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Geographical Information Systems (GIS) - either as "standard" GIS
or custom made Historical GIS (HGIS) - have become quite popular in
some historical sub-disciplines, such as Economic and Social
History or Historical Geography. "Mainstream" history, however,
seems to be rather unaffected by this trend. More generally
speaking: Why is it that computer applications in general have
failed to make much headway in history departments, despite the
first steps being undertaken a good forty years ago? With the
"spatial turn" in full swing in the humanities, and many historians
dealing with spatial and geographical questions, one would think
GIS would be welcomed with open arms. Yet there seems to be no
general anticipation by historians of employing GIS as a research
tool. As mentioned, HGIS are popular chiefly among Historical
Geographers and Social and Economic Historians. The latter
disciplines seem to be predestined to use such software through the
widespread quantitative methodology these disciplines have employed
traditionally. Other historical sub-disciplines, such as Ancient
History, are also very open to this emerging technology since the
scarcity of written sources in this field can be mitigated by
inferences made from an HGIS that has archaeological data stored in
it, for example. In most of Modern History, however, the use of GIS
is rarely seen. The intellectual benefit that a GIS may bring about
seems not be apparent to scholars from this sub-discipline (and
others). This book wants to investigate and discuss this
controversy. Why does the wider historian community not embrace GIS
more readily? While one cannot deny that the methodologies linked
with a GIS follow geographical paradigms rather than historical
ones, the potential of GIS as a 'killer application' for digital
historical scholarship should be obvious. This book brings together
authors from Geography and History to discuss the value of GIS for
historical research. The focus, however, will not be on the "how",
but on the "why" of GIS in history.
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) either as standard GIS or
custom made Historical GIS (HGIS) have become quite popular in some
historical sub-disciplines, such as Economic and Social History or
Historical Geography.
Mainstream history, however, seems to be rather unaffected by this
trend. More generally speaking: Why is it that computer
applications in general have failed to make much headway in history
departments, despite the first steps being undertaken a good forty
years ago?
With the spatial turn in full swing in the humanities, and many
historians dealing with spatial and geographical questions, one
would think GIS would be welcomed with open arms. Yet there seems
to be no general anticipation by historians of employing GIS as a
research tool. As mentioned, HGIS are popular chiefly among
Historical Geographers and Social and Economic Historians. The
latter disciplines seem to be predestined to use such software
through the widespread quantitative methodology these disciplines
have employed traditionally. Other historical sub-disciplines, such
as Ancient History, are also very open to this emerging technology
since the scarcity of written sources in this field can be
mitigated by inferences made from an HGIS that has archaeological
data stored in it, for example. In most of Modern History, however,
the use of GIS is rarely seen. The intellectual benefit that a GIS
may bring about seems not be apparent to scholars from this
sub-discipline (and others).
This book wants to investigate and discuss this controversy. Why
does the wider historian community not embrace GIS more readily?
While one cannot deny that the methodologies linked with a GIS
follow geographical paradigms rather than historical ones, the
potential of GIS as a 'killer application' for digital historical
scholarship should be obvious.
This book brings together authors from Geography and History to
discuss the value of GIS for historical research. The focus,
however, will not be on the "how," but on the "why" of GIS in
history.
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