Over the course of the semester I think that my methods in historical thinking have changed not necessarily in methods but in application. Since I have taken numerous history and research based classes the concept of finding information on digital applications was not a new phenomenon to me. However, the applications we used, such as Flourish, StorymapJS, etc. were new concepts to me in the instance of historical thinking. I have previously used all of the applications that we covered in class; however, it was from the perspective of  an anthropologist and digital humanities person. Using it in the context of historical research allowed me to think more openly about the information being presented along with the many different ways these applications can be used to convey information to a variety of audiences. 

My own personal experience with the time spent in class on these applications has benefited me with applying them to other classes, research, and projects. Over the course of the semester I feel that I have become more comfortable and independent in creating projects using these digital applications. From the practice that I have gotten using the applications in class I have been able to better conceptualize how to move forward in other projects and applications. For instance, a project I am creating currently requires an interactive map, rather than having multiple elements jumbled together I decided to implement some of the concepts from the time spent on our mapping section to combine them together on StorymapJS software to make it more visually appealing. My other digital classes that I am taking have benefitted from the time I have spent in this class and the things that I have learned. By having multiple classes at once with very similar content I have been able to better develop content for all of them using these applications.

My revised activity conveys these same messages because it shows a development in my understanding of the perspectives and expectations of this class. I updated my ideas and concepts to better fit what we have been learning in class. Additionally, since I chose to revise our second assignment, it demonstrates my understanding more thoroughly of historical thinking and the types of research questions one might have in the concepts of this class. My first rendition of this post was rather vague and unclear while as we progressed through the semester the concepts of the class became much more clear and allowed me to write a significantly better and more developed research question that included ideas and sources to further research if I so desired. 

For the future I would like to look more closely at using maps as an interactive tool for learning and research. I have wanted to learn ArcGIS for some time, and while we used similar applications, I think this program would be especially useful for my own research interests. From some of my personal interests I think that using these tools to develop educational tools for non-academic individuals would be incredibly interesting. I would also like to implement these tools and applications into some of the research that I am interested in in the field of natural sciences. This includes subjects such as geology, soil sciences, agriculture, botany, and sustainability. These applications are incredibly important in these fields in terms of using them as teaching tools. I have often seen ineffective graphics and presentations that are intended to inform. Using these applications and methods would provide a more engaging display and better analysis of the information while giving opportunities to produce more research questions.

In terms of work I would like to do in the future, I think that applying these methods to my own major would be incredibly helpful when looking towards the digital era. Already, I have applied some of the things I have learned to other classes and the research and projects I have done. I think that in future projects I will be able to implement these techniques even better due to my full understanding of the concepts. Adding the concepts of history on top of an anthropological perspective is incredibly helpful when it comes to finding information about past research and documentation of areas. Additionally, the ability to better analyze work of the past is very beneficial to conducting current research. Using these applications for preliminary research may allow for more analysis of the area of interest and may lead to research questions or evidence that may have never been noticed or thought of before.

New approaches I would like to learn going forward include research into older historical events. I feel with such a heavy emphasis on slavery this semester we did not get to fully grasp the process for methods in historical thinking since this era is heavily documented and researched. I would like to learn more methods in researching time periods that are not as well documented, or even those that may not have written languages. I think this would give a much more holistic approach to my own research and give me more tools to conceptualize and research properly. 

Since my own personal interest lies more in the realm of ancient time, I think that methods of historical thinking from a perspective that is not focused on written accounts would be incredibly helpful to my own understanding. Moving forward I would like to learn more about conceptualizing these topics into the programs that we used and developed in order to further my own interests and personal research. Obviously, this would fall somewhat into the realm of archaeology; however, I think that it truly conveys what may go into historical thinking and research while also engaging with a larger audience that may hold more importance. 

Overall, I would say that my experience in this class was average. I learned basic concepts to apply digital perspectives to the realm of history and methods in historical thinking. Additionally, I further developed my own interests in regards to using media as a tool for teaching and learning, which is one of my largest interests. I think that these skills will become incredibly useful to have going forward in my academic and professional careers.    

Portfolio Activity #2: Research Process Journaling

How has colonialism affected and changed traditional ecological knowledge? From our readings so far and my own personal interests, I would be very interested in looking at historical documents and their depictions and information of traditional medicinal knowledge in relation to traditional ecological knowledge. Specifically, I would like to look at Michigan traditional ecological knowledge, natural medicinal knowledge, and folklore. For primary sources, I would look at original medical texts, written accounts, and recorded interviews if possible. I think my findings could potentially reframe my research question due to the cultural implications of this knowledge to the people that it pertains to. Materials that I would like to access that are not digitized would be personal collections, diaries, verbal history, and other things that must be sought out rather than found in museums or archives.

Updated:

How was midwifery practiced and valued in times of slavery both for free persons and enslaved persons? Through my research I found several primary sources that I have cited in other blog posts, these included ledgers and manuscripts detailing the estimated value of an enslaved midwife, illustrations of midwives and enslaved persons, and accounts of midwives throughout the time of slavery. Reasonably, I can answer questions about the importance that midwives held in the community through the accounts discussing them and from the values given to them by their owners. When comparing their roles in enslaved communities to others it is apparent that there is more importance held on them. Materials I would like to access that are not digitized/difficult to access in a digital format would be handwritten accounts and diaries. I found from my research that there is no true written account that only details midwifery so it is difficult to find what you are looking for in primary sources since there are so many other topics being discussed. If I were to go forward with this research I would need to look further into previous research to find adequate primary sources and documentation for my research question. 

For this map I was trying to depict the general information that was being presented within the data set. I think that this data was best presented in its current state because it gives a better grasp of where densities lie when viewing the project. Overall this allows us to look at slavery from a different perspective that is not always thought of and allows us to analyze its functions from a geographical perspective rather than a contextual perspective.

The map works well overall in depicting where certain geographic regions are and their densities; however, it was not intended to have the map lack the actual map. I’m assuming that this is a technical issue in regards to flourish that I have not yet worked out, I have spent some time finicking with it to no avail. I do not think that it wholly detracts from the map however, and rather adds a bit of perspective that may remove some of the bias geography can have in terms of slavery.