use. While the various forms of the archived web can challenge researchers' interactions with it, they also present a range of possibilities for interpretation. The Archived Web identifies characteristics of the online web that are significant now for scholars, investigates how the online web became the archived web, and explores how the particular digitality of the archived web can affect a historian's research process. Brügger offers suggestions for how to translate traditional historiographic methods for the study of the archived web, focusing on provenance, creating an overview of the archived material, evaluating versions, and citing the material. The Archived Web lays the foundations for doing web history in the digital age, offering important and timely guidance for today's media scholars and tomorrow's historians.
As life continues to move online, the web becomes increasingly important as a source for understanding the past. But historians have yet to formulate a methodology for approaching the archived web as a source of study. How should the history of the present be written? In this book, Niels Brügger offers an original methodological framework for approaching the web of the past, both as a source and as an object of study in its own right.
While many studies of the web focus solely on its use and users, Brügger approaches the archived web as a semiotic, textual system in order to offer the first book-length treatment of its scholarly use. While the various forms of the archived web can challenge researchers' interactions with it, they also present a range of possibilities for interpretation. The Archived Web identifies characteristics of the online web that are significant now for scholars, investigates how the online web became the archived web, and explores how the particular digitality of the archived web can affect a historian's research process. Brügger offers suggestions for how to translate traditional historiographic methods for the study of the archived web, focusing on provenance, creating an overview of the archived material, evaluating versions, and citing the material. The Archived Web lays the foundations for doing web history in the digital age, offering important and timely guidance for today's media scholars and tomorrow's historians.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge (Massachusetts)
United States
Publishing group
MIT Press Ltd
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
2 B&W ILLUS.
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 11 mm
Weight
295 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-262-54971-4 (9780262549714)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
11/2018
MIT Press
€29.49
Available for download
Person
Niels Brügger
Content
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 Doing Web History in the Digital Age 11
2 The Digital and the Web 17
3 Five Analytical Web Strata 31
4 Cases of Web History 41
5 Archiving the Web 73
6 The Web of the Past—Where to Find What? 91
7 The Web of the Past as a Historical Source 103
8 Scholarly Use of the Archived Web 119
9 Toward a Source Criticism of the Archived Web 137
10 On the Edge of the Web 149
11 Conclusion—the Future of Web History 155
Notes 161
References 169
Index 181
Introduction 1
1 Doing Web History in the Digital Age 11
2 The Digital and the Web 17
3 Five Analytical Web Strata 31
4 Cases of Web History 41
5 Archiving the Web 73
6 The Web of the Past—Where to Find What? 91
7 The Web of the Past as a Historical Source 103
8 Scholarly Use of the Archived Web 119
9 Toward a Source Criticism of the Archived Web 137
10 On the Edge of the Web 149
11 Conclusion—the Future of Web History 155
Notes 161
References 169
Index 181