{"id":7,"date":"2020-11-11T18:14:17","date_gmt":"2020-11-11T18:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/classprojects.digitalwcu.org\/monkey\/?page_id=7"},"modified":"2020-12-12T03:04:25","modified_gmt":"2020-12-12T03:04:25","slug":"overview-significance","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/classprojects.digitalwcu.org\/monkey\/overview-significance\/","title":{"rendered":"Overview & Significance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

DIGITAL HARLEM<\/a>– Everyday Life, 1915-1930. Created by White, Garton, White, & Robertson<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

University of Sidney<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Digital Harlem homepage<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

“A way for students to develop a complex picture of the neighborhood by exploring a diverse set of historical sources revealing everyday life, and to situate places and events in Harlem\u2019s material environment… {to create} a spatial exploration of the lived neighborhood” <\/em><\/p>Digital Harlem blog<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Digital Harlem<\/a> is a collaborative research project that provides a closer look at everyday life in Harlem from 1915 to 1930. This project <\/a>was curated by four historians in the Department of History at the University of Sydney, Australia: Shane White<\/a>, Stephen Garton<\/a>, Graham White<\/a>, <\/strong>and Stephen Robertson<\/a>, <\/strong>with several contributors and assistants noted throughout the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This project systematically explores a large sampling of legal records and newspapers to track and map crimes, parties, and social events throughout Harlem in the early 1900s. In doing so, a site was created that focuses on the everyday life of the average citizen, rather than just those living in the extreme circumstances of poverty or the upper class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It should be noted that this digital project makes a point not to offer any interpretation of that material other than the narratives associated with maps related to the lives of selected individuals and to particular topics in our research. The creators’ opinions and perceptions can be found in other publications<\/a> and the featured project blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Digital Harlem mapping project utilizes the Heurist knowledge management system<\/a> developed by Ian Johnson and Artem Osmakov, also from the University of Sydney. This program is promoted as “a unique solution to the data management needs of Humanities researchers,” and the list of projects found on the Heurist Network site proves this claim; it has been used in historical mapping projects similar to Digital Harlem, such as Beyond 1914 \/ Book of Remembrance<\/a> and November 1918<\/a>. The decision to use this technology in the Harlem project strengthens the effect of the provided resources immensely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Purpose<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

“The space of Harlem was not only \u201csignified;\u201d it was also \u201clived.\u201d It had material and social dimensions: streets and buildings, and residents, visitors, and workers.”<\/em><\/p>Digital Harlem Blog<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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The Digital Harlem team outlines the purpose of this collaborative project in clear terms on the project blog<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n