For this week’s blogging assignment I chose to look at the Digital Harlem map. The map examines everyday life in Harlem form 1915 to 1930. The project uses maps to indicate where specific incidences occurred such as arrests, abortion, and baseball games. The first problem I had with the map was why the project only explores Harlem from 1915 to 1930. This specific time period seems somewhat arbitrary without a further exploration as to why this period was important. The project then goes on to state that the map focuses on “ordinary African New Yorkers,” however it provides no standard for what this is. The only definition of what an ordinary African New Yorker is what it is not. The project claims its map is different because it dose not focus on black artists or the black middle class however my first thought (with no real research backing) is that the black middle class could be considered the ordinary African New Yorker. The word African is also a very vague term. I’m assuming the author uses this term discuss the lives of black African-Americans however the term could also be applied towards say white Africans who have relocated to New York.
When using the map itself I was somewhat confused. It has almost too many search parameters. For example, if you wanted to look at the number of tennis matches between July 1915 to August 1922 fields such as “charge/conviction” would be irrelevant. I also believe there is almost no instance where knowing he number of tennis matches that occurred in a specific time period would be of importance especially when very little information about the event is provided. Some of the events you can search for are also very vague. One type of event is categorized as a “Baby Farm.” I have no idea what that is and I feel like others might not as well. “Receiving Stolen Goo” is another search term that I cannot comprehend its meaning. I also wish the site elaborated more on why the specific location of the event is important. Though it is obvious how it can help to have the location for an academic project it would be nice if the site gave an explication so that younger viewers could better use the project.
Overall, this project has very little information other than specific locations of when events occurred. I feel that it would better suit the need of academics by adding more information and explaining the importance of the events it highlights.