Students told to expand knowledge on digital humanity

Professor of Digital Humanities, Department of English, University of Lagos, Babatunde Ope Davies, has implored youths to expand their knowledge on digital humanity, saying it is fundamental to handling digital tools.

According to Davies, who was represented by Felix Oke from Anchor University, Lagos, Nigerian youths need to get digital skills and develop their digital knowledge base, so as to function optimally in the digital world.

He spoke at the 2019 School of Liberal Studies (SLS) international conference, Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) chapter, with the theme “Advancing the humanities through information, science, and technology.”

“You can use knowledge of digital humanity in your research. Research in this direction should go back to what is happening in society, and then create a problem out of it. For instance, you have a problem of security, you could actually create software that could help you to track anybody coming to your compound without being there and a short message sent to your phone with the picture and you identify the person. You can actually track your kids at home what they do on their devices without you being there.”

“Digital humanities is an unbounded connection, unbounded territories, and with digital humanities or tools, or methods, your work prospect is not limited.

“We have people working in AMAZON and Microsoft, they are just humanities scholars, they didn’t read computer science, they don’t code but they contribute immensely to what other sciences cannot do. Theirs is to code, ours is to internalise what they have code and produce a result out of it,” he said.

Also, the lead paper presenter, Prof. Rotimi Taiwo, expressed that good knowledge of digital humanity will help the youth think creatively.

“You think outside the box when you employ the digital tools and that makes you to want to even do things that are not within the field of the traditions of your discipline. Like the English graduate turn to a photographer, a marketer and all things like that because they thought they saw the need to use the digital tool to make themselves better and to contribute to society.

“Digital tools are tools for the present age, and if we want to do research faster and accurately, we need to employ them. How do we employ them, there are all kinds of sites, online where we can access this digital tools, for instance, if you want to do a research in language, you can use the digital tools for analysing copious linguistics, and then you key in your data, and then in a matter of few minutes, your data will be analyse, and you see the result depending on what you are looking for,” he said.

Dean, SLS, Mr. Wellington Ikpen, on his part stated, “Today’s world spins around and thrives on science and information technology and there is no doubt about the contribution of science and technology to the growth and existence of humanity. As brilliant intellectuals of the humanities today, there is the dire need for us to open our arms to the possibilities that science and technology hold for us all. We are at a point in our existence wherein effective collaboration with the sciences with further help to strengthen our continued existence.”