Before this class, I had never heard of geographic information systems. When I first heard the term, I really just pictured a map and not much else- even though I knew that maps were just the starting point. Doing some research online I found this website very helpful in explaining what GIS were capable of doing, and illustrating how maps can detail much more than just distances and locations (like data amounts, inside vs. outside appearances, etc). What also struck me about that website was that is showed GIS work as being much more modern and technological than I had assumed it would be. The website and the work it displays is sleek and cutting-edge. There is even a related twitter account!
I think that scholars would find GIS useful in being able to have a visual-spatial representation of historical literature and data. While written history will likely always be the primary source for historians and scholars, GIS opens up numerous possibilities for how that history can be displayed and examined beyond the page.
This list from the Universty of Chicago details several notable GIS projects in the humanities. I was particularly fascinated with Google Lit Trips, which allows user to follow a character's journey and/or see places of significance from literature on Google Earth. I wish it existed when I was in elementary school.
At the moment I am thinking about making my father's family history during and post-WWII the focus of my final project. Seeing as my family's history started in Poland than moved around Europe and finished in Canada, I think a system similar to Google Lit Trips that detailed my family's journey would be a great element of the project.
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