Final Project

Digital Humanities (DH) is an area of research and teachings that embraces a variety of topics and uses a scholarly components to provide computation. Digital Humanist often collaborate with other while asking questions about the topic at hand to then share the research done with other scholars.  Computations are provided by tools such as Hypertext, Hypermedia, data visualization, information retrieval. data mining, statistics, text mining, digital mapping and digital publishing.  As the analytical stage of a project is finished there are questions that are asked in reference to the work provided and further studies to help with coming to a more concise answer. An answer that can not be challenged. This is a field of studies that is forever evolving because of its close connections with technology. There is a complex history of Digital Humanities which can date back to the 1940s. In May of 1994 the first full version of the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) guidelines was published. This was designed to create a standard encoding scheme for humanities electronic text. Today there are multiple historical researchers such as myself, who have used Digital Humanities paradigms and tools for knowled Mobilization and Public Dissemination. For example The University of Ottawa which uses the ArcGIS system/ program to map out the 19th century Black Pioneers settlement patterns in Southern Ontario.

Early Settlement of Ottawa

Early Settlement of Ottawa

 

 

 

 

 

 

During the semester I was able to use work with many applications to help understanding Richard Tarlton and his Jest. I was introduced to Text Encoding Initiative, REED data , ArcGIS, and Oxygen XML Editor. These applications was the key to being able to complete this course and for me to be able to analyse Richard Tarlton. Working with these programs was not easy they all where complex and time consuming.

 

ArcGIS offered a more creative and interactive way of understanding the topic at had and being able to analyze the Queen’s Men performances. Using the REED Data that was given unto me I was able to create a map with eight different performances that had been completed from the years February 28, 1590 to October 24, 1590. With these dates I wanted have the ability to expand upon a years worth of traveling and performing for the different players. With this I was able to see that as the performers moved from one venue to the next the encountered many different problems. I am sure that they were not able to complete each and every show with each and every member  that they had started with. I came to the hypothesis that the weather and the geographic features is what led for the dates of performances for the queen to be so far apart at times and that it totally effected the traveling of the performers.

During their travel they faced not only problems between the performers, but with nature and what it had to offer. During the 1580 and the 1590 there was very very cold winters and very hot and dry summers. In some instances the hot summers and the droughts that they encountered benefited them and help them travel because they did not have to face the waters. They did not have to worry about how they were to travel across body of water like lakes and rivers. But along with the droughts came trouble of survival. With a wide spread drought and very high temperatures the performers had to have difficulty with drinking. Noting they had to travel on roads fro miles and miles without hydration leads me to say that they had to have made numerous pit stops.

Weather conditions and the geographical landscape of England played a tremendous role in the techniques the performers used to get from on performance to the next. In traveling from Weymouth-Melcombe Regis to Oxford they encountered hills, mountains, valleys and bodies of water. Back in their time they were not sure of what time of year it was due to the change in weather around this time. Stated ” possible confusion over dates.”(1) because of the dry land and the lack of rainfall, with early spring snowfall this was often a period where the travelers would be faced with hard decisions.

Where the performers properly dressed and prepared for an early winter? Could they survive in extreme weather conditions like the ones they encountered?

With the help of ArcGIS I was able to look into and have the ability to check out different map layers in order for me to come to an conclusion. Looking at different base maps and selecting Terrains with Labels I was able to add multiple labels to the map and multiple base maps stick pins to keep track of all of my information. I was able to freehand and draw lines of how I believed the performers would have traveled to get from venue 1 to venue two and to get from venue five to venue six. In order for me to come to these conclusions I had to have different pieces of evidence that would help with my argument. This is why I also included different historical maps like the map of Wiltshire. In this map it showed how there was valleys and high mountains that the performers had to get through in order to get from Weymouth-Melcombe Regis to Oxford.

This semester allowed me to see that there are multiple ways of coming to one conclusion but that finding the best way along with the most valuable evidence is the only way to do things. In the digital humanity world, everyone finding are challenged and questioned. I learned that this will help me in life with being able to come strong or not go at all. This project was no walk in the park. It challenged me on many different level but in the end I was able to create something I am proud of. My freshly obtained knowledge has made me a wiser person.

“A new conjunction of scientist, curator, humanist, and artist is what the digital humanities must strive to achieve. It is the only way of ensuring that we do not lose our souls in a world of data.”- Andrew Prescott

 

Story MAP !!

Bibliography

“Historical Weather Events.” Booty Meteorological. Web. 11 Dec. 2015. <http://booty.org.uks/booty.weather/climate/1500_1599.htm>.
Cohen, Daniel J. “Introducing Digital Humanities Now.” Debates in the Digital Humanities (2012): 322-23. Print.