I've been thinking about my final project a lot lately. And, as I've mentioned before, I'm working with John Steinbeck and his biographical and non-fiction works. I haven't been able to find many digital projects specifically about Steinbeck, and I was a little worried that I might not have a clear enough idea of exactly what I want to do. I've mentioned before that I'm going back and forth between the ideas of a timeline project or a mapping project.
In class, Katie shared a really great timeline project, the Victorian Women Writers Project. I was super excited to see this project because it was really similar to the timeline ideas I have for my Steinbeck project. I spent a little time looking around this website and I was thinking about how I could adapt this to my own ideas. But, although this timeline is really helpful, I still can't shake the mental images I have for a mapping project.
So, as Dr. Carter mentioned in class, I started looking around for other mapping projects focusing on other topics. In my searching, I have moved away from Steinbeck specifically, and I have started looking for projects that may be presented in a way that I would like to see my own project presented. I finally happed across this project focusing on the photography of Hedda Morrison, and this is almost exactly what I had in mind.
Hedda Morrison was a German photographer who documented Beijing, Hong Kong, and other areas of China from the 1930s to the 1960s and I really like how this project almost combines geographical mapping and timeline mapping of Morrison's life. This project allows the viewer to click between geographical locations in a chronological order and provides pop-up boxes that share historical, biographical, and/or contextual information about different events in Morrison's life and career.
In my mind, my Steinbeck project would do something similar. Steinbeck was literally all over the world at important times in history and he had so many connections with influential and important people throughout world. My idea for my project is also a map with different points plotted and the user can click through these mapped points and learn more about biographical events in Steinbeck's life, encounters he experienced with various people at different times in his life, the locations where he traveled and how those travels were related to historical events.
Right now I'm worried that my idea may be too big, too broad. So, I'm thinking about how and if I may need to pare things down a bit, and I'm looking for other projects that may be similar to what I have in mind.
In class, Katie shared a really great timeline project, the Victorian Women Writers Project. I was super excited to see this project because it was really similar to the timeline ideas I have for my Steinbeck project. I spent a little time looking around this website and I was thinking about how I could adapt this to my own ideas. But, although this timeline is really helpful, I still can't shake the mental images I have for a mapping project.
So, as Dr. Carter mentioned in class, I started looking around for other mapping projects focusing on other topics. In my searching, I have moved away from Steinbeck specifically, and I have started looking for projects that may be presented in a way that I would like to see my own project presented. I finally happed across this project focusing on the photography of Hedda Morrison, and this is almost exactly what I had in mind.
Hedda Morrison was a German photographer who documented Beijing, Hong Kong, and other areas of China from the 1930s to the 1960s and I really like how this project almost combines geographical mapping and timeline mapping of Morrison's life. This project allows the viewer to click between geographical locations in a chronological order and provides pop-up boxes that share historical, biographical, and/or contextual information about different events in Morrison's life and career.
In my mind, my Steinbeck project would do something similar. Steinbeck was literally all over the world at important times in history and he had so many connections with influential and important people throughout world. My idea for my project is also a map with different points plotted and the user can click through these mapped points and learn more about biographical events in Steinbeck's life, encounters he experienced with various people at different times in his life, the locations where he traveled and how those travels were related to historical events.
Right now I'm worried that my idea may be too big, too broad. So, I'm thinking about how and if I may need to pare things down a bit, and I'm looking for other projects that may be similar to what I have in mind.
I think you're on the right track, taking ideas from unrelated projects and looking to apply them to how you might present yours. If you want to include a timeline or some type of mapping, finding a project with the best representation is just as useful as finding a project about the same author. Given my niche interests, I'm left no choice but to do that myself. It seems like you have a good idea and I wish you luck. --Brian McShane
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