When the words digital mapping are used, it is easy to instantly think of GPS mapping and Google Earth and what not, but digital mapping has been used for years. People have been trying to discover more space and map it out since the beginning of human history. It is a fundamental part of the human brain and how we are wired to be curios for more. Because of this, digital mapping has been constantly developing and getting better and more advanced. Now, you can go anywhere on the Earth and walk around through a website on your phone. I can relate to digital mapping a lot because over the most recent summer I would door dash on the side to get a little extra money, and the way that it can instantly calculate how much money you should make, what your tip should be, how much you should be spending on gas based on the miles you have driven, and exactly how long it should take shows how far we have come in this specific category of human advancement.
When I chose to take this class and I was reading the course description I did not totally know what to expect. I still do not really know what to expect in the future, but this is because digital humanities can be so different in so many aspects. So far the part that I have liked the most from this class is when we got to see DHM in real effect in our own West Chester University library. Anything that can relate a class to the outside world for me really improves the experience. Something else that really caught my eye was how DHM can be used so that the public can now read Willa Cather’s letters and it leaves you wondering what else can be done if this is only the start for DHM. The part about DHM that I like the most is the analysis that goes into the history. It is an important skill to be able to analyze what was happening accurately and to be able to get into the minds of the people in that time frame with what could’ve been happening. Because of this though, DHM is and will continue to be a work in progress to fully understand and to figure out how I can use this in my life in the future.
My take away from this class so far makes me think that digital humanities can be applied to so many aspects of everyday life that many people would not expect given how we overlook it in our lives so often.
