After months of hesitation, I started using Tropy last December. My hesitation was due to the fact that I was trying to find a specific sub-project that could provide a good opportunity to start. Back then I often looked for descriptions of other experiences online but found few of them, I thought I’d share mine.
In an article on the bailout of the Cyprus Popular Bank, the New York Times describes internal disputes within the European Central Bank on the basis of leaked ECB minutes – an episode that epitomises some of the challenges faced by historians.
A visit of a German chancellor to the Bundesbank was unusual enough to be carefully recorded. The transcription of the discussion has now been declassified, which gave me the opportunity to try a detailed text analysis of the record.
L’annonce de la disparition des archives papiers de l’ancien secrétaire général de l’Élysée par l’actuel titulaire du poste Pierre-René Lemas pose plus de questions sur le traitement des archives nationales aujourd’hui que sur Claude Guéant lui-même.
The post that follows is only a snapshot of some reflections I presented at the last conference Digital Humanities Luxembourg (DHLU) on 5 December 2013. I picked up a couple of examples to illustrate my personal research experience and hopefully convey my strand of thought on the use of digital sources in international economic history – a frustrated experience, but clearly not depressed!
I will be giving a paper at the next symposium of the research programme “Digital Humanities Luxembourg” (DHLU 2013), “Reading historical sources …