My blogging has pretty much vanished since I got consumed in January by a new "half-time" (hah!) administrative position on UNC's main campus. I surface, though, to share with you what in southern New England would be called a "wicked cool" new digital humanities project here at UNC: Commemorative Landscapes. I could describe it for you, but it describes itself pretty well: It
enables users to visualize and analyze the historical memory of the state of North Carolina by viewing famous and little known sites of memory on modern and historic maps. Sites are linked to a wide variety of resources - postcards, photographs, printed publications, newspapers clippings, and manuscript materials - that reveal when, how, and where North Carolinians have commemorated their past. The collection also encourages users to reflect on what parts of their history North Carolinians have elected not to commemorate as well as how the commemorative landscape of the state is likely to change in the future.
If you want to get the flavor of how cool it is, go here and watch the video. Forgive the Ken-Burns-style fiddling in the background. What you see, powerfully, is the change over time in how the 1781 Battle of Guilford Courthouse has been commemorated at the battle site.
Nearly as awesome is this close examination of one of the monuments at the site.
I think we are only beginning to see the ways in which digital media can enhance not just the dissemination but also the practice of scholarship in the humanities.
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