The Stanford University Spatial History Project – a new view of history

This is a guest post from Jennifer Carey (@TeacherJenCarey) of EdTechTeacher – an advertiser on this site.



Stanford University’s Spatial History Project is a community that combines humanities research with “spatial, textual and visual analysis.” On their about page, they explain that as scholars, they realize the significance and importance of displaying information within a spatial context. Too often, history is presented chronologically but a visual can provide learners with valuable context to help them make connections to a broader context.

The Spatial History Project is an amazing collection of interactive maps that explore ancient and modern societies, cultural practices, expansion, environmental impact, and more. Students could delve into topics in the Holocaust Geographies Collaborative, view changing population densities in America from 1790-2000, or explore the history of Chinese American Railroad Workers as shown below.

The site is an excellent repository of robust, interactive tools for students to explore various themes in the humanities. This is an active project, so be sure to check in often.


For more ideas about incorporating technology into History and Social Studies curricula, visit the Center for Teaching History with Technology as well as Best of History Web Sites.

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