• Introduction

    Introducing GIS for the Humanities 


    This course serves as a conceptual and practical introduction to working with geo-spatial approaches in the humanities.

    Unit I: Introduction to Spatial Humanities

    This unit describes the "spatial turn" and its significance in the humanities. This is done by tracing the evolution of spatial thinking from the 20th century to the present. Lastly, it connects the development of mapping technologies to new approaches in the humanities.

    Unit II: GIS and Spatial Analysis for the Humanities

    This unit introduces the core concepts and vocabulary of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). It explains how geographic information is structured, represented, and analyzed through coordinate systems, spatial data models, and layered datasets. By exploring how locations, attributes, and spatial relationships are translated into digital form, the unit provides the conceptual foundation necessary for conducting spatial analysis in the humanities.

    Unit III: Walkthrough of Literary GIS Project

    This unit applies the concepts introduced in Unit II through a hands-on exploration of QGIS. Using the Frankenstein Atlas as a guiding example, it walks through the basic layout of the software and demonstrates how to build a spatial humanities project step by step. Students learn how to import, create, and modify spatial data, organize layers, perform simple analyses, and produce maps and visualizations such as heatmaps depicting an Aesthetic Geography of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

    Course Objectives

    By the end of this course, participants should:

    • Understand spatial analysis and its application within the humanities

    • Be familiar with concepts for geographic information systems and associated tools

    • Understand the unique perspectives humanists bring to the study of space

    • Conduct a GIS study

    Course Developers

    • Patrick Gavin is an Associate Librarian, Teaching and Learning at Huron University, Canada.
    Contributors
    • Ahmad Kamal is a Senior Lecturer in Library and Information Science at Linnaeus University, Sweden.
    • Daniel Ocic Ihrmark is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Humanities at Linnaeus University, Sweden.
    Unit I: Introduction to the Spatial Humanities►