History and Media

The types of media that are used to record things from the past cannot help but add to the document and help create some of its context. It is not always possible to know the specific context behind something from the past and by utilizing a certain medium for conservation, attributes of that medium become part of the history it is capturing. For example, ancient texts that were written on papyrus and uncovered by scientists hundreds of years later, even if they do not reference the media directly, say something about the types of media available at the time of its production. 

I think that new media lends itself exceptionally well to this idea of the relationship between history and media, because by its nature new media breathes new life into old art. By utilizing modern methods of communication and expression, historical artifacts (writings, art work, ideas, etc) can not only be available for modern consumption, but also by employing current media, historical objects are brought back into current conversations. New media adds some relevance to whatever it is recording because it is useful today as a medium.