Historical GIS Applications in Environmental History

Historians’ quintessential descriptive and analytic device is the chronology, the backbone of narrative, which presents change over time.  The basic descriptive and analytical device of geographers is the map, which represents variation across space.  Historical Geographic Information Systems (HGIS) attempts to unite these two powerful communication devices to address change across space and through time in a single analysis.  The methodology is finding application in many sub-fields of history, but is especially relevant to environmental historians, who have a particular interest in space, place, and landscape.  This presentation will assess the state of Historical GIS within environmental history, provide some analytical examples, and address opportunities for new applications within the field.