For this blogging assignment, I focused on the Caribbean Cholera out break map visualization, found here. I found the site to be very intuitive and interesting. Their design decision to link the timeline to the map visual, and have the map update itself as the timeline was scrolled through, was a brilliant choice. Of course, there are a few assumptions that the digital humanists made while designing this map. I think most obvious of these assumptions is that of their audience. It seems from the lack of contextualizing of the data, that the design team assumed that the audience would have sufficient knowledge about Cholera to draw conclusions from the data. Personally, I do not know very much about Cholera, or anything about the 19th century Cholera epidemic in the Caribbean. I would have been lovely if below the map, the design team invested some resources to provide at least a synopsis of what the map is showing in context of the events that they portray.
The data also attempts to tie the outbreak of Cholera across the Caribbean to a singular variable: weather. This design decision obviously reveals the relationship between Cholera outbreaks and tropical storms, but hides any correlations between Cholera and other variables- perhaps immigration/emigration patterns of the time, or socio-economic climates of the countries that are experiences significant outbreaks. Also, I am curious as to why the design team decided to include “News Articles” as one of their pinpointed data sets. While all the articles pertain to cholera, why would they make the distinction between “Cholera Outbreaks” and news articles about cholera outbreaks? I believe this adds an unnecessary element of redundancy and confusion to the data visualization.
If I had to ascertain the point of the view of this data, I would guess it is probably that of a historian who is not from the Caribbean. I say this because there seems to be a lack of empathy or emotional consideration in the data. While data visualizations are not known for their subjective, emotional components, the lack of contextualization of the evidence leads me to believe that those who created this visual were not interested in understand the social and emotional impact of the Cholera outbreak on the people of the Caribbean. Or even simpler: the repercussions of Cholera on the islands effected by the disease. This leads me to believe that the creators were more inclined to explore the objective truth surrounding the events, and that would most likely be a historian.
If I had to imagine a new map of this data, I would first change the points used on the Caribbean map. Using the same style of marker for all 4 data sets makes it seems as though the events are related in some way- but Cholera Outbreaks and Hurricanes are not similar events at all. Also, I would like the map to shade the area affected by Cholera in addition to pinpointing the exact location. This is because it reinforces the influence of Cholera on the area it resides, and the shading would build a stronger relationship between the disease and the island of residence. Tracking immigration patterns as well as storm patterns would be a cool feature, because if these are truly factors that influence the spread of Cholera, then Cholera outbreaks should follow these lines. It would also make the map feel less stagnant, as singular points on a map are better suited for locations rather than storms. On a more subjective note, my alternate map would exclude the world outside of the area we are interested in. It is unsettling to include the entire world when we are only concerned about a small section. Even a box around the area of interest would suffice.