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History and GIS pp 59–72Cite as

Place in Time: GIS and the Spatial Imagination in Teaching History

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Abstract

The chapter argues that GIS can be a fundamental tool in the teaching of historical spatial thinking. Using GIS in education enhances pupils’ awareness of space on two levels: On a theoretical level, it will help them to understand that visualizations of historical space are constructions which may serve as impulses for further investigations instead of space being taken for granted. On a more pragmatic level, GIS supports the fundamental aims of history teaching, such as raising pupils’ capacity for framing questions and employing problem solving approaches. The main section of the paper will be devoted to developing a model combining both levels in the use of GIS in history teaching.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Like Stückrath (1955, 28–50), who tested children and students, cf. Rinschede (2005, 72–76).

  2. 2.

    An essential approach to this topic is Bollnow (2011).

  3. 3.

    Cf. also Jekel (2006, 26ff).

  4. 4.

    See Sauer (2010, 234); or Black (1992, 508).

  5. 5.

    Cf. De Lange (2006), Donert (2007) and Green (2001).

  6. 6.

    See De Lange (2006), Püschel (2007) and Jekel (2006, 31).

  7. 7.

    See Gebelein (2009) or Brauckmann (2011); for a more general view, see Churchill and Hillier (2008).

  8. 8.

    http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk, last accessed 23 Sep 2011.

  9. 9.

    See also David Bodenhamer’s contribution to this volume.

  10. 10.

    For “gistory” and “gistorians” see the contribution of von Lünen in this book.

  11. 11.

    For some recent examples, see Lünen et al. (2011), Churchill and Hillier (2008) and Plöger (1999).

  12. 12.

    See also Alexander von Lünen’s contribution in this book for more on this.

  13. 13.

    Oswalt (2010, 223–225); see also Tuan (2007).

  14. 14.

    For a more detailed analysis of the concepts of “reconstruction” and “deconstruction” in history, see Munslow (1997).

  15. 15.

    http://www.geoportail.fr/, last accessed 23 Sept 2011.

  16. 16.

    http://www.davidrumsey.com/, last accessed 23 Sept 2011. Or a fairly new site, “Old Maps Online”: http://www.oldmapsonline.org, last accessed 07 Mar 2012.

  17. 17.

    http://www.omnesviae.org, last accessed 23 Sept 2011.

  18. 18.

    For a discussion of the term “visualization” in historical scholarship cf. Staley (2003), see also the interview with David Staley in this volume.

  19. 19.

    Rinschede (2005, 62–64), De Lange (2006, 12), Zumbach and Jekel (2006, 35) and Lünen et al. (2011, 62).

  20. 20.

    Schäfer (2006, 60) and Püschel (2007).

  21. 21.

    Churchill and Hillier (2008, 86ff) and Ott and Swiaczny (2001).

  22. 22.

    http://www.qgis.org

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Technische Universität Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany

    Detlev Mares

  2. Private Tagesheim- und Internatsschule Dieburg, Dieburg, Germany

    Wolfgang Moschek

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  1. Detlev Mares
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  2. Wolfgang Moschek
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Correspondence to Detlev Mares .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Geography, University of Portsmouth, Lion Terrace, Buckingham Building, Portsmouth, PO1 3HE, United Kingdom

    Alexander von Lünen

  2. , Trinity College, University of Dublin, Trinity Long Room Hub, Dublin, Ireland

    Charles Travis

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Mares, D., Moschek, W. (2013). Place in Time: GIS and the Spatial Imagination in Teaching History. In: von Lünen, A., Travis, C. (eds) History and GIS. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5009-8_5

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