Dr. Todd Presner, professor in the Department of European Languages and Transcultural Studies and chair of Digital Humanities Program at UCLA, focuses on the technological history of Holocaust testimony from its earliest collection on a wire recorder by David Boder in 1946 through today. He pays special attention to the issues of media forms, interfaces, information systems, and taxonomies, as well as the ethical issues that surround the collection and use of Holocaust testimony. Additionally, Dr. Presner discusses how large-scale, digital databases of Holocaust testimony have changed the kind of questions scholars ask about the Holocaust, how they probe these historical events, and what can be discovered using digital tools.
Todd Presner. October 23, 2018. From Wire Recorder to Database.