Designed to provide literary, historical, and cartographic perspectives on Ireland derived from 14 Irish writers, the Digital Literary Atlas of Ireland, 1922-1949 is an interactive website hosted by Trinity College in Dublin. The project combines a traditional annotated encyclopedic format with more advanced digital processes, creating a multilayered format for examining the rich literary landscape of Ireland. In addition, the Digital Literary Atlas of Ireland aims to provide interactive mapping and timeline features for those in academia and the public who are interested in the intersection of Irish literary culture, history, and geography.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
From the homepage, visitors can learn about the 14 writers showcased and view a detailed visual timeline and map, which displays, in linear fashion, noteworthy events relating to the writers and greater Irish culture and society. On the left side of the page, the site employs a simplistic and easy-to-navigate menu of subpages, the first of which is titled “Writers” and links to individual pages that feature annotated biographical information along with the significant contributions each of the aforementioned 14 writers has made to the cultural milieu of Ireland. A link at the top of the page prompts the site user to view this author in a larger map, which opens a Google map that denotes various geographic locations of relevance to that author’s life and accomplishments. This map serves as a visual reference, supplementing the information on the previous page with an illustrative cartographic biography. (Users must be browsing in Google Chrome and must have a Google Earth plugin installed in the browser in order to use this function.) Two additional subpages in the menu, titled “Maps” and “News” respectively, feature an additional set of maps related to the authors and news pertaining to the project.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
The Digital Literary Atlas of Ireland does an excellent job of maintaining its ultimate framework–that many commonalities can be discerned in the distinct flavor of the writings of Irish authors, and that this overarching voice is tied to various factors, many of them related to place. The site, however, is not without its flaws. The structure can be somewhat counterintuitive and difficult to navigate. Foremost, it could benefit from an explanation of the chosen timeframe. While the time span (1922-1949) most likely holds historic significance, a visitor to the site unfamiliar with the literary or cultural landscape of Ireland may be left feeling that this time frame was chosen arbitrarily as the writers’ maps display dates outside of the 1922-1949 period. Though the visual timeline linked from the homepage displays relevant historic events that occurred around the bookends of the chosen time frame, there is no supplemental information to explain the relevance of these events. In addition to explaining the reasoning behind the time period choice, the site would be apt to provide some details regarding the social, political, and cultural climate of Ireland during the noted eras. This information would serve to contextualize the world in which these authors lived and wrote, adding another valuable reference point to the project. Finally, the website needs to explain why these specific 14 writers are showcased. For instance, there is little to no context or explanation as to why these authors were chosen, which may leave some visitors to the site wondering about the significance of the writers featured in this project.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Despite kinks in the layout of the site and improvements that could be made in order to streamline content and navigation ability, The Digital Literary Atlas of Ireland stands as a blueprint for similar types of projects. It embodies the most basic tenet of digital humanities, as it successfully combines a traditional academic framework with more advanced interactive research methods, demonstrating the continued value in incorporating rapidly evolving digital tools into various humanities projects.
Explore
Clik here to view.
