The Department of Geography at the University of Portsmouth, and the Great Britain Historical GIS, are collaborating with the Institute of Historical Research to offer a one day introduction to maps and geographical information, on May 22nd 2008.
This is NOT a "GIS training course", and much of the focus will be on the different ways of working digitally with historic maps and with other "mappable" historical sources. There will also be a strong emphasis on data standards that need to be addressed in map digitisation projects. Two of the course tutors are cartographic historians, and we hope that the course will attract archivists as well as academic historians.
More details and booking form at:
http://www.history.ac.uk/training/courses/gis.htm
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WORKING WITH MAPS AND GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Course Tutors:
Drs. Peter Collier, Alastair Pearson and Humphrey Southall (Department of Geography, University of Portsmouth, and the Great Britain Historical GIS)
This one-day course is intended for academic researchers, archivists/librarians and others interested in historical mapping or in historical information which needs to be mapped; you may well have already identified particular sources you would like to develop a large or small project around, and are wondering where to start. The course is an introduction to concepts and approaches rather than hands-on training in using particular software tools, and may change your mind about what you need to learn.
SOURCES AND POTENTIALS: Historic maps, and the questions you need to ask about them before "computerising" them; other kinds of historical information with a geographical dimension, from census reports to travel writing; relevant reference works and on-line resources.
CONCEPTS AND STANDARDS: Basic terminology: raster and vector; points, lines and polygons; GIS data models; map projections and map accuracy. Open standards for geo-spatial data, i.e. the Open Geospatial Consortium suite, and other related standards: spatial extensions to Dublin Core; gazetteer standards (Thesaurus of Geographical Names, ADL, OGC).
SOFTWARE AND SOLUTIONS: The first part of this session is a systematic review of GIS software, including geospatial databases, and other relevant tools such as the computer-assisted drawing programs used by cartographers. The second part of the session will discuss decisions that need to be taken in planning a project, including (a) whether you want to build a GIS at all, and (b) should you train up existing staff (or yourself), hire specialists, or contract work out.
<> Peter Collier has a degree in Geography and Surveying, is a contributor to the University of Chicago Press History of Cartography and is currently Vice-Chair of the Commission on the History of Cartography of the International Cartographic Association, as well as researching the application of remote sensing and GIS technologies to environmental monitoring.
<> Alastair Pearson is qualified in cartography and originally joined the University of Portsmouth as Map Librarian. He is also contributing to the Chicago History of Cartography and is presenting present this year's "Holzheimer Maps and America Lecture" at the University of Wisconsin, as well as researching the application of GIS to the study of past agricultural landscapes.
<> Humphrey Southall has published extensively on the history of the north-south divide in Britain and contributed the chapter on "Labour Markets" to the Cambridge Urban History of Britain. He has led the Great Britain Historical GIS Project since 1994, is the principal architect of the current GBH GIS, and of the web site "A Vision of Britain through Time" based on it.
The course is open to postgraduates, academics and all who are interested in using geographical information for historical research purposes. The fee is £50 for students, £75 for others paying their own fee and £100 for those whose fees will be paid by their institution.
Boo http://www.history.ac.uk/training/courses/gis.htm
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