NAIS 30.22 Placing History: A Exploration of Local History through Archives, Fieldwork, & Digital Maps
This course will explore two related questions: how can spatial and place-based thinking benefit historical scholarship? More specifically, how can we combine fieldwork, archival research, and the use of digital tools to help us recover hidden aspects of local history? To answer these questions, this course will include three parts. First, a seminar component will allow students to think global and act local. Students will analyze and discuss spatial history and place-based history projects from around the globe while also evaluating primary historical sources on local and regional history. Second, a fieldwork component will allow students to visit local archives and the places they are studying and examine the way history has alternatively been inscribed in or erased from the landscape. Third, a lab component will offer students the chance to learn new skills using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software to map local history over space and time.