Public History Ph.D. students, Shima Hosseininasab and Jason Boan present their research at the 2023 National Council for Public History conference

Public History Ph.D. students, Shima Hosseininasab and Jason Boan, held a workshop at the Digital Public History Lab (DPHL) on Monuments and Spatial Patterns on April 12. The workshop was part of the 2023 National Council for Public History (NCPH) annual conference.

Monuments and Spatial Patterns is an online, interactive digital public history project which combines the Southern Poverty Law Center’s data on the location of confederate symbols with demographic data to search for hidden context and patterns. The resulting StoryMap provides analysis and lets users engage with and manipulate the data layers themselves, allowing individuals to find relevance and personal connections to our collective history. The workshop on Monuments and Spatial Patterns addressed the project goals, technical processes, and the role of digital public historians in public discourse regarding contested monuments. The facilitators also provided examples of monument removals to demonstrate how demographic data correlates with the location of confederate monuments.

Monuments and Spatial Patterns was a highly collaborative session. The turnout surprised workshop facilitators, who said, “It was incredible to see the level of participation.” Participants left the workshop having had the opportunity to experiment with ArcGIS online and with knowledge of the benefits and challenges of using ArcGIS StoryMaps to shape digital public history projects.

Learn more about this project.