In this post, I will examine how the use of digital humanities in Kindred Britain, created by Standford University, can help us visualize the connections of important figures in previous time periods in British history. This project demonstrates how we may see these iconic individuals as singular influences when, in reality, a vast majority of these people were connected in some way.
The primary focus of this use of digital humanities is visualization. Users can really visualize the social and intellectual networks of iconic British figures throughout history. An individuals’ connection could have had an impact on his or her actions in becoming an influential part of British history.
The project Kindred Britain states in its website that these individuals are “connected through family relationships of blood, marriage, or affiliation. It is a vision of the nation’s history as a giant family affair” (Kindred Britain web page).
There is a visual diagram composed of circles that users can scroll over and uncover the name of an iconic British figure. Then, users can drag this circle to another circle, in which users can discover the relationship between two seemingly unrelated important people.
A timeline at the bottom of the webpage puts everything into perspective. Other features include the tabs: “people”, “connections”, and “stories”. The “people” tab categorizes the icons into their roles in history, such as: artists, poets, and families. The “connections” tab shows how two people may have had ties in a strange way. And, finally, the “stories” tab have some interesting finds that the humanists wanted to share to the users.
In my opinion, this project is extremely successful due to its engaging website. It draws the users in by creating a visual model to show these unexpected connections. This digital humanities project is very well done in taking a large research project and simplifying it to show how many iconic British figures have connections.