Perhaps the greatest use of geospatial data can be the intersection it creates with other topics all over the world. It can help show correlations, and in some cases, causations. It can be vital in contextualizing research and issues, and introduce nuance that research otherwise wouldn’t show. For example, we can look at a data point and see where it comes from, and that can help us with getting a deeper understanding why that data point is what it is, when conventional research would otherwise have ignored that. The main issue I’ve noticed is what was just mentioned; the fact that correlation is not causation. We know the perils of assuming this is the case, and this has especially dangerous consequences in the context of humanities. Maps can also be manipulated in general to further certain ideas. Take the GIF in this tweet here, which shows how many maps oversize the US. While this may be benign, older maps that oversized countries like the US and shrunk other countries may have had an agenda of some kind in doing so. The important thing to keep in mind here is that data is a tool, and like any tool, it can be misused and abused.
I’m pretty sure most of my data collected for my project was geographic data; since my project largely focused on art in one country, it was looking at art and where that art was either created, displayed, or in some cases, humiliated. Showing how German identity could vary across such a huge area (keeping in mind how my project shows how Germany as we know it is far different than it was in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries) is great at showing how a singular “German” identity would be quite hard to define, as it was so vast and fractured at times.
Regarding what I’d need for a spatial analysis, I’d need specific locations of things like artists studios, exhibit locations and records, various historical maps of Germany/Prussia/other German states, among other things. I’d use this to answer how a national identity in Germany can be hard to define, especially in the past, and how that identity would impact the art. I may also look at specific locations that may have been impacted by conflicts or natural disasters; these may help with that sentiment that artists may have towards their country. Of course, this would need to have a disclaimer that, as is the case with many older maps and locations, that nothing can really be exact. While not related to my project, I was recently looking up the crossing of the Rubicon, when Ceaser crossed the titular river and invaded Rome. While this was a very famous moment, it would be quite a while after the fact when anyone would actually know which river the Rubicon was. No one was really sure which river it referred to at first, as it’s name of the Rubicon was lost to time. As is the case with my project, what one person says is “Germany” may now be Austria, or some other part of the Holy Roman Empire. In that case, if it was in Austria, for example, would it be evidence of art and Austrian nationalism? Or art and German nationalism? It would be something to contend with.