https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6461-2741
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Abstract
Geo-spatial archives, especially in the context of DH, are seldom defined and studied. Though there are works on geo-spatial archives in DH (Foley, 2015), a proper definition and characteristics of the same are not covered in the existing works. This general lack of attention to geo-spatial archives also means that the multitudes of opportunities that this area can offer are left unexplored. Spatial hypertext is an important possibility in geo-spatial archives where digital maps serve as hypertexts within the larger text (the latter which can either be a base map or a text). Spatial hypertextual tools such as Tinderbox and Storyspace have long been in use for hypertextual writing. Along similar lines, in this paper we propose using digital maps as spatial hypertext in DH geo-spatial archive which in turn will facilitate a deeper spatial analysis of the geolocation visualized. The first part of this paper therefore attempts to define and establish spatial geo-spatial archives in DH, along with its characteristics by citing and examining the existing projects on the same. The second part of the paper moves one step ahead to propose digital maps as spatial hypertexts within a geo-spatial DH archive which can further the deep mapping of the geolocation under study. This section will also contain a prototype of an upcoming geo-spatial archival DH project on massacres that is being developed as part of doctoral dissertation. The final section will substantiate the methods, tools, and the pedagogical opportunities of using spatial hypertext within DH geo-spatial projects. The main aim of the study is therefore to capture the attention of the spatial digital humanists to the developing field of geo-spatial archives and to initiate discussions on the possibilities of the same through the proposal of digital maps as spatial hypertexts.
DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Jyothi Justin
Jyothi Justin is a PhD Scholar with the Digital Humanities and Publishing Research Group at IIT Indore, India. She hails from an English and Comparative Literature background. She completed her Master’s on the same from Pondicherry University. Born and raised in a small coastal village of Kollam (Kerala, India), she is interested in exploring the intersections between literary works and digital media. She is also in interested in using digital mapping tools for literary research. She is especially interested in using GIS for her research on female survivors of Dalit massacres in which she aims to utilize geospatial tools to give visibility to indigenous communities (especially Dalit women of India). Besides her interest in literature and films, Jyothi is also interested in gender studies and gender movements, especially feminism and queer studies. As a result, she is also interested in films and other visual narratives with similar themes. Jyothi has published on the topics Digital Cartography and Feminist Geocriticism, ecocriticism etc and is an executive member of the Digital Humanities Alliance in Research and Teaching Innovation (DHARTI).
Nirmala Menon
Dr Nirmala Menon is a Professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS), Discipline of English, IIT Indore. She leads the Digital Humanities and Publishing Research Group at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Indore, India. Menon is the author of Migrant Identities of Creole Cosmopolitans: Transcultural Narratives of Contemporary Postcoloniality (Peter Lang Publishing, Germany, 2014) and Remapping the Postcolonial Canon: Remap, Reimagine, Retranslate (Palgrave Macmillan, UK 2017). She is the Coeditor of the first multilingual Volume of E-literature to be published from India. Apart from the books, she has published more than 50 research papers in numerous international journals (Oxford University Press, Taylor and Francis, Sage among others) and speaks, writes and publishes about postcolonial studies, digital Humanities and scholarly publishing. She mentors research scholars and runs DH projects from the research lab at IIT Indore. Dr Menon is one the founder members and current President of Digital Humanities Alliance in Research and Teaching Innovation (DHARTI).