Category: Blog #3

As we learned about visualization tools in the previous units and compiled Moravian entries, it became apparent to me that the mode of representation directly affects the way in which people learn about ideas. If information is presented through text, it encourages the reader to read closely and look for specific details compared to images which give the reader visual aid to understand an idea. Timelines give both text and images to show chronology and geography which teach the reader when and where events happened and what they looked like. For example, in the Latrobe timeline, there are slides about education and sanitation practices that explain the cultural context for the 1800’s in Europe where Esther Latrobe wrote her memoirs.

Chronology and geography clarify historical events when they are not biased or centered around one specific event because history cannot be objective in that case. For example, a timeline centered around Jesus’ life would most likely not include events like evolution and thus would not be informative to those looking for the scientific theories. Grafton says chronology “was the key to many practical matters such as knowing when to celebrate Easter” (11). Timelines not only record chronological events but also tell stories through the text and images of each event. In fact, Grafton states, “While history dealt in stories, chronology dealt in facts” (10). It is chronology that is credible and shapes historical stories. He uses annals as an example by saying although they do not explain cause and effect, the ways events recorded “represent a form closely calibrated to both the interests and the vision of their users” (12).  He explains how Annals of St. Gall was written in the Middle Ages when violence was prominent and thus the events were recorded in a passive tone because the events were said to have happened to people instead of people going through such events. That annal informs the reader of not only the events but the context for how people thought in that time period. Thus, timelines give contextual details like the time and location but also insight as to how people’s thoughts developed.

https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=1HEAoVGg_5j-psdjOKOBoOWKUpRTtp3x9L9dA8a5qASE&font=Default&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&height=650

Julianna Kim

Creating these timelines these last couple of classes has made me think about how important they are to history.  Without certain timelines with specific historical events, many things in history would be different, and for all we know, they could not exist.  Chronology on these timelines is the most important part. Without a specific order of when each thing happened, it is almost pointless to have timelines, because they need to be accurate in order to create resourceful information.  Chronology has been used for a very long time. In Grafton’s Introduction, he writes, “They began to plot events not just against long series of years, but against lunar and solar eclipses that could be dated precisely to the day and the hour” (17).  Historians and astronomers would use chronology in order to plot accurate points for things they would study. Many timelines are usually in a line, but I honestly do not think they need to be in a specific image, as long as the events are in the right order, then they will be able to be read correctly, and read the story.

So many extremely important events from history occurred because and were turned into timelines.  In Grafton’s introduction, they mentioned the Chart of Biography by Joseph Priestly. This is something that is still mentioned today because of timelines.  Another thing today that has many timelines are museums. In one of the images in Grafton’s introduction, there is an image from the Museum of Natural History in New York City, and it included a timeline.

The timelines that my group created in class include similar things to all of the timelines mentioned above.  The image below shows the separation of each event, and shows which event occurred first, and the order that followed.  This allows the viewers to know when everything occurred.

This image is of a specific event that occurred during the time of our memoir, and we were able to include an image that helped our timeline tell the best story.  It also tells the years during when this occurred.

Caroline

Caroline Walsh is a sophomore at Bucknell University and is from Needham, Massachusetts. She has two sisters, including an identical twin, who also attend Bucknell. Caroline is a member of the women’s lacrosse team on campus and enjoys hanging out with her friends.