Digital Humanities – Spring 2018

Digital mapping has many benefits. Space becomes a lot more accessible and realistic when mapping digitally. For example, if a person mapped the path the German Army took during WWII, it could give lots of information to historians studying the patterns of conquer and quest during Hitler’s reign. Digital mapping also allows patterns to be revealed that may have not been as visible just from the data itself. If I have the addresses of the most renown eighteenth century essayists, I can plot those addresses and determine if there is any geographical correlation between these great authors. Digital mapping allows data (which can be intimidating information for a person not familiar working with it) to be plotted and made visual for the person mapping. Digital mapping is a form of visual rhetoric, in my opinion, because we are allowing new ideas and patterns to be seen rather than just expressed. I believe digital mapping is most beneficial for making data more accessible and authentic (realistic) to the user.

Emily Hatch

There are many benefits to digital mapping (as there are for many things digital). First, there is a direct understanding of where something is located when it is digitally represented because a technology will use satellite imagery to pinpoint the exact location under discussion within a “point”. This will give us a better locational context of history and even art such as literature. For me personally as an English student, I can understand more about locational relationships not only between authors and other authors, but also between authors and the locations in which their stories are set. Understanding relative location between authors can help reveal certain interactions and influences on one another’s literary collection. This can also reveal the coming together of multiple authors, and the spreading of common ideas can be directly visualized. Not only does the authorial location reveal information about the works, but also about the locations themselves. As analytical beings, we can learn what certain authors/historical figures found valuable/useful about a certain area and from there better understand human interaction with the environment.

From our mapping of the Central College student body, I learned a few things. Most of the students for the section I mapped out came from McGrawville and Cortlandville. There are a couple conclusions that can be interpreted from this information. Firstly, these areas are located relatively close to the college, so these students may have attended the college as a means of convenience. I know many students at SUNY Cortland who grew up in the surrounding area, so maybe this is a common trend amongst college students. Next, maybe these locations are more economically affluent and have a better opportunity to afford college. I do not know if this is true merely from mapping, but it comes up as a definite possibility. Overall, just like all technological advancements in education, the convenience and directness of digital mapping is a huge advantage and a highly efficient way to locate historical information.

-Peter McKasty

My hopes for when people visit the digital exhibit that my group and I created are to establish a more emotional and special connection to this local history. In modern times, this passion and connection to the past has been lost, but it can somewhat be brought back by using this digital exhibit as a catalyst. I hope the students, staff, and local residents can see how far SUNY Cortland has come as well as the changes that occurred to make the school that is present today. In addition, this exhibit will be the what pulls people in which can inspire people to do more research and create different exhibits on different topics that have been lost throughout time. Overall, I enjoyed researching about the history of the college and working with the archives was great because I felt as if I was uncovering history and felt more connected to it which is my main purpose for this digital exhibit.

-JP Ospina

My future hopes for my and Emily’s exhibit is that it furthers other’s knowledge of the history of SUNY Cortland. The Cortland Normal School 1919 fire is a vital part of SUNY Cortland’s history, yet many students and faculty are not aware of this tragedy; I myself was unaware of this event until we learned about it in this class. The Memorial Library Archives is the only section of the school where I have seen any information on this disaster, and it was fascinating to discover more of our school’s history. I had no idea of the school even changing locations!

SUNY Cortland’s sesquicentennial anniversary would be the perfect opportunity for the population of the school to learn more about the school’s history. Understanding what the school has been through in the past will give people a more thorough appreciation of the 150 years it has existed, and I believe that this exhibit is the perfect opportunity for those to access this information.

My hope for this Digital Public History Exhibit is to teach SUNY Cortland students, faculty/staff, and community members the history of our institution. I had never known about the Cortland 1919 Fire. I had known about the school changing location, but I was always under the impression the location changed due to the want of expansion.

With our 150th anniversary coming up, I would love to see this exhibit spread across campus for everyone to hear about. Without the fire ever happening, SUNY Cortland would not be what we are today. It would be great for everyone to learn about the fire and to understand where our roots as a school began. It was very interesting to learn about all of the rumors and mysteries surrounding the Normal School 1919 fire; I think others would find that very interesting as well.

Because the fire occurred due to unknown causes, I think it would be cool for students across campus to learn about what may have caused it and to develop theories regarding the cause. It could be ran as a huge “CLUE” game, which would be fun.

I just think it is really important for students, faculty members and community members to have access to this little known piece of Cortland history. I look forward to seeing how far this exhibit is spread.