archival silence, digital humanities, and james hemings
DESCRIPTION
The slides from my talk at the University of Alabama's Digital Humanities Center, November 7th, 2012.TRANSCRIPT
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The History and Future of Data Visualization:Archival Silence, Digital Humanities, and James Hemings
University of AlabamaDigital Scholarship Center
November 7th, 2012
Lauren Klein, Ph.D.Georgia Institute of Technology
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Thomas Jefferson, “Letter to William Evans.” February 22, 1801.
“You mentioned to me in conversation here that you sometimes saw my former servant James, & that he made his engagements such as to keep himself always free to come to me. Could I get the favor of you to send for him & tell him I shall be glad to receive him as soon as he can come to me?”
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Thomas Jefferson, “Letter to William Evans.” February 22, 1801.
“You mentioned to me in conversation here that you sometimes saw my former servant James, & that he made his engagements such as to keep himself always free to come to me. Could I get the favor of you to send for him & tell him I shall be glad to receive him as soon as he can come to me?…
The truth is that I am so much embarrassed in composing a good houshold [sic] for myself, as in providing a good administration for my country.”
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Copy press, ca. 1786. More information at: http://www.monticello.org/site/house-and-gardens/copying-press
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The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition
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Michel-Rolphe Trouillot, Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of History (Boston: Beacon Press, 1995): 24.
“Silences enter the process of historical production at four crucial moments: the moment of fact creation (the making of sources); the moment of fact assembly (the making of archives); the moment of fact retrieval (the making of narratives); and the moment of retrospective significance (the making of history) in the final instance.”
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Thomas Jefferson, “Letter to William Evans.” February 22, 1801.
“You mentioned to me in conversation here that you sometimes saw my former servant James, & that he made his engagements such as to keep himself always free to come to me. Could I get the favor of you to send for him & tell him I shall be glad to receive him as soon as he can come to me?.”
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Screencap of a name search for James Hemings in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.
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Thomas Jefferson, “Letter to William Evans.” February 22, 1801. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.
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Thomas Jefferson, “Letter to William Evans.” February 22, 1801. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.
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Keyword search for “James Hemings,” The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.
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Arc diagram of correspondents in letters concerning James Hemings and his family, as noted in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.
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Jefferson and his family
Arc diagram of correspondents in letters concerning James Hemings and his family, as noted in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.
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Jefferson and his family
Politicalcorrespondents
Arc diagram of correspondents in letters concerning James Hemings and his family, as noted in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.
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Jefferson and his family
Politicalcorrespondents
Virginiafriends
Arc diagram of correspondents in letters concerning James Hemings and his family, as noted in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.
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Jefferson and his family
Politicalcorrespondents
Virginiafriends
International correspondents
Arc diagram of correspondents in letters concerning James Hemings and his family, as noted in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.
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Jefferson and his family
Politicalcorrespondents
Virginiafriends
Enslavedplantation staff
International correspondents
Arc diagram of correspondents in letters concerning James Hemings and his family, as noted in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition
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Jefferson and his family
Politicalcorrespondents
Virginiafriends
Enslavedplantation staff
Freeplantation
staff
International correspondents
Arc diagram of correspondents in letters concerning James Hemings and his family, as noted in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.
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Jefferson and his family
Politicalcorrespondents
Virginiafriends
Enslavedplantation staff
Freeplantation
staff
UnknownInternational correspondents
Arc diagram of correspondents in letters concerning James Hemings and his family, as noted in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.
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Arc diagram of correspondents in letters concerning James Hemings and his family, as noted in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition
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Francis Say, “Letter to Thomas Jefferson.” February 23, 1801. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.
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William Evans, “Letter to Thomas Jefferson.” February 27, 1801. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.
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William Evans, “Letter to Thomas Jefferson.” November 5, 1801. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.
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Arc diagram of people mentioned in letters concerning James Hemings and his family, as mined from The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.
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Chord diagram of people mentioned in letters concerning James Hemings and his family, as mined from The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.
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Image credit: Wikipedia
William Playfair1759-1823
Johann Heinrich Lambert1728-1777
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Image credit: Edward Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
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William Playfair, The Commercial and Political Atlas, 3rd edition. New York: Cambridge UP, 2005 [1801]: 11-2.
“Information, that is imperfectly acquired, is generally as imperfectly retained; and a man who has carefully investigated a printed table finds, when done, that he has only a very faint and partial idea of what he has read; and that like a figure imprinted on sand, is soon totally erased and defaced.
“The amount of mercantile transactions in money, and of profit or loss, are capable of being as easily represented in drawing, as any part of space, or as the face of a country; though, till now, it has not been attempted. Upon that principle these Charts were made; and, while they give a simple and distinct idea, they are as near perfect accuracy as is any way useful.
“On inspecting any one of these Charts attentively, a sufficiently distinct impression will be made, to remain unimpaired for a considerable time, and the idea which does remain will be simple and complete, at once including the duration and the amount.”
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Image credit: Edward Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
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Image credit: Edward Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
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“A Comparative View of the Quadrupeds of Europe and of America.” Notes on the State of Virginia, 1781-5. Image courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
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“Vegetables.” Notes on the State of Virginia, 1781-5. Image courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
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“Birds of Virginia.” Notes on the State of Virginia, 1781-5. Image courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
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A page of Thomas Jefferson’s Farm Book, ca. 1774. Image courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
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The History and Future of Data Visualization:Archival Silence, Digital Humanities, and James Hemings
University of AlabamaDigital Scholarship Center
November 7th, 2012
Lauren Klein, Ph.D.Georgia Institute of Technology