Spatial History - or Mapping History

Approximately 300 words

In the first reading, Anne K. Knowles discusses visualizing history through teaching undergraduates geographic visualization without GIS, creating hand drawn graphics, and then in the second reading she discusses visualizing history with GIS in the introduction to her edited book of research projects using GIS to map history. Do you think that is if feasible or worthwhile to teach history students how to visualize history by manual means, without using GIS? (Think about a history class, no computer labs, no ability to teach these students for one project GIS).

Go the the Spatial History Project web site at Stanford. Browse around the site, reading through some of the projects. Pick 1 project and describe how history was visualized, and provide your opinion as to whether the maps and visuals make a difference to understanding the historical significance of the project. Do you see any problems with the visuals: the data gathering, display, analysis?