On 18 and 19 June 2026, Julia Noordegraaf, Professor of Digital Heritage in the department of Media Studies, Bram Vannieuwenhuyze, Professor in the History of Cartography, and Dr Margriet Hoogvliet, Jansonius Curator at Allard Pierson – Special Collections UB-UvA, will offer a two-day workshop hands-on and critical training on doing research with digital cartography.
This two-day, hands-on workshop intends to offer additional training to Research Master students and PhD-students into the latest cutting-edge developments in digital map-based applications (Allmaps, Map Analyst, Q-GIS, Time Machines, LOD, SPARQL), which will allow them to start working on a basic level with these applications, to identify the areas where they will need further training, and to be able to work with digital cartographic humanities with a critical mindset.
Students participating in this course will be expected to:
– actively participate in the discussions and the hands-on training sessions;
– present cartographic and data-oriented parts of own research, making use of the critical perspectives discussed in the articles from the reading package (orally during the course and a written reflection on own research);
– prepare the reading package (75 pages; to be announced when signed up) and read reports.
Programme (indicative)
Day 1
| 09:30-10:30 | Discussion of session scientific literature on heritage data, cartography and critical theory – reading package (Dr Margriet Hoogvliet, UvA) |
| 10:30-11:00 | Coffee break |
| 11:00-12:30 | Georeferencing with Allmaps (Dr Margriet Hoogvliet); Working with Map Analyst (Professor Bram Vannieuwenhuyze) – with a small exhibition of original heritage maps from the cartographic collections of Allard Pierson |
| 12:30-13:30 | Lunch |
| 13:30-17:00 | Working with GIS: plotting geospatial data on a digital map, with provided map and data-set (external instructor, tbc) |
Day 2
| 9:30-12:30 | The basics of Linked Open Data and SPARQL, with provided map and data-set (external instructor, tbc) |
| 12:30-13:30 | Lunch |
| 13:30-17:00 | Doing research with digital heritage, and geospatial data: Amsterdam Time Machine. Introduction and critical perspectives (Professor Julia Noordegraaf), Hands-on Working with Data & Maps (Team CREATE Lab UvA and Amsterdam Time Machine) |
Organisers
Julia Noordegraaf is Professor of Digital Heritage in the department of Media Studies at the University of Amsterdam and director of the Amsterdam Centre for Cultural Heritage and Identity (ACHI), one of the university’s research priority areas. Professor Noordegraaf is leading the digital humanities research program Creative Amsterdam (CREATE) that studies the history of urban creativity using digital data and methods.
Bram Vannieuwenhuyze has been appointed since 2015 as Professor of Historical Cartography, a special chair of the Foundation Cartographiae Historiae Cathedra at the University of Amsterdam. In addition, he works as an independent researcher and as guide for Caldenberga, a research centre focusing on historical research projects and making research findings accessible to a broad audience.
Margriet Hoogvliet holds an MA in History of Art and Architecture from the University of Groningen and obtained the PhD cum laude on the thesis Mappae mundi: scriptura et pictura. Margriet is the Jansonius Curator – Cartography, Geography and Travel at the Special Collections of the Library of the University of Amsterdam.
