Lancaster University
Friday 30th November, 2012
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are becoming increasingly used by historians, archaeologists, literary scholars, classicists and others with an interest in humanities geographies. Take-up has been hampered by a lack of understanding of what GIS is and what it has to offer to these disciplines. This free workshop, sponsored by the European Research Council’s Spatial Humanities: Texts, GIS, Placesproject and hosted by Lancaster University, will provide a basic introduction to GIS both as an approach to academic study and as a technology. Its key aims are: To establish why the use of GIS is important to the humanities; to stress the key abilities offered by GIS, particularly the capacity to integrate, analyse and visualise a wide range of data from many different types of sources; to show the pitfalls associated with GIS and thus encourage a more informed and subtle understanding of the technology; and, to provide a basic overview of GIS software and data.Timetable:
9:30 Registration
10:00 Welcome and Introductions
10:15 Session 1: Fundamentals of GIS from a humanities perspective.
11:45 Session 2: Case studies of the use of GIS in the humanities.
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Session 3: Getting to grips with GIS software and data.
15:30 Roundtable discussion – going further with GIS.
16:30 Close
Who should come?
The workshop is aimed at a broad audience including post-graduate or masters students,members of academic staff, curriculum and research managers, and holders of major grants and those intending to apply for major grants. Professionals in other relevant sectors interested in finding out about GIS applications are also welcome. This workshop is only intended as an introduction to GIS, so will suit novices or those who want to brush up previous experience. It does not include any hands-on use of software – this will be covered in later events to be held 11-12th April and 15-18th July 2013.
How much will it cost?
The workshop is free of charge. Lunch and refreshments are included. We do not provide accommodation but can recommend convenient hotels and B&Bs if required.
How do I apply?
Places are limited and priority will be given to those who apply early. As part of registering please include a brief description of your research interests and what you think you will gain from the workshop. This should not exceed 200 words.
For more details of this and subsequent events see:http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/spatialhum/training.html. To register please email a booking form (attached or available from the website) to: I.Gregory@lancaster.ac.uk who may also be contacted with informal enquiries.