Living in a relatively rural community, I knew an organized app would not be an option. I decided to utilize Historypin to evaluate my community, Carbondale, Illinois. Starting out, I was already embraced by the number of photographs that had been entered. Beyond just photographs, there are also forms of media, specifically audio, that pertain. One of the most remarkable features I enjoyed was the virtual tour of different areas. I was very interested in the collection created by the university I attend, which acts as a virtual tour of the campus through photographs. I could see some of the oldest buildings still standing on campus and various buildings that have since disappeared. One in particular, Old Main, was a building at the center of campus that has long lived in infamy on campus as it was set on fire by an arsonist during anti-Vietnam protests in the 1970s. Another beneficial feature was the timeline feature that lets you choose a specific year and see what that year entails. Beyond this, using Google Street View, which enables you to drop yourself into the current landscape, is beneficial. Theme collections that anyone can create also add various levels of contributions from throughout the community. Finally, many photographs contain metadata that allows historians and others to understand the picture far better.<\/p>\n
Historypin utilizes many historical theories, but the most prominent is the bottom-up approach. Rather than having those on the upper levels of society contributing, Historypin allows everyday people and anyone to contribute to the project to help share their story. It also accounts for place-based storytelling that enables the user to see precisely the history as it was and how it looks now. Using a place to tell the story allows for deeper connections and experiences. Finally, the concept of public history that this project highlights allows personal memory and community collaboration to tell a story to everyone, and history that affects everyone.<\/p>\n
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Living in a relatively rural community, I knew an organized app would not be an option. I decided to utilize Historypin to evaluate my community, Carbondale, Illinois. Starting out, I was already embraced by the number of photographs that had been entered. Beyond just photographs, there are also forms of media, specifically audio, that pertain. … Continue reading Exploring Your Landscape with Digital Public History<\/span>