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It would be really cool to have a program that would semi-automate the process of geocoding textual data within a document in preparation for GIS analysis.  Given the complexities of place names, such a program would require some user validation for each data item.  As far as I know, there is no free software that does this.  A really ambitious program would also be able to map the data and expose the strengths of relationships among places for any set of text documents.  My particular interest in such a tool would involve the use of oral history transcripts.  I realize this is a pie-in-the-sky proposal.

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The concept of collaborative scholarship has generated tremendous excitement among digital humanists.  Much of the discussion has been restricted to the transformative impact of social media on the process and output of academic research.  This session will extend the dialogue by exploring possibilities for collaboration among academic scholars, students, and communities.  What models exist for constructive collaboration of this type?   What might such scholarship look like?  What are the technological, logistical, and institutional obstacles?  How might they be overcome?  What are the implications for the traditional compartmentalization of academic life into the categories of research, teaching, and service?

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The application of GIS mapping to humanities research has been recognized as a primary catalyst for what has been termed the “spatial turn” in humanities scholarship.  Despite tremendous excitement about the power of visualization to expose heretofore hidden relationships and patterns, it remains unclear just what these methodological techniques have contributed in terms of either raising new questions or answering longstanding ones.  This discussion will attempt to inventory some of the most interesting and ambitious efforts to employ spatial tools such as GIS mapping and 3D visualizations in humanities research and consider whether these spatial tools have the capacity to add significant value to humanities scholarship.

My particular interest is the field of urban history but I would be interested to learn how visualizations are employed for spatial analysis in other fields and disciplines within the humanities.