Using Computers to Help Scholars Have Good Arguments: An Online
Cultural and Historical Research Environment Scholarship in the
humanities is characterized by competing interpretations of
texts, artifacts, and other cultural products. Some of this is
(dare we say) ego-driven, but scholarly arguments are
nonetheless useful and productive because they stem from a
legitimate diversity of interpretive perspectives and research
agendas. Arguments are necessary for discarding faulty
interpretations and generating new insights. All too often
though, the computer software scholars use to aid their research
has the effect of inhibiting diversity and debate because it
imposes a single set of terms and concepts. Most database
systems are created to meet the needs of organizations in which
there is a top-down semantic authority that imposes standardized
terms and concepts as, for example, in large corporations and
government agencies. However, a different approach is needed to
meet the needs of scholars. The Online Cultu