Category: Project Proposals

Hello everyone, I am planning on constructing a digital mapping project displaying the Ancient Roman Empire and highlighting multiple moments throughout my presentation in which I think makes sense since the Roman empire was active for so many years, and makes up an important part of human history. As for programs to use for this project I am thinking of using either Word Press, Google My Maps, or ArcGIS Story Maps. I think it would be a cool way to spend my time refreshing my knowledge on what I know about Roman history especially since I was fascinated with the history of civilizations since I was a teenager. I’m also thinking about pairing up the map with a piece of writing to go along with it that expresses the progressive evolution of the ancient empire, and I would like to provide more details about priorities for the empire in its efforts to sustain itself for how long it eventually did. I want to talk about the empires major success and failures, and maybe even include some memorable people that took over powerful roles in their life.

I am thinking of presenting the class with images to present a picture or model of the span of the growth of the Roman Empire throughout the centuries and briefly touch on reasons why things change and why some things stay the same. I think some of the questions that I can ask myself with how to go about this project could possibly breed a creative side in my project development skills when coupled with a topic like this and for that, I would like to say that I enjoy this kind of proposal type blog because it gives us an opportunity to organize our thoughts on what ideas could work best for a digital history project. I also have developed a deep sense of comfort in deciphering the meaning of a map as I was taught early in my education to do so. I think it’s a valuable thing I could add for more value.

Finally, I can wrap up the most memorable parts of the history in the written add-on whilst creating the map to create a better visual representation of the memorable events and turning points in the Roman Empires’ existence. If anyone that likes my idea would like to work with me or give me suggestions or pointers on something I could include let me know in the comments I would greatly appreciate a comment with a suggestion. Fascinated with the topic and I’m confident I can do a good job as I organize my plans on execution through this proposal.

In September of the year 2020, Broadcaster, environmentalist, and naturalist David Attenborough released a documentary on Netflix that I found myself a big fan of and enlightened me to be a better person by taking into account the way we treat our natural world. The film takes into account the disaster that occurred in Chernobyl, Ukraine in April 1986. A disaster was caused by a flawed reactor design that was operated by inadequately trained personnel. The result of this flaw and poor operation of the reactor resulted in a steam explosion and fires that released radiation into the environment. There were deaths as a result of exposure to radiation and an evacuation of approximately 350,000 people took place and as a result, Chernobyl was completely empty and abandoned. In this documentary, David Attenborough shares with us the natural development that occurred in Chernobyl years after the accident and dives into his witness statement to the world in the case of humans vs. the natural world.

For my print proposal, I would like to write an essay in which I cover my perspective on the unique tragic incident that makes for an interesting background information story in the documentary “A Life on Our Planet”. In the paper, I would consider the perspective of David Attenborough as he narrates through the film and focus on the things he says throughout the film that paints a bleak picture of the future of our world because I think he has shared valuable lessons with the world and I think he is a good role model. In the film, the narration is backed up by research and factual informative evidence that indicate that our world is headed in the wrong direction when taking into account the natural health of our planet on a wide scale including habitats for natural species, human life, and plants living on our planet. The information talked about in the narration can make for a good conversation in my essay about the film, the history of our biogeographical world, and possibly explore questions that may provide solutions to some of the shortcomings of the human race in its attempt to become more environmentally friendly. My vision and decision to write on this documentary stems from the sense of initiative that I got after watching the documentary to become a more environmentally friendly person.

I am excited for this because I truly find this to be an incredible topic of research and a subject area in which I find myself intrigued to further develop a conversation in a well-written analytical paper. Also, I think this topic is interesting because it brings in a historical event that occurred to explain a natural phenomenon while also educating the viewers about the problems our world is facing. Let me know what you think in the comments!

Since starting college, I’ve had an unsatisfiable urge to collect houseplants. While I’ve (unfortunately) killed a few off and had to give others away, my collection has been growing since then. What started as a simple succulent has grown into African violets, pothos, pepperomias, pileas, spider plants, and snake plants– just to name a few.

And I’m not the only one to take a liking to houseplants in recent years. A quick scroll through Pinterest shows trendy, beautifully decorated spaces complete with an array of potted plants.

House plants have come in and gone out of style regularly for the past few decades. I started to wonder recently, where does our fascination with houseplants come from and how did these plants, originating from all over the world, become a part of our households.

Some beginning searches reveal the complicated origins of plant collecting and its ties with European imperialism and colonialism. The origins of cultivating plants for aesthetics goes as far back as c. 600 BCE with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which were commissioned by King Nebuchadnezzar II for his wife, Queen Amytis. There is evidence for wealthy citizens in Ancient Egypt, Rome, and Greece caring for plants in the luxurious estates, though houseplants fell out of fashion in Europe following the fall of the Roman Empire. . There is also the art of Bonsai, which began in China between 100 and 400 CE.

When European explorers encountered the Americas in the 1400s as Europeans began colonizing the globe. They brought back with them botanical specimens from the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. The richest Europeans began showcasing by growing exotic and tropical pants in elaborate greenhouses. According to Lauren Camilleri and Sophia Kaplan (authors of Plantopedia), the fashion of keeping houseplants came to a peak in the late 1800s to early 1900s when tropical plants became more accessible to the middle class. After a period out of fashion, the end of World War II saw another boost in the popularity of houseplants.

At the root of this story is European colonization. Exploitation of land and indigenous people facilitated the rise of indoor gardens and houseplants in Europe, bringing in hearty plants that assimilate well to indoor environments.

I propose a digital history project which features a map showing where different types of houseplants originate, paired with a discussion on the relationship between the world of botany and European colonization. In the pursuit of collecting plant specimens for both production and for display, Western scientists often exploited people indigenous to colonized lands, ignoring and, even, erasing the knowledge held by indigenous people.

A resulting project using this idea would likely utilize ArcGIS StoryMaps because of the available features and ease of use. The above screenshot shows a precursory map showing the origins of popular house plants, though much more research is needed. The project could situate houseplants and botany within the history of commodities and trade during the height of European global empires. I believe ArcGIS StoryMaps will be a useful tool for this project, allowing for both mapping and interpretation side by side. I hope to include compelling photos and feature important research by scholars, while also being an accessible resource for the average person.