GIS workshop at AAA meetings (save the date)

[Andrew Tarter]

GIS can be very useful for linguistic anthropology.








Last year this was the most-highly registered and attended workshop at the AAA meetings in San Francisco.  Save the date now; registration details will be announced soon…:


Geospatial Analysis & Cultural Anthropology: An Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) As a Method and An Application in Anthropological Research


Workshop Abstract:


Geospatial analysis is revolutionizing the ways people approach interactions between human beings, other animals, and the environment. The range of groups that regularly employ geographic information systems (GIS) to understand social and environmental issues now include academic institutions, governments, non-government organizations (NGOs), citizen associations, and indigenous activists. Recent advances in GIS offer a suite of new tools and methodological perspectives beyond the purview of traditional anthropological research. Incorporation of GIS into the anthropological toolkit is an important way of actualizing our discipline's applied and theoretical potential. This one-day workshop provides an introduction to GIS as a brilliant information technology for cultural anthropology research. In a relaxed environment, the course will introduce participants to: (1) the structure of spatial data; (2) the acquisition of spatial data; (3) the incorporation of global positioning systems (GPS) and remote sensing (aerial and satellite) imagery; (4) ethical management of spatial data; (5) procedures for attaching attribute values to spatial data; and (6) various spatial analyses appropriate for exploring and answering culturally-informed research. Participants will emerge with the basic skills and software necessary to continue using GIS to conduct their unique spatial analyses. This introductory course utilizes ArcGIS.v.10 software, and provides 60-day licenses for professionals and one-year licenses for students. Participants provide their own PC laptops—or Mac with Windows capabilities—with the software already installed (contact workshop organizers for directions on prior software installation; participants who register on-site at the conference should come an hour early on the day of the workshop to install software).


Event Date: Thursday, November 21, 2013, 8 AM - 5 PM.
Organizer & Instructor: Andrew Tarter & Edward Gonzalez-Tennant
About the instructor: http://www.gonzaleztennant.org/
About last year's GIS workshop: http://www.gonzaleztennant.org/blog-2/
For questions, please email Andrew Tarter:  andrew.tarter [at] ufl.edu