Data and Human Space

Short course description (adapted for remote S21):

Societies have traditionally used maps to represent, even construct, the spaces in which we live and the territories over which we assert control. But what becomes of the map in the (post-) digital age? Has our relationship to human space changed in our data-rich world? What places of the world are mapped more fully? Are we unknowingly mapmakers by virtue of walking around with smart devices on our person? How do maps reinforce biases of the past? Can they be used for social justice? This course explores the specific role that technology can play in our understanding of both historical and contemporary map making. Through regional and global examples of urban culture mapping, the course allows students to interact with, and interpret, data within familiar environments. In addition to seminar discussion of readings and audiovisual materials, the course has a lab component. The course assumes no prior computer skills, but a willingness to explore new technologies is essential for success.

Note on the S21 remote term:

Over the course of the semester, students will encounter data about language in the Middle East, gender and race in the Americas, early 20th century Gulf History, literature, culture and performance. Students will also learn to build spatially relevant datasets and archive them. In order to adapt to remote instruction and socially distanced inquiry, however, we need to adjust the assignments slightly from previous semesters. We will engage in mapping exercises using both free and proprietary platforms, extracting data from OpenStreetMaps that allow us to critically analyze open data in global locations known to the students. Students will learn to visualize spatial data in OSM, ArcGIS online and with R Markdown notebooks. We will learn to construct one of the more popular forms of spatial storytelling, the StoryMap, contrasting its open and proprietary forms, in order to tell stories about colonial travelers to the Arabian peninsula. Finally, we will also learn about a smartphone's "location services," and how its many embedded sensors serve as a conduit through which human space can be said to be structured and "datafied." The unit on contemporary spatial technologies will be put into dialogue with a research project of visiting artists at NYU Abu Dhabi.

Previous iterations of this syllabus can be found at wp.nyu.edu/dhs and sites.google.com/nyu.edu/dhs-f2020.

This syllabus is provided as an open educational resource with a CC BY-SA-NC 4.0 International license. If you reuse it, in part or in whole, please cite it.

Suggested Citation:

NYU Abu Dhabi. (2021). CDAD UH-1024Q: Reading Like a Computer course syllabus. Abu Dhabi, UAE: David Joseph Wrisley.