[Foundations] Intro to Spatial Humanities with GIS (DHSI 2026)

Description

This course is an introduction to the spatial humanities both in practice and theory for those with minimal or no experience. The course will consist of readings, lectures, and hands-on practice with basic GIS and other softwares. An emphasis will be placed on spatial humanities as a way of thinking. By the end of the course, students will have a basic toolset to apply the techniques and theory of spatial humanities to both their research and teaching. This course will combine lecture, seminar, and hands-on activities with emphasis on the latter.

Instructor(s)

Amanda Madden is an Assistant Professor of History at George Mason University and affiliate faculty at the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. She teaches digital humanities and history courses at the undergraduate and graduate level. Her current spatial history projects include Mapping Violence in Early Modern Italy. She is the author of Civil Blood: Vendetta Violence and the Civic Elites in Early Modern Italy.

Click here for an example of previous syllabus and course material (2025)