The spatial humanities is a new field that combines both humanities and geography with conceptual space. This practice relies heavily on Geographic Information Systems to interpret data. “GIS is a seductive technology, a magic box capable of wondrous feats, and the images it constructs so effortlessly appeal to us in ways more subtle and powerful than words can” (Bodenhamer, p. 17). As consistent with the general theme of this class, the visualization tools that are given through GIS offer easy solutions to interpreting difficult and elongated texts or data. While text will intuitively provide a more thorough understanding of the information, understanding the material in its entirety can become difficult. An overflow of information is, in fact, detrimental towards internalizing the overall message. For this reason, Bodenhamer justifiably supports the use of GIS in the spatial humanities. This reason is that Geographic Information Systems have an “unparalleled ability to manage and visualize data within a spatial context that has led to a rediscovery of the power of the map” (Bodenhamer, p. 17).
Over history, certain places become more important due to the contextual events that are occurring. An individual’s time period within any geographical setting creates certain circumstances that he or she has to deal with. Therefore, the conditions of the environment gravely affect the life that person pursues. For example, consider the case of Esther Latrobe when she moved to Gracehill, Ireland. In the early 1800s, Ireland was experiencing the Evangelical Revival in which this region was 50 years behind the Church of England. As a consequence, society began to see more emphasis on religion. When Latrobe moved to Gracehill in the mid-1820s, she experienced this increased focus on religion. Such influence surely encouraged her to maintain her close relationship with God. A significant point revealed from mapping Latrobe’s memoir was her clear upbringing from high class. Within the few years she lived, Latrobe traveled far distances and visited different countries. Without the current age of airplanes and luxury cruise ships, traveling was no easy feat. Another revelation from the mapping process that can be found is the number of story points at each location. In my personal story map, I entered three points in Gracehill, Ireland. Therefore, it can be correctly inferred that this location was highly significant within Latrobe’s life. Not only did she spend many years teaching at a ladies boarding school there, but she both met and married her husband, James Latrobe, in Gracehill.
“We are inherently spatial beings: we live in a physical world and routinely use spatial concepts of distance and direction to navigate our way through it (Bodenhamer, p. 14). As Bodenhamer believes, space is more than just for historical action. Space is a significant product and determinant of change.
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1 reply on “Blog #5”
I agree with Nathan when he talks about how people in specific areas have to deal with different hardships that come with living in that area at that time. He also talks about how different areas influence people in different ways specifically religion with Esther Latrobe. This was also seen in my memoir with Elizabeth Grundy. Religion was very prevalent in the areas she lived which allowed her to continue practicing religion heavily. He also talks about how having several important events from one person’s life in one specific town shows how important the town was in that person’s life. I also spoke of this in my blog because the same thing happened in Elizabeth Grundy’s life.