After much internal debate and indecisiveness, I have finally landed on a thesis project idea: Cultural Map through the Ages.
Now, this idea was the ultimate winner for me since after peer feedback it was clear how unique the culture map was while also calling to mind that one of the goals for senior thesis is to have a new and innovative idea. As for the why of it all, this project idea stemmed from my own personal interest in history and anthropology. With a main interest in early A.D./B.C. civilizations, I like to learn about myths, folk tales, daily lives, civilization structure, etc. This map will take information from myriad civilizations and display it in a fun, interactive format. While highlighting personal interest and values, I also hope to showcase future goals with this project by presenting my familiarity with technology and showing how my project can reflect what I as a person can accomplish.
One question that’s bound to be asked is “Why should anyone care about this project” during my presentation. Well, it might not be for everyone, I acknowledge that much, however it shows how we can take history, a subject usually reviewed in boring lengthy textbooks and online articles, into a fun, easy to present manner. A phrase I’m quite fond of is “knowledge is power” and through my thesis project I hope to impart onto others the knowledge of ages past. In the current field of historical civilizations and information on them, all I’ve found so far are web pages and the occasional video, however at one point I stumbled upon an interactive map for the United States that had very brief information, however the style in which it was presented left an impact. I plan to take the boring and dreary and making it fun and interactive. Now, as to how this “extends knowledge rather than duplicating” is a bit difficult to answer since the topic at hand involves history, events which have already occurred and cannot be added on to. So rather than extending the content itself, I’m taking the method in which it is conveyed to the general public and making a change on that.
Speaking of how I’ll bring it to the public, let’s talk about the more technical aspects. Nothing is 100% set in stone, however I was planning on having a web page dedicated to this while having an interactive globe through which users can zoom in on certain areas and click for information given about that country’s group of people at the designated time. I am still working out this stage of it as I have only just recently decided to take up this idea. Some prototypes I’m thinking of at the moment involve a sketch for how I want the layout to look and a sketch showing how the interaction will work step by step, among other ideas so I can nail down the step by step procedures and how I’ll have to implement these.
Need to at least *consider* a more abstract, data-vizzy kind of approach. What are the advantages/disadvantages relative to the more literal globe approach?
Look at the examples I mentioned in my comment on your previous post. Also search for something like “best data visualizations” to get an idea of current approaches, styles.
As we discussed, you probably want to identify four or five themes that would allow you to connect across cultures/regions. They might be very literal/historical, such as pottery or currency. They might be something more folkloric/mythological. Probably interesting to have a mix of both.
With those themes in front of you, ask yourself how you can most effectively visually convey those connections. First figure out how you’d want the system to work and look, then we’ll figure out the right tools for the job.
I ~really~ like this idea, especially if you choose to go down the folklore/mythology route. After reading through your posts, I immediately thought of the short story “Lon Po Po” that I used to read as a kid- the Chinese tale of Little Red Riding Hood. This is just an example, but it would be really neat to dive into the tales that we all know and love and discover their origin, or how the interpretations are similar/different across different cultures.
Your map/globe idea could definitely show these connections, like the locations of where a story is told, but what if you presented all this in a data visualization? Still a map, but not in the geographic sense. I agree with Professor Ault that it’s worth it to consider a data vis approach. I think this opens up more possibilities of how to display your information, other than just a map, which is still great. Your interactive map/globe can still be a part of your project, but what if you present a another set of data visualizations along with it it? Perhaps you have separate visualizations to show connections between themes, characters, etc.
It’s a good idea to narrow it down to a few stories and what connections you want to display . Or historical artifacts, or a mixture of both. I’m a fan of the folklore, and I think your audience will be able to relate and find more interest in that. But that’s just me, because I’m already excited about the stories (:
Once you have that, start thinking about how you will visually present this. Don’t be afraid to think bigger than just a web page on a screen. I imagine your project being something on display at a museum. Maybe it’s on a larger scale- displayed on a wall, across multiple screens, a projection, something more physical? A google search on data visualization/physical installation can give you inspiration.