Deep Maps and Spatial Narratives (The Spatial Humanities) - Softcover

"Deep Maps and Spatial Narratives sets out to describe 'deep mapping,' an enhanced environment of data from widely distributed sources used to create a contextual view of a place, a network of social aspects, and environment, as the next step forward in the use of geo-referenced information. It spells out the state-of-the art in the use of new technology in mapping and geo-registration and its ramifications for history, geography, social sciences, cultural studies, environment research, and the humanities. The articles are filled with suggestions and viewpoints that are stimulating [and] the questions raised numerous and complex." -Lewis Lancaster, University of California Berkeley

Deep maps are finely detailed, multimedia depictions of a place and the people, buildings, objects, flora, and fauna that exist within it and which are inseparable from the activities of everyday life. These depictions may encompass the beliefs, desires, hopes, and fears of residents and help show what ties one place to another. A deep map is a way to engage evidence within its spatio-temporal context and to provide a platform for a spatially-embedded argument. The essays in this book investigate deep mapping and the spatial narratives that stem from it. The authors come from a variety of disciplines: history, religious studies, geography and geographic information science, and computer science. Each applies the concepts of space, time, and place to problems central to an understanding of society and culture, employing deep maps to reveal the confluence of actions and evidence and to trace paths of intellectual exploration by making use of a new creative space that is visual, structurally open, multi-media, and multi-layered.