A Crash Course in Spatial History Combining Geographic and Historical Inquiry Leisl Carr Childers, Ph.D.
Historical Inquiry The concepts of Historical Inquiry are embedded in the 5Cs. Change over Time Context Causality Complexity Contingency What do these concepts mean? (Thomas Andrews and Flannery Burke, What Does It Mean to Think Historically? )
Geographical Inquiry The concepts of Geographical Inquiry are embedded in P2S2. Place Scale Proximity Shift What do these concepts mean? (Peter Jackson, Thinking Geographically )
! S L O O T E H T MAPS ARE What do maps provide that help us combine geographic inquiry and historical inquiry?
Battista Agnese s Portolan Atlas (1544) Map of the World Showing the Route of Magellan Library of Congress
Tom Van Sant s Geosphere on a Robinson Projection (1990) The Geosphere Project
World Mapper s Gridded World Population Cartogram (2009)
David Horsey s The World According to Ronald Reagan (1982)
Bron Smith s The Alpine Run Map (2007) Fun Maps USA s Product for Alpine RV
Grant Snider s Map of Thanksgiving Dinner (2011) The Incidental Comic
Combining Geographical and Historical Inquiry Steven Johnson s The Ghost Map In the mid-nineteenth century, British physician John Snow wanted to better understand the 1854 cholera outbreak in London. Residents of the area were certain the outbreak was caused by proximity to a cemetery. By mapping the places in the city that the stricken lived and gathered essential resources, Snow was able to correlate the outbreak of disease with contaminated water sources.
Correlation and Research Questions
Illustration vs. Analysis What types of public land are there, where are public lands located, and who nationalatlas.gov Where We Are public lands? administers C A N A D A HING TO N H M O N TA ORE NA La k e S upe NO RTH DAK OTA GON r i or I IFOR NIA CO LO RA DO KANSA S N E A O C A R IZ O La k e Michigan ke Er NEW YO R K DC IA KE NT UC KY MISSISSIPPI A LA B A M A G E O RG IA C A RO L S O UT H IN A C A RO L IN A EY LA N D T Bureau of Indian Affairs Bureau of Land Management Bureau of Reclamation TE XA S Department of Defense Fish and Wildlife Service ARCTIC HAWAII PA C 0 RU IF IC 100 mi OC EA N SS OCE Forest Service LOUI SIANA AN National Park Service Tennessee Valley Authority Other agencies IA M XIC F ME LF O O F L O R ID A P S H IR HUS LA D E IS IC U NECT WA R E M A RY V IR G IN N O RT H JE R S NEW D E LA W E S TIA V IR G IN TE NN ES SE E CON LVA N IA O H IO IN DI AN A T HAM S AC M AS R HO SY PENN ARKA NSAS N EW M EX IC O t ke O n o a ri ie MIS SOU RI OKLAH OMA NA ron ILL INO IS U TA H La La IOW A MON NEW Hu C I F I P A C CAL NEB RAS KA DA N N E VA G A W YO M IN WIS CO NSI N IG SOU TH DAK OTA NE VER ke H O MAI IC O CEAN La C I DA H KA A PA I I CIF M MINNESOTA AW AS E ET T S ND O C E A N WA S AL A T L A N T I C TM AT O LAN CE TIC AN How are public lands administered, who administers them, AND and how do different FEDERAL LANDS INDIAN RESERVATIONS administrations intersect?
Spatial History This is not about making maps mapmaking is called cartography and is related, but not the same. It is a method of investigation or inquiry. It allows researchers to see the information under examination in a whole new way, not just through the 5 Cs, but through P2S2. It can lead to completely different understandings and interpretations of history and the contemporary world in which we live.
Geographical Information Systems, Science, and Studies (GIS) Allows visualization, inquiry, analysis, and interpretation of data to reveal relationships, patterns, and trends. Critical tools for GIS mapping include spatial data, historical/ contemporary content, and the ability to make correlations without loosing sight of complexity. GIS is inquiry in three or more dimensions.
l a i c o S, s a l t A l The Nationa S I G c r A d n a, r e Explor These are 3 online GIS platforms that you can use to generate GIS maps in your classroom with students.
What is the relationship between geographical inquiry and historical inquiry? How is spatial history done? Maps Contain: Maps Convey: 1. Correlation is: 2. Analysis is: 3. Spatial History is:
Web Resources The Ghost Map, Steven Johnson Spatial History Project, Stanford University Map Maker, National Atlas (Online) Social Explorer (Free Edition Online) ArcExplorer, Economic and Social Research Institute