I explored and researched the Mapping the Republic of Letters network by Stanford University. The nodes included prominent historical figures such as Benjamin Franklin and John Adams while the edges represented the letters exchanged by these individuals. Mapping the Republic of Letters deals primarily with the metadata about letters and their travels. The interactions that are tracked include intellectual networks from two seventeenth-century figures (Athanasius Kircher and John Locke) and three eighteenth-century figures (Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, and Grand Tour). Many of their data came from online databases such as Google, JSTORm, and WorldCat. These interactions allow for a way to see how prominent historical figures were connected through the letters they wrote. The internet didn’t exist then, so letters were a way to see the network between intellectuals at an early age. They use traffic analysis and often search for the metadata of the historical records which were constructed for data retrieval within particular online systems, not specifically for a research inquiry.
The project helps engagement by mapping the historical figures and allowing users to explore the metadata associated with individual letters such as sender, recipient, data, and content. I also found the project to enhance the effectiveness of research by providing a digital platform to analyze and visualize the Republic of Letters network which makes it easier for those studying this historical phenomenon.
Several types of data manipulation were used in this project. The visualizations and interactive interface were developed using data visualization libraries and text mining could’ve been used to analyze the content of specific keywords within the letters. Spatial analysis could be used to study the geographical distribution of scholars and their networks. The group mentioned it was difficult to find the metadata of the letters at times because research platforms didn’t always note the specific information they were looking for.
2 thoughts on “Blog 4 – Network Analysis (Jasmine Maldonado)”
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I found the topic of this project intriguing. I think this project would be helpful for many people, but it also looks like something interesting to explore for fun, especially the connection between the different historical figures. The different levels of engagement allow various users which broadens the use of the project! I am curious to see how people have been using this project in the context of their work.
The project itself caught my attention. It’s another way of exploring the historical figures we have learned in our history class. Although gathering the metadata was difficult, having access to it in this visualized project is fascinating. I remember a project that used open-sourcing to decipher postcards from 20th century Michigan but I’ve never heard of text mining. It’s interesting to know that it can be used to decipher letters from long ago.