Anderson, Carrie and Ceserani, Giovanna and Donaldson, Christopher Elliott and Gregory, Ian Norman and Hall, Melanie and Rosenbaum, Adam T. and Taylor, Joanna Elizabeth (2018) Digital humanities and tourism history. Journal of Tourism History, 9 (2-3). pp. 246-269. ISSN 1755-1838
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Abstract
This symposium considers how the digital humanities (DH), which relies on computer technology to interpret data and present conclusions, can enhance our understanding of tourism history. It begins with an introduction that defines DH, considers how DH can assist the way in which we think about tourism, and discusses the strengths and limitations of applications like text mining and digital mapping. This is followed by a review of the scholarship on digital mapping and the humanities which also highlights some of the important themes and projects that have sprung from this dynamic interdisciplinary dialogue. The latter half of the symposium is dedicated to two project reports. The first describes how the Grand Tour Project at Stanford University is utilizing a database of digital entries which combine digitised text and structured data to illuminate connections between eighteenth-century travellers. The second discusses how the Geospatial Innovation in the Digital Humanities project at Lancaster University is using geo-spatial technologies to examine the relationship between historically evolving ideas about tourist destinations in the Lake District and the contemporary management of such sites. The symposium concludes with some contemplation of the future developments in the realm of digital humanities and tourism history.