Hey Bloggers,
Hope everyone’s weekend was good! For our blog post this week we had to choose a map and explore it and evaluate it. I have chosen to explore the Digital Harlem Map. The Digital Harlem website shares information about everyday life in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood throughout the years 1915-1930. When I enter the map it begins with a pop up that provides me with information about the map. The main information is in bold and a slightly bigger font. It also provides you with instructions on where to locate information such as people, location, and events as well as how to use the map.
Turnbull talks about how maps are perspectival and subjective and you see that a lot in the Digital Harlem Map. You have to explore around the map a lot and kind of create your own story. If you don’t already have insight about it then it is up to you to do some outside research about it. I did not know exactly where to start and since I did not have any self knowledge about it I did not know which spots were more significant. I also did not know much about locations throughout the city or streets or anything really of that sort. On the other hand, the map is broken down into five different sections; churches, sports, number arrests, January 1925, and nightlife. There is also a section where you can search things to get more in depth about them.I think if we were to pick perspectival or subjective, this map would be more subjective because it is presented by the people who created the website and the map is broken down into pieces. The five sections only show one side of the everyday life and it may not be the best way to represent the data. Also the map uses public data therefore some data could have been lost along the way.
The Digital Harlem Map also is not able to reach any sensory level. We do not know anything about sights or sound or about the people that live there. Also the map is supposedly about ordinary people yet does not draw firsthand information from them. Domestic narratives about activities of women and children are also obscured.
This website is pretty cool and some maps can be pretty interesting including this one. Although it was a bit overwhelming at first, I think it is a solid map.
I love what you said about how you have to explore around the map and create your own story! It is up to the user where to start in order to make sense of all this information. Pretty much it is what captures your interest first: the nightlife, the church, the people, etc. and everyone can have a different experience from this map based on this! Great work!
I liked the detail of the five features included in the map. I also appreciated how you specifically said the map was more subjective than perspectival, it was helpful for me to think about the distinction between the two in this specific context.