Jack Dougherty Books

Writing History in the Digital Age began as a “what-if” experiment by posing a How have Internet technologies influenced how historians think, teach, author, and publish? To illustrate their answer, the contributors agreed to share the stages of their book-in-progress as it was constructed on the public web. To facilitate this innovative volume, editors Jack Dougherty and Kristen Nawrotzki designed a born-digital, open-access, and open peer review process to capture commentary from appointed experts and general readers. A customized WordPress plug-in allowed audiences to add page- and paragraph-level comments to the manuscript, transforming it into a socially networked text. The initial six-week proposal phase generated over 250 comments, and the subsequent eight-week public review of full drafts drew 942 additional comments from readers across different parts of the globe. The finished product now presents 20 essays from a wide array of notable scholars, each examining (and then breaking apart and reexamining) if and how digital and emergent technologies have changed the historical profession.

The book challenges the conventional view of a unified African American response to Brown v. Board of Education, revealing instead a complex landscape of activism. Jack Dougherty explores the diverse and sometimes conflicting strategies employed by black activists, highlighting their efforts to assert control over educational institutions. This nuanced analysis sheds light on the multifaceted nature of black educational history and the varying perspectives within the community regarding school reform.