Recently, after a rousing game of email and phone tag, I had the opportunity to conduct a phone interview with Professor Bernard Frischer, a leading scholar in the application of digital technologies to humanities research and education. Frischer has been the head of several significant projects, including virtual recreations of historical sites such as the city of Rome in the time of the emperor Constantine the Great. On his website, Dr. Frischer lists that he “and his institution have received international acclaim and have been featured on the Discovery Channel, the RAI, German Public Radio, the BBC, in Newsweek, Scientific American, Business Week, Computer Graphics World, Forbes, the New York Times and many other magazines and newspapers around the world.”
Beginning his digital humanities experiences in the 60’s, Dr. Frischer noted the importance of radio at the time. Frischer became a licensed radio operator at an early age; at the time the licensing process required a “basics of electronics” test be passed, so a general knowledge of the analog world would have been a necessity which allowed him to more easily transition into the digital age. Frischer also mentioned that when he began his career path, it was very helpful to have an understanding of the basics of photography (such as how to run a dark room, aperture and lighting etc.) as well as sound technology to ensure quality of work. As the digital age rolled around, the shift to the PC became necessary. Dr. Frischer reminisced that he had purchased his first PC in 1981 and began learning the basics of coding in the C language. Towards the birth of the internet Frischer had taken it upon himself to learn to use HTML to create his first website, which he proudly boasted was “one of the first ten thousand available on the internet”.
As Dr. Frischer progressed through his career as a digital humanist, he received his “B.A. (Wesleyan University, 1971) and Ph.D. (Heidelberg, 1975)” (as well as being recognized by numerous other scholastic groups and associations in his field of study) and would go on to become the first “head of the digital humanities lab” at UCLA when the lab was founded. Dr. Frischer noted that this would allow him much more potential for earning government grants and different sources of funding for his larger projects. As Chairman of the department, this position gave him a title and legitimized him as one of the leading professionals in the digital humanities world and greatly aided the progress of his career. While at UCLA, Frischer was appointed as founding director of the UCLA Cultural Virtual Reality Laboratory, which would become one of the first in the world to use 3D computer modeling to “reconstruct cultural heritage sites.”
In 1985, Dr. Frischer received a grant to create the world’s first remotely accessible library of Greek and Latin texts. A year later, at a conference held at Apple Computer in 1986, he gave a paper “in which he proposed creation of a digital model of ancient Rome”, the project that had originally drawn me to him in the first place, “Rome Reborn,” was not publicly exhibited until 2007, over twenty years later. In this project Dr. Frischer and his institution used a video game engine coupled with 3D modeling to recreate ancient Rome based around what archaeological knowledge we have. Dr. Frischer described to me the potential that projects like this granted for better understanding that time period. Aspects like lighting, acoustics and capacity could all be calculated and simulated based around this model. Frischer informed me of an expansion to this project, focusing on the area known as “Hadrian’s Villa” and another simulation that involves an animated population for the city complete with character interaction.
As we spoke, Dr. Frischer went on to paint the picture of a day in the life of a digital humanist, a picture that largely revolved around the magic of “Skype”. Stating that his “entire life is a series of Skype conferences after Skype conferences; it gets very busy and very confusing.” Frischer noted that he works with only one local employ for his research and projects, but relies heavily on international communication, as much of his archaeological work and field of study revolves around Europe.
After prying myself away from asking more and more about the professor’s truly incredible work, I brought out conversation towards a close by asking Dr. Frischer if he had any advice for the blossoming digital humanists out there, and of course he did. Frischer emphasized the importance of staying as busy and active as possible, a theory that he seemed to still live by as he continued to tell me about some of his other work in the field. “Use both the microscope and the telescope at the same time.” Suggesting that I start locally and keep my eyes open for involvement in projects online, throughout universities and other organizations. He suggested that I “talk to my university librarian” about any projects that needs assistance because groups are always looking for a little free, skilled help.
Overall Dr. Frischer’s conversation with me was a very enjoyable one, leaving me feeling a lot more comfortable with my understanding of what it means to be a digital humanist. Frischer’s impressive resume as well as his creative and interesting projects made for a great interview which in retrospect, turned out to be more of a free flowing conversation. There were times when we were both derailed from out main topic of conversation by one tangent or another, adding a much more personable feel to the discussion. Ultimately Dr. Frischer clued me in on one of his current projects, establishing the nation’s (if not the world’s) first Digital Humanities graduate program; a program he suggested that I keep in touch with him about, as he thought I’d make an excellent candidate!