Summary:

The Geospatial Visualization Project asks students to analyze geospatial data, which is a collection of locations and their associated multimedia content assembled for research purposes. To do this, students will produce three sequential deliverables:

A geospatial visualization produced through ArcGIS StoryMaps
An analysis paper that documents the data's sources and explicates what the visualization reveals about it
A brief in-class presentation that conveys the other two deliverables

Each student will chose a subject about which to collect data through archival and/or primary research. (Students can address a topic from their previous projects but are not required to do so.) Geospatial data is a collection of thematically linked sites within a geographical location and their associated multimedia content (ex.: narrative descriptions, images, videos, etc.). Existing StoryMaps address topics including hogs farms in North Carolina and the Wilmington Massacre and Coup d'état of 1898.

We will explore different options in class, but ultimately students will be individually responsible for locating and assembling their data (with guided feedback). After the data are assembled, students will analyze them by plotting them geographically and ordering them into a narrative sequence.

Each student's analysis paper will clarify what the visualization reveals about the corresponding subject. The paper should be approximately 1,800 words and in MLA format (with documented sources). Its goal is to do the following things in sequential order:

Introduce the subject by providing relevant background information about it (likely by referencing external sources)
Describe the geospatial data and how it was collected
Describe the choices behind the visualization used to analyze it
Discuss what the visualization reveals about the geospatial data
Discuss what this insight into the geospatial data suggests about its broader topic

Each student also will deliver these findings in a brief presentation (of perhaps 5–10 minutes). Students should walk the class through their StoryMaps during their presentations and need not prepare a separate slide deck.

Deliverables:

StoryMap (10 points)
Analysis Paper (10 points)
Presentation (5 points)

Resources:

- StoryMaps tutorials