Showcasing Historical Childhood: StoryMaps as a Way to Visualize Geographic and Historical Data
Van Hemel, Caroline
Van Hemel, Caroline
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Abstract
This project explores the historical geographies of childhood in the early twentieth century U.S. Our team builds story-map visualizations from archival sources to answer research questions and engage broader audiences in interactive map-based platforms. My work on the project has focused on two main themes: child workers and children�s everyday spaces. For child labor, we used photographs taken by Lewis Hine for the National Child Labor Committee in the 1910s and 1920s of children working in agricultural fields, mills, factories, mines, tenement houses, and city streets. Because Hine recorded their names, we traced the children and their families through census records and vital records, then added their photos, information, and locations to a StoryMap. Due to racial biases, there are many more white children photographed than children of color; we kept this in mind when selecting photographs, seeking out children of color and immigrants to generate a more diverse group. For the second theme, on children�s spaces, we drew from the US Farm Security Administration�s photos of poor and migrant families from the Great Depression. We coded the photos by what kinds of spaces they portrayed - interior or exterior, home or school, work or play - and built out a schematic for how children were involved in both using and creating spaces; these too were entered into a StoryMap. These StoryMaps help visualize spatial patterns, draw connections between places, and share stories about the work, home, and school environments in which children lived. Because they are interactive and online, the StoryMaps are easily accessible to the public and help to communicate scholarly work in engaging ways.
Description
Date
1/1/2026
Student Status
Senior (Graduating in 2026)
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Poster
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Program/Major
Geography and history double major
College/School
College of Arts and Sciences
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Arts and Humanities