Historians by definition focus on time. Chronology will always remain at the heart of a discipline that seeks to explain change over time, but this has left historians open to the charge from geographers that they write history as if it took place on the head of a pin. The charge is not true, but sometimes it is uncomfortably close to being true.
Richard White, “Spatial History Project“
Incorporating mapping technologies into digital humanities projects is one way to address the reduction of history into a chronology that can appear to be disembodied from real experiences. This “attempt to do history a different way” as White words it, could be useful in a variety of art historical contexts. White references Henri Lefebvre’s The Production of Space and the three components of spatial history Lefebvre lays out: spatial practice, representations of space, and representational space. Spatial practice refers to the experience of moving through a space (our movement through our houses, our commute to work along sidewalks and on subways). Representations of space are, “the documents of architects, city planners, politicians, some artists, surveyors and bureaucrats.” These are not completely divorced from the physical space, as they try to put in words and on paper the tangible or measurable physical aspects of the space. Finally, representational space is an overlay on a space that imbues it with significance based on symbolic use of objects. White writes, “It is what marks a church or mosque or synagogue; it is what religious people feel in a sacred space; it is a room in a library or a university building; it is an art gallery.”
I’d like to use the Digital Harlem mapping project as an example of how the three aspects of spatial history White references can be combined effectively in a map. To begin, a user can toggle through the map, tracing roads and locating specific spaces they could inhabit in the real world. The ability to put the map on “satellite” mode facilitates this spatial practice effectively as a user can truly project themself into the space and relate to streets or areas that they have walked on themselves. In terms of the representation of space used to produce the project, I would expand upon the list sources that White provides as the Digital Harlem mapping project shows the potential for other sources to elucidate spacial histories. The project incorporates data from District Attorney case files and Probation case files both stored in the city’s Municipal Archives, newspaper clippings from various publications, and from the WPA Writer’s Program Collection. I would argue that the project could have included census data. For example, someone brought up in class that overlaying data regarding socioeconomic status or race could be an interesting addition to understanding how the specific locations pinpointed on the map related to the neighborhood at large. Finally, by breaking up the map into categories that the user can toggle between such as “Churches” and “Nightlife,” the project associates spaces with symbols that create significance. When locations are clicked on, more information pops up in a window. This includes ownership information as well as information on the use of the space and what events may have occurred there. The addition of this helps to understand how the space was conceived of by its inhabitants. It can be said that this project focuses more on the spatial practice and representation of space, however, I do think it attempts to conquer representational space. In fact, this unequal focus is common. As White writes, “Human beings, who create all three, can, but do not always, move seamlessly between them. Lefebvre’s triad does not always, or even usually, add up to a seamless or congruent whole. His space, as he admits, is full cracks and fissures.” What is important, White would argue, is that there is a focus on spatial experience over simple language about space.
While I could critique the interface of the resource (the fact that you can’t enlarge the map window because of how large the thumbnails are on the right bothers me), I think overall it is an effective use of mapping. It draws upon a variety of sources that help to provide a comprehensive view of Harlem. The ability to toggle between the timeline and the map is also a key feature that I think adds to the project.
My own mapping project:
Above you can see my experiment with mapping. Using Google Maps, I made an interactive map of Cape Town and the surrounding areas that I can envision sharing with friends and colleagues who go to the area for research. I’ve tagged my favorite places to walk, museums to explore, and restaurants to eat at so that friends can enjoy the city as much as I did.
While my Cape Town map was mostly for fun and isn’t scholarly (although still useful!), I can see myself using mapping technologies in my own academic research. In my project looking at the intersection of colonialism and photography, it would be interesting to map where images were taken and where they ended up. For example, tracking African “postcard” photographs that were taken in African colonies to be viewed by “cultured” Europeans back in the metropoles would be an interesting way to visualize the creation and consumption of these images. Tracing their movement would help me to establish how colonial images influenced local artists working both in Europe and Africa. Another layer I could add to this hypothetical map would be mapping where the photographers were coming from and where they were working. Tracing the journey of European photographers working on the African continent would help elucidate stylistic trends and influences as well. For example, creating a map of Irishman Alfred Duggan-Cronin’s photographic work through South Africa and Namibia would be interesting to see how he moved from Europe and make sense of what might have brought him to various areas of southern Africa.
References:
Lefebvre, Henri. The Production of Space. Chicago, Illinois : Blackwell Publishing Limited, 1991. pp.37-41.
White, Richard. “Spatial History Project.” Stanford University. https://web.stanford.edu/group/spatialhistory/cgi-bin/site/pub.php?id=29