Update #2

After giving a Pecha Kucha presentation (see below!) I've come to realize some things that I want to update about the scope and presentation of my project.

First, rather than looking at the entirety of the U.S. in the 1850's I am going to look at just at Massachusetts and Virginia to limit the number of sources as well as to provide specific examples of just the north and the south. That means that all my primary sources need to come out of those two areas. Though I would have liked this project to encompass more, it seems to make more sense to limit the project to two specific areas indicative of their regional areas.

That being said, it makes my primary and sample sources smaller and more attainable. So I am feeling much better about mapping out these two specific areas (by county) and then looking at just the articles and books published in these areas. This makes the project more powerful and gives more of a reasonable look at what marriage was in the 1850s between the north and the south.

I have started reading some primary sources given to be by Dr. Stephan and I will be finding online scans of these (or completing them myself) and then, once I figure out how to make folder on iWeb, I will be placing them up there to help keep myself organized. Right now, I'm planning on getting the maps done around halloween and then making sure that all my primary sources are in a digital format. That will make the usage of analytic tools much easier.

Pecha Kucha Presentation

Progress #1

Well, figuring out a topic and making it translate to a digital medium seemed like a simple task...

Until it wasn't.

Right now, I have met with professors to discuss where I want my topic to go, and until about 10 minutes ago, I wasn't sure. I have decided to paint a picture of what marriage looked like in the 1850's by looking at not only quantitative census data, but also literature and other primary sources about the topic.

This being set, I am hoping to meet with Angie in GIS tomorrow to discuss what a map would look like (population density and marriage) and then to talk to Dr. Stephan about more sources that I could use to enhance my image presented of marriage during this period. From there, I also am looking at authors on specific areas (counties) and utilizing their framework to look at marriage in the same area. This way there is not only a large-scale look at popularity of marriages in the U.S. but also there is a type of case-study into one particular area. 

Right now, I'm a bit overwhelmed because I know what I want to do (map, NGram, historiography on marriage, images) but I'm concerned about the uploading to iWeb and attempting to figure out the coding of that. What I'm planning on right now is gathering up all the pieces that I need and then putting them up at once and dealing with stylistic issues later on.

I'm hoping that my meeting with Angie will help me get more organized and give me more of a direction to go. I am still looking at working with a story-map framework to give some flow to the project, as well as to help me maintain a level of organization as I continually add to the sections of this project.