Final Project Ideas

After meeting with Jennifer Marvin at the Data Resource Centre I have a few new ideas for my project. Originally, I was thinking of simply creating an interactive map using Google Earth and creating a more research intensive project which draws upon local history more extensively. However, after my meeting I have a few new ideas. Using the University of Guelph archives and the Guelph Civic Museum I could compile a collection of historical photos which I would like to use. Using fire insurance plans available at the library, I could compile some information in terms of workplaces, where they were located, and how this has changed over time. Upon request, I could have maps digitized which I could also include on my website. I could either have a webiste with a more diverse array of media or I could try to integrate these resources into a tour using the manual on Web-Based Mapping Tools that we were given. Most importantly, I now have a traditionally working class target area of Guelph which I would like to examine which is St. Patrick’s Ward or, more informally, “the Ward.” Though I do not yet have much knowledge of the Ward’s history, I should be able to find information from a variety of sources which I have been discovering and am discovering as I type this blog post such as the Ward Residents’ Association and their blog. What’s more: turns out I actually live in the Ward! At this stage, I feel like I have my work cut out for me. I have a more clear idea of what I would like to accomplish, but now my main concern is time. Most of my work thus far has consisted of brainstorming and establishing a clear concept of what I want to to, now I must work through the logistics of making it happen.

Project Brainstorming: Class and Physical Space

One idea which really interests me and which I would very much like to pursue as a final project is the idea of social class and physical space. In particular, I am interested in how and why social class and physical space overlap. Last semester, I spent a weekend in Montreal and during my time there I had a chance to walk to the top of Mount Royal to get a better look at the city. I had just recently read the book The Empire Within: Postcolonial Thought and Political Activism in Sixties Montreal for Professor Carstairs‘ HIST*4220 class which outlines the history of particular neighborhoods of Montreal. What I was struck by the most, was that the physical manifestation of social class outlined in The Empire Within is still visible. The picture below looks out over the neighborhoods of the traditionally working class south west. The south west of Montreal, as the hyperlink explains, is going through a period of regeneration, however its industrial working class heritage is still visible in comparison to the skyscrapers of the downtown core and the 19th century buildings of the McGill campus.

Looking Out Over the Southwest of Montreal

Downtown Montreal and Some Buildings from the McGill Campus

The exercise in GIS that our class did on January 22nd got me thinking about geography, social class, and change. The idea of layers of information seemed to fit quite well into the changing socio-economic and geographic makeup of not only Montreal, but other cities as well. Demographic information could not only legitimize, but enhance visualizations of changes to the composition of cities. Creating an interactive map which can illustrate interactions between socio-economic factors and geography is my prospective idea for my final project. Such a map could include photos, quantitative information, and layers emphasizing a changing historical context. I would like to investigate the possibility of making such a map for Guelph. I would also like to look into the resources available for such a project and discuss the feasibility of creating such a map. Additionally, I would like to see if there are chronological aerial photos of Guelph available for use. I am still in the developing stages in terms of this project to say the least and I am open to different ideas, suggestions, and feedback, so let me know what you guys think!