Digital Samaritans by Jim Ridolfo offers a new contribution in the digital humanities field, not only because it highlights the cultural sovereignty of an ancient, now a minority, group of people, the Samaritans, but also because it opens a dialogue about the numerous advantages of digitization for the humanities.
Ridolfo spent over six years conducting extensive research with the Samaritans and their worldwide-spread manuscripts in order not only to map their diaspora but also to introduce them into the digital era, thus connecting field research within the communities with the work that digital anthropologists are doing, and suggesting ways to engage in research.
The book consists of five chapters, each one documenting Ridolfo’s research process and informing the reader about the Samaritan community, while at the same time arguing for the importance of digitization for the preservation and continuance of such cultural groups into the age of digitization.
In chapter 1, the author introduces the term “textual diaspora” to explain the current state of Samaritan manuscripts, as well as the Samaritans’ own views about their texts being spread throughout the world. He argues that, according to some of them, such a diaspora can actually benefit those who are interested (or “stakeholders” as they are referred to in the book), because it can increase accessibility and consequently awareness about Samaritan history and culture, while allowing Samaritans to “reference their cultural heritage in digital environments.”
In chapter 2, a brief history of the Samaritans from the late Ottoman period up to now is presented, and reasons for the manuscripts' removal and diaspora are examined. This chapter also presents the relationship between Samaritans and their neighbors, their geographic division in two different communities, and the impact of the Oslo Accords on them. As Ridolfo states, this historical focus “lays the foundation for understanding the diaspora of manuscripts in order to better understand their present day rhetorical context as they enter the digital age.”
Chapter 3 addresses the Samaritan response to the Oslo agreement, the “Seven Principles Document” by which Samaritans claimed their rights to their own cultural sovereignty and were enabled to communicate their culture and history to others, especially their neighbors. In this chapter Ridolfo enhances the importance of delivery research in rhetorical studies, as there has been an increased interest in rhetorical delivery in a digital environment among many scholars over the past decades. He also argues that stakeholders take an interest in the future circulation of their texts, presenting and analyzing some of the Samaritan responses to the semi-structured interviews he conducted regarding Samaritan views on the diffusion of their manuscripts.
In chapter 4, Ridolfo counters possible objections to how digitization might negatively effect rhetorical studies and cultural communities, using examples to prove that the most important tools in the emerging methodologies at the crossroads of rhetorical and digital work are not merely the digital ones. Face-to-face engagement, fieldwork, and presence remain of high importance, since the material existed before and will continue to exist after digitization. Therefore, scholars should learn to listen and respect the will and expectations of the stakeholder groups (communities, resources, and institutions). He also presents the creation of a Samaritan keyboard, to help further the digitization of their manuscripts.
The last chapter of the book, entitled “The Good Samaritan: At Crossroads of Rhetoric and Digital Humanities,” explains how the case study of the Samaritan manuscripts calls for a collaboration of rhetoric and digital humanities. The Samaritans try to benefit from any reference to them in order to state that they remain a living community and not just a name in a Christian parable. The problem of communicating one’s culture and history can be found in many remote places of the world, especially in those afflicted by war or of high political interest (e.g., the Yazidi in Syria). The call for action in rhetorical studies concerning such cases is strong, especially in combination with the digital humanities; the relationship between them seems to have shifted, as situated engagement in delivery is important not only for stakeholders but also for scholars and the humanities as well.
Digital Samaritans opens a path for engagement with new methodologies for rhetoric and digital humanities. It demonstrates the many benefits of digitization, countering previous skeptical views. One of the most important issues that this book outlines, in our opinion, is that a digitized text can afterwards be “cited, referenced, shared and re-composed.” It can have, as folklorists say, a "second life" in a whole new environment, as has happened with e-folklore and digital communities. The purpose of this book is, however, double: first, to raise awareness about the culture, history, and very existence of the Samaritans and their manuscripts, and do so with respect to the Samaritan communities and their people; and, second, to stand as a beacon for scholars to connect with the digital age and, “guided by an ethos of reciprocity,” to develop the right tools and methodologies to lead their fields in the age of digitization, helping people communicate their history and culture worldwide.
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[Review length: 837 words • Review posted on April 12, 2018]