Category Archives: Digital History

New Work with Census Data in GIS

Posted on December 12, 2012 by LaDale Winling

NHGIS, one of the digital efforts of the Minnesota Population Center, is totally wonderful. Since I learned about it as a graduate student, it has been an essential source when I need demographic data from the U.S. Census and to … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital History, Geography, History, Maps | Leave a comment

FHA Underwriting Manual

Posted on November 29, 2012 by LaDale Winling

This summer I was reading Louis Hyman’s Debtor Nation when I came across a surprising reference to the FHA Underwriting Manual developed in the 1930s advising mortgage lenders that college campuses were an excellent buffer for good neighborhoods against infiltration … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital History, Higher Education, Housing, New Deal, Teaching | Leave a comment

Virginia Senators

Posted on November 6, 2012 by LaDale Winling

While Virginia had very Democratic Senators in the first part of the century, from the election of Harry Byrd, the state’s Senate Delegation became much more conservative, though for most of the 20th century the seats remained Democratic. Only recently, … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital History, Mapping Congress, Politics | 1 Comment

New Resources

Posted on November 2, 2012 by LaDale Winling

I created a few ArcGIS tutorials for students in my digital history class: How to Join, Georeference, and Create a New Polygon Shapefile. On these pages I supply the files you’ll need and they are oriented towards historians, which is … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital History, Teaching | Leave a comment

New Year, New Routine

Posted on August 23, 2012 by LaDale Winling

This year I will be commuting to work by plane. I hate flying and feel as though I am taking my life into my hands on every flight. There is only one flight in my whole life I can ever … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogosphere, Digital History, Self-referential, Transportation, Virginia Tech | Leave a comment

Historic Aerial Photography – Soil Conservation Service

Posted on June 16, 2012 by LaDale Winling

Next up in blogging the book project is a return to aerial photography. Background: during the New Deal, agriculture was a key priority, and soil a specific component of that — see, for example, Don Worster’s The Dust Bowl. So … Continue reading →

Posted in Chicago, Cities, Digital History, History, New Deal, Photography, Research, University of Chicago | Leave a comment

Blogging the Book Project

Posted on June 6, 2012 by LaDale Winling

It’s the summer of the book manuscript, so I’m going over my existing draft, looking through the primary research I’ve already conducted, reflecting on my existing publications, doing more secondary reading, and planning for new research. In short, I’m knee-deep … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogosphere, Books, Digital History, History, Internet | Leave a comment

Using a Wiki to Keep Notes

Posted on May 19, 2012 by LaDale Winling

Murph, a friend of mine from graduate school, used to take notes on a wiki on his personal site, Common Monkeyflower. I was damned impressed and tried to implement a wiki on the cheap for a few years, to no … Continue reading →

Posted in Digital History, Higher Education, History, Internet, Research | Leave a comment

New Computer

Posted on April 30, 2012 by LaDale Winling

So near. Later this week I should be getting a new laptop and monitor from my employer. The one I’m currently working on has been held together with chewing gum duct tape and whispered prayers. It’s been in particularly rough … Continue reading →

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Case Statement for NCPH New Deal Working Group

Posted on February 6, 2012 by LaDale Winling

See this post for background on the NCPH Working Group. As other members of the working group have noted, academic historians and popular audiences alike tend to recognize the importance of the New Deal and much of its legacy.1 In … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art, Digital History, History, Preservation, Public History, Virginia Tech | Leave a comment