In the field of history, the Web and other technologies have become
important tools in research and teaching of the past. Yet the use
of these tools is limited -- many historians and history educators
have resisted adopting them because they fail to see how digital
tools supplement and even improve upon conventional tools (such as
books). In Pastplay, a collection of essays by leading history and
humanities researchers and teachers, editor Kevin Kee works to
address these concerns head-on. How should we use technology?
Playfully, Kee contends. Why? Because doing so helps us think about
the past in new ways; through the act of creating technologies, our
understanding of the past is re-imagined and developed. From the
insights of numerous scholars and teachers, Pastplay argues that we
should play with technology in history because doing so enables us
to see the past in new ways by helping us understand how history is
created; honoring the roots of research, teaching, and technology
development; requiring us to model our thoughts; and then allowing
us to build our own understanding.