This semester I am working with Dr. Madden, Director of Geospatial History at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at GMU. She is co-PI of the project “Mapping Violence in Italy, 1500-1700.” AS part of the RRCHNM, the mission of this project is to democratize historical knowledge by creating a public facing project that appeals to a variety of audiences including students, scholars, and the general public. This mission was made clear in the grant proposal and other descriptive materials of the project I have read thus far. 

Those same materials made it clear that a goal of the project is to provide mentoring to participants at several levels including post-docs, grad students, and undergraduates. While I am none of those, Dr. Madden has made it clear she still wishes to serve as a mentor for what I would like to get out of the project. So the work I do, much of which has yet to be determined, will serve both my goals as well as the needs of the project. 

With that in mind, I provided Dr. Madden with my top goals/hopes for my semester. The goals are

1. To gain more knowledge of how to use GIS technology.
2. To learn to plan a GIS project.
3. To gain a greater understanding of what types of projects would be practical at a smaller school with limited resources. It is clear that DPH projects are collaborative and I would like to think big but also be practical to bring it to fruition.
4. To learn more about the grant writing process. It’s not something I really want to learn more than I know I NEED to learn.

Of these goals, I am most excited about learning more about the ins and out of using GIS. I have always loved to use maps in my research and teaching as sources that depict power and knowledge. Once I was introduced to mapping and GIS projects, I wanted to know more about how to use these tools to understand historical patterns and answer historical questions. Finally, here’s my chance! I am hoping to learn enough to where I can ask more specific questions and be able to find the answers on my own. I know the planning and the grant writing aspects are important, but the actual GIS work is the bright and shiny part of the project for me. I am truly excited to learn from Dr. Madden this semester.