Time in Print

Analysis on two examples from the text:

01.Annals of St.Gall

This manuscript chronology with dates in the left column and events on the right depicts events in the Frankish kingdoms in a comparative concise chronological oder. Although this chronology gives no distinction between occurrences and human acts, and no differences among periods, the ambiguity of narratives still stores and displays the historical information in an objective way. Rather than just a tool to record and visualize the history, this chronology itself could be a component of history that figures a world in which “forces of disorder” is in an important place.

02.Charles Renouvier’s 1876 Uchronie

This diagram overlays and depicts the actual historical events and alternative paths that might have been if other historical choices had been taken. Although there should lie a relatively strong and tensive comparison between two types of events, between the real track and imaginative one, the difference between them is just displayed by uppercase and lowercase letters. Graphically the distinctions could be more emphasized by taking use of different colors, line types, or length weights.

The structure of this diagram also shares the same logic in the statement “If…Else…” in programing language. This logic metaphors a huge network beneath the real world and inspires audience in an imaginative way.

The Potential of Spatial Humanities

Advantages of GIS

01.Compared to a static paper map, GIS is able to interactively bring up other levels of information and show their respective values to compare against the others.

02.Through managing and visualizing qualitative spacial data, GIS effectively revokes several techniques used before (i.e. mapping, logical overlay etc ).

02.GIS is able to well solve corporate problems such as route logistics or market analysis. Chain company like IKEA and Walmart are taking advantage of GIS to analyze where to locate and how to optimize supply chain management.

Shortcomings of GIS

01.GIS technologies are of high costing. The issues they aim to address are complex and difficult to deal with.

02.Ambiguity and uncertainty of evidence and data are not favorable in GIS, which hinders the humanist to fully take advantage of the GIS technologies to some extent.

03.GIS is limited to understand social complexity and depict a more evocative world which is built on understanding of history and culture.

04.GIS is not able to produce knowledge.