Forty Years Hence: The Repositioning of History

Mortimer talks about the repositioning of history. He suspects that it will be the continuing digital revolution which will prove to be the most significant development over the forthcoming decades. This is not because of any new digital possibilities but rather the implications for the democratization of history. The digital camera and laptop which one takes into an archive today might appear just useful tools but the logical consequence of their widespread availability is the fragmentation of academic domination of historical knowledge. And with that fragmentation comes not the lessening of scholars' prominence as cultural spokesmen and women but their promotion. The result is the possibility of a new golden age of history writing, in which historians are once again at the heart of the cultural life of the world.