LibGuides: Digital Humanities Tools and Resources: GIS & Mapping

Introduction

Creating and showing maps to support research and pedagogy has always been an important part of humanist practices. Today, digital humanities mapping tools allow scholars to tell more complex stories with the maps they create by adding elements such as layering, annotations, and qualitative and quantitative analysis of GIS data to gain complex understandings of spaces. Mapping in the digital humanities is about recognizing the social constructions of place, re-thinking the power structures that have historically been a part of cartography, and re-imagining how we tell stories about time and place in humanist scholarship.

Tools

ArcGIS
A powerful tool used to make maps that can be accessed on the computers at the PCL.
CartoDB
CartoDB is an easy to use, web-based platform that allows users to work with spatial data and work with maps. CartoDB offers a full paid version of its software and a limited free version.
Field Papers
An online tool that allows users to create an atlas, use it while traveling, and add annotations and pictures later.
Google Earth
Google Earth is a free tool that allows users to create layered maps and 3D models using extensive GIS data.
History Pin
A simple, community mapping tool for cultural heritage institutions.
OpenStreetMap
A collection of open data collected by a community GIS professionals, scholars, and hobbyists interested in providing accessible GIS information for people interested in building tools.
Palladio
Palladio is a mapping and networking tool developed specifically for humanist inquiry. It allows scholars to explore relationships across time by uploading spreadsheet data and visualizing the relationships between coordinates.
StoryMap JS
StoryMap JS is a free tool that allows users to tell stories by mapping a series of events and corresponding locations. The tool is easy to use and allows users to pull videos and pictures from places such as YouTube, Flickr, and more.
Wikimapia
Wikimapia is an online, collaborative mapping projects in which users provide written descriptions of geographic objects from all over the world.
Harvard WorldMap
Harvard Worldmap is an online mapping tool that allows users to collaborate and create complex, layered maps using large datasets and export and publish their maps.

Readings

Elliot, T., & Gillies, S. (2009). Digital geography and classics. Digital Humanities Quarterly, (3)1. Retrieved from http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/3/1/000031/000031.html

Gregory, I., Donaldson, C., Murrieta-Flores, P., & Rayson, P. (2015). Geoparsing, GIS, and textual analysis: Current developments in spatial humanities research. International Journal Of Humanities & Arts Computing: A Journal Of Digital Humanities, 9(1), 1-14.

Pavlovskaya M. (2016) Digital place-making: Insights from critical cartography and GIS. In: Travis C., von Lünen A. (eds) The Digital Arts and Humanities. Springer Geography. Springer, Cham. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-40953-5_9

Mullen, L. (n.d.). Spatial Humanities Workshop. Retrieved from http://lincolnmullen.com/projects/spatial-workshop/

Sizemore, M. (n.d.). Mapping the humanities: A guide to GIS and mapping tools for digital humanities scholarship. Retrieved from https://wikis.utexas.edu/display/MappingHumanities