TY - JOUR
T1 - Historical geography II
T2 - Digital imaginations
AU - Offen, Karl
N1 - Funding Information:
A decade has passed since ) reviewed the role of digital technologies in historical geography, and a great deal has happened since. For some, digital media are poised to transform the humanities and, for others, they already have done so (; ). The broader adoption of digital technologies across academia has also moved kindred disciplines closer to geographic concerns of space, place, and cartography. It is not hyperbole to say that Literary Studies has taken a ‘cartographic turn’ or that History has taken a ‘spatial turn’. These changes also reflect the fact that Geographic Information Science (GISc) has sought to work better with humanistic and qualitative perspectives, that Web 2.0 converts volunteered geographic information (VGI) into public and participatory research, and that hundreds and perhaps thousands of websites provide easy access to digital images, maps, text, video, and audio. The relative embrace of digital technologies across the humanities and social sciences might reflect a search for relevancy and solvency in a scientific and instrumentalist world, but there can be little question that a vast array of information technologies and digital data are transforming the possibilities for historical-geographic research, its presentation, and public engagement. And it helps that the money is flowing. The US National Science Foundation (NSF), through its Digital Libraries Initiative, and more specifically the US National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), through its Office of Digital Humanities, have funded several projects and websites of interest to historical geographers. The latter has also sponsored key workshops from which three recent books have appeared (; ; ). Similar developments are occurring throughout much of Europe, even in times of shrinking budgets. Several universities on both sides of the Atlantic have created research centers, degree programs, and scholarly initiatives dedicated to advancing the digital humanities. While enthusiasm should be tempered with a healthy dose of skepticism, I would argue that new media and information technologies can deepen the place of historical geography in both the academy and the public’s eye, and that this would be a good thing.
PY - 2013/8
Y1 - 2013/8
N2 - In my second report discussing the state of historical geography, I review some of the ways historical geographers have made use of digital technologies and digital media. I also highlight how digital data, research, and presentation are affecting related humanities disciplines and inspiring their practitioners to engage more fully with geographic concepts of space, place, and cartography. I argue that information technologies and digital media can deepen the place of historical geography in the academy and in the public's eye.
AB - In my second report discussing the state of historical geography, I review some of the ways historical geographers have made use of digital technologies and digital media. I also highlight how digital data, research, and presentation are affecting related humanities disciplines and inspiring their practitioners to engage more fully with geographic concepts of space, place, and cartography. I argue that information technologies and digital media can deepen the place of historical geography in the academy and in the public's eye.
KW - digital humanities
KW - digital technologies
KW - geoweb
KW - historical geography
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84879950488&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84879950488&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0309132512462807
DO - 10.1177/0309132512462807
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84879950488
SN - 0309-1325
VL - 37
SP - 564
EP - 577
JO - Progress in Human Geography
JF - Progress in Human Geography
IS - 4
ER -