"Christian burial of a father and son who were murdered more than seventy years ago.
Their bodies were exhumed from the La Legua mass grave, identified and returned to their relatives."
Photo by Alvaro Minguito Palomares, "Chasing the Ghosts of Franco."
Their bodies were exhumed from the La Legua mass grave, identified and returned to their relatives."
Photo by Alvaro Minguito Palomares, "Chasing the Ghosts of Franco."
Research Questions
Virtual Cartographies is the digital companion to my dissertation research. In my dissertation, I reflect on the performative aspects of mourning practices relating to the current disinterment and reburial of mass graves from the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and the ensuing dictatorship of Francisco Franco (1939-1975). With the enactment of the Historical Memory Law by Spanish Parliament in 2007, the Spanish public has a legal channel through which to exhume the over 2,600 mass graves found throughout Spain, northern Africa, and the Balearic and Canary Islands. I use critical theories of performance to argue the necessity to actualize funeral rites before a community of witnesses in order to disseminate memory and achieve closure. The disinterment process acts as a catalyst for the rebuilding of suppressed or unexplored sentiments silenced by a dictatorial regime and, later, through the transition to a democratic government. Departing from a cultural studies perspective, I include an analysis of “traditional texts,” such as novels and documentaries, but also consider a variety of digital media, such as blogs, Internet sites, YouTube short films, radio programs, and social media content from Facebook and Twitter groups. Studying the intersection of high cultural production (novels and documentaries) and digital popular culture facilitates a more comprehensive examination of the methods employed by contemporary Spanish society to retrieve collective memory of the war and postwar.
One important component of my research is a digital “thick” map of mass grave locations on Spanish territories. I have built a digital map called Virtual Cartographies that layers data acquired from the Spanish Ministry of Justice with a robust collection of multimedia texts directly related to specific grave sites and examined in my dissertation. _Virtual Cartographies visualizes two types of data: 1) data collected from the Spanish Ministry of Justice that details the over 2,600 mass grave found throughout the Spanish territories, and 2) a rich collection of multimedia elements directly related to specific mass graves sites. By mapping these layers in tandem, Virtual Cartographies takes the data pertaining to specific mass graves and ties it directly to digital media associated with the sites. Rather than visualize the status and metadata of the grave sites, the map spatially visualizes the ever-growing corpus of digital media about the recuperation efforts for specific grave sites alongside collected data for those locations. The combination of digital media with information regarding specific sites helps to expand on the data-driven aspect of the Ministry of Justice’s “Map of Graves.” The project goals are threefold: 1) display multiple data layers (Ministry of Justice dataset together with digital media elements), 2) present the information in a non-linear structure, and 3) cluster multiple resources for one geographic area.
One important component of my research is a digital “thick” map of mass grave locations on Spanish territories. I have built a digital map called Virtual Cartographies that layers data acquired from the Spanish Ministry of Justice with a robust collection of multimedia texts directly related to specific grave sites and examined in my dissertation. _Virtual Cartographies visualizes two types of data: 1) data collected from the Spanish Ministry of Justice that details the over 2,600 mass grave found throughout the Spanish territories, and 2) a rich collection of multimedia elements directly related to specific mass graves sites. By mapping these layers in tandem, Virtual Cartographies takes the data pertaining to specific mass graves and ties it directly to digital media associated with the sites. Rather than visualize the status and metadata of the grave sites, the map spatially visualizes the ever-growing corpus of digital media about the recuperation efforts for specific grave sites alongside collected data for those locations. The combination of digital media with information regarding specific sites helps to expand on the data-driven aspect of the Ministry of Justice’s “Map of Graves.” The project goals are threefold: 1) display multiple data layers (Ministry of Justice dataset together with digital media elements), 2) present the information in a non-linear structure, and 3) cluster multiple resources for one geographic area.
Methodology
Prototypes were built on the following platforms: Google Fusion Tables, Google MyMaps, Omeka with Neatline functionality, ESRI Story Maps in combination with ArcGIS, CartoDB, and Leaflet. Ultimately, Umap became the platform for the project because it could handle all of the project goals. Umap is a free, open-source platform developed out of France that allows users to create digital maps using OpenStreetMap layers and embed them into any website.
The first goal, and one of the greatest challenges of the project, was integrating digital media into the map. Most GIS platforms are not designed for the integration of media, but rather to conduct geospatial analysis. While most platforms allow for the incorporation of one representative image for each pinpoint, displaying multiple multimedia elements such as videos, PDFs, and audio files proved to be extremely challenging for most out-of-the-box tools. Umap displays media on their platform through the use of IFrames. That means one can embed a variety of media types: video (both YouTube and self-hosted), audio clips, PDFs, and images onto the map. The various media elements are designated with different pin colors on the map where novels are represented in blue, films in red, websites in purple, articles in gold, audio in teal, etc.
When visualizing the data layers onto the map, I wanted to extricate the project from imposing an authorial presence in the presentation of materials. Since the map was designed as a resource for scholars and the general public, I did not want to impose a narrative structure on the resources by avoiding the addition of a linear narrative to the media elements. The objective was for the map to function as a performative platform to further bolster the efforts of the creators of the media elements and to situate these digital texts within the larger framework of recuperation efforts. Each multimedia element is divided into a separate layer (i.e. audio files, documentaries, novels, videos, websites, etc.). The inherent structure of the information, then, is alphabetical. For example, the media types are organized by title (audio files, films, novels, websites, etc.) and the media within each layer is organized alphabetically by title as well. Similarly, the mass grave dataset organizes the name of the grave sites alphabetically within its own layer. A user could navigate the map by clicking on the different color pinpoints directly on the map, or by using the sidebar that organizes content in alphabetical order.
The last goal was to represent multiple media elements for any one site. Certain grave sites have a large number of digital texts associated with them. A site could have a documentary produced about it, a YouTube video filmed by a family member, and a radio program discussing the exhumation. I wanted to be able to display multiple media points (and their metadata) for one grave site. I considered combining all the multimedia elements for one site into one point, to share one information popup window, but ultimately kept them as separate points to be viewed as a cluster. Combining all the media elements into one info window would overwhelm the user with too much information on the screen at one time. Keeping the media points separate is also useful for immediately signaling what type of media (audio, images, video) is associated with each site.
In Virtual Cartographies the spatial, social, and historical aspects of recovery merge onto one cartographic interface. The metadata pertaining to the mass grave sites and corresponding digital media accompanies the texts in order to give contextual information, rather than presenting digital cultural materials without a supporting framework.
The first goal, and one of the greatest challenges of the project, was integrating digital media into the map. Most GIS platforms are not designed for the integration of media, but rather to conduct geospatial analysis. While most platforms allow for the incorporation of one representative image for each pinpoint, displaying multiple multimedia elements such as videos, PDFs, and audio files proved to be extremely challenging for most out-of-the-box tools. Umap displays media on their platform through the use of IFrames. That means one can embed a variety of media types: video (both YouTube and self-hosted), audio clips, PDFs, and images onto the map. The various media elements are designated with different pin colors on the map where novels are represented in blue, films in red, websites in purple, articles in gold, audio in teal, etc.
When visualizing the data layers onto the map, I wanted to extricate the project from imposing an authorial presence in the presentation of materials. Since the map was designed as a resource for scholars and the general public, I did not want to impose a narrative structure on the resources by avoiding the addition of a linear narrative to the media elements. The objective was for the map to function as a performative platform to further bolster the efforts of the creators of the media elements and to situate these digital texts within the larger framework of recuperation efforts. Each multimedia element is divided into a separate layer (i.e. audio files, documentaries, novels, videos, websites, etc.). The inherent structure of the information, then, is alphabetical. For example, the media types are organized by title (audio files, films, novels, websites, etc.) and the media within each layer is organized alphabetically by title as well. Similarly, the mass grave dataset organizes the name of the grave sites alphabetically within its own layer. A user could navigate the map by clicking on the different color pinpoints directly on the map, or by using the sidebar that organizes content in alphabetical order.
The last goal was to represent multiple media elements for any one site. Certain grave sites have a large number of digital texts associated with them. A site could have a documentary produced about it, a YouTube video filmed by a family member, and a radio program discussing the exhumation. I wanted to be able to display multiple media points (and their metadata) for one grave site. I considered combining all the multimedia elements for one site into one point, to share one information popup window, but ultimately kept them as separate points to be viewed as a cluster. Combining all the media elements into one info window would overwhelm the user with too much information on the screen at one time. Keeping the media points separate is also useful for immediately signaling what type of media (audio, images, video) is associated with each site.
In Virtual Cartographies the spatial, social, and historical aspects of recovery merge onto one cartographic interface. The metadata pertaining to the mass grave sites and corresponding digital media accompanies the texts in order to give contextual information, rather than presenting digital cultural materials without a supporting framework.
Acknowledgments
I would like to give special thanks to those that have contributed to the actualization of Virtual Cartographies. Many thanks to the UCLA Center for Digital Humanities (now HumTech) for granting me project support via consultation time with a team of Research and Instructional Technology Consultants. Dr. John A. Lynch, the Academic Technology Manager at the Center for Digital Humanities, was instrumental in helping me develop the map from concept to prototype. Dr. Maite Zubiaurre, my dissertation chair, has provided mentorship and guidance throughout the process. Finally, to Dr. Miriam Posner, and Andy Rutkowski (the former UCLA Geospatial Librarian) for helping me explore the many GIS platforms considered for the project and for consulting on the construction of the initial map prototypes.