Teknologien i historien eller blade fra en historikers historie

The history of technology has been a rapidly growing field during the last decades. The Department of History at Aalborg University has taken part in this development to a very large extent. However, in this article the point of view has been turned upside down. The author does not discuss the history of technology; but based on personal experiences from the last 35 years he describes the use of technology in the study of history. In 1965 the author started as a young student at the Department of History at Aarhus University, and he expected to use only pencil and paper. For a long time he succeeded in doing so by using the professional typewriting secretaries, who were at the disposal of every student in those days. Financial restraints, however, put an end to these services, and he had to acquaint himself with the typewriter and other technical devices. In 1972 the computer opened a whole new world for the newly appointed researcher, and as one of rather few Danish historians he started to use the computer for quantitative studies. In the late 1980s only very few historians were seen working with the computer; but this changed dramatically in the 1990s, when very few were without at least one personal computer. This change may be explained by technological development: From the late 1960s the computer made use of easily accessible quantitative methods; but as ever of no interest to most historians. In the 1990s the computer including new software has reached a stage where it is able to meet the needs of the true historian, who has always wanted to collaborate, find new information, and to read and write. In their search for efficiency and excellence the historians at Aalborg University as historians elsewhere have soon realized that the latest technology has become party of everyday life.