Project Description
This project examines how people in imperial China buried their ancestors through analyzing about 5,000 maps of gravesites and cemeteries produced between 1500 and 1900. Methodologically, it combines close reading of specific maps and large-scale digital analysis of all the maps. During the summer, the instructor and the student will focus on using digital tools (such as machine learning) to detect patterns of ancestral burial from the maps, especially patterns that are unapparent to the human eye but might be transparent to the computer. While the specifics of the project are narrowly related to Chinese history, it focuses on digital analysis of images and aims at bridging the gap between computer technology and Humanities research.
Tasks and Responsibilites
Student Tasks:
1) amassing the hundreds of gravesite maps and building a database;
2) conducting large-scale analysis of the maps using various digital tools;
3) finding ways to visualize the data.
Desired Qualifications
None Listed.