Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
the apparent contradictions between the potential size and complexity
of such databases, on the one hand, and the emphasis on close reading
and nuanced understanding in humanities scholarship, on the other.
Add to these the need to understand geographical complexity, the limi-
tations of simple GIS maps, and the perceived unsuitability of statistical
approaches to the humanities, and in-depth exploration of these types of
databases begins to seem like a daunting task. One possible approach to
resolving this dilemma is a more receptive atitude toward statistics. he
social sciences have shown that statistics can be a very useful tool in help-
ing to summarize complex paterns through techniques such as density
smoothing, which is widely used to make complex point paterns more
understandable. To return to a theme from the introduction, statistical
techniques do not lead to positivism; they are simply a tool to help the
researcher to understand complex paterns by summarizing them in the
form of summary statistics, diagrams, or maps.
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In moving from humanities GIS toward spatial humanities, exem-
plar projects that actually tackle these challenges and then publish re-
sults are required, even if they are pilot projects or work that is still some
way from full completion. There is a growing list of publications of this
type, but more is required.
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These developments need to be accompa-
nied by a cultural change within the humanities that makes humanities
scholars more receptive to the potential and impact of digital approaches
generally. In the later of these, an undoubted cultural shit is going on,
as shown by the rise of digital humanities on both sides of the Atlantic.
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This is a trend that can be expected to continue, indeed, it must continue,
if the humanities are going to remain relevant in the digital world.
Technological Developments
GIS software was not developed with humanities applications in mind,
and its future development will not be driven by the requirements of
academics in the humanities. The challenge is thus to take what is usu-
ally provided by commercial companies primarily for business markets
and use these as appropriately as possible. Unfortunately, this means
that when it comes to developing the core tools, humanities academics
are following and adapting other people's agendas rather than leading
