Author: Gianna Depina

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Week 5 blogs

Write about 2-3 of the tools or methods you will be using in your project, and why you chose those. How can they help you answer your research question(s)? This description will help you write the methods section of your project site.

Zotero

Zotero has been extremely helpful in helping me keep all of my sources used throughout my literature searches. As I look though sources, I can add them to my library, which is organized through project, with just a click of a button! Zotero allows for annotations, note taking, bookmarks, and even creates a detailed bibliography with everything that is added. It is super convenient and saves plenty of time with organization by keeping everything in one place. I highly recommend Zotero for daily work, and most importantly for big research projects like this one.

ArcGIS

When I first seen what I could do with ArcGIS, I was fascinated. Through ArcGIS, you can digitize data in ways I have never seen. You are presented a live globe and are able to shift your focus on certain countries, counties, or states that is relevant to research, and you are able to import your own data! ArcGIS helps me perfectly, as I am able to accurately display my data on the demographics of Cape Verdeans throughout the country and the diaspora and make comparisons! As of now, I was able to display ship routes from Cape Verde to New England in the early 19th century. ArcGIS is also amazing as we are able to interact with these maps and fully understand them.

Timeline JS

Upon discovering Timeline JS, I felt the same as I did with ArcGIS. I am once again able to create a timeline of the history of Cape Verde and interact with the timeline. I am able to add this to my StoryMap, and align it with the other tools I have incorporated.

Overall, all of these tools have been great and made my project easier, and more interesting to do. I believe it is important to present your audience with interactive projects as it gains more audience attention and pleasure. None of this would have been possible without these tools.

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Review – Imagined Homeland: Dominica’s Literary Geographies aims to digitally plot significant historical locations referenced in Dominican literature

Project
Imagined Homeland: Dominica’s Literary Geographies

Project Director
Schuyler Esprit, Create Caribbean Research Institute

Project URL

https://web.archive.org/web/20220706120655/https://dominicadh.org/homeland/

Project Reviewer
Gianna Depina

I chose this project as it related to mine in various ways. Overall, this project aimed to contextualize the literary history of Dominica exploring the sociopolitical contexts that influenced the islands literature.

You may be asking questions like: What does she mean Dominica/Dominican? Are we talking about the Dominican Republic? I have never heard of Dominica! Which were all things I used to ask myself when I first met a Woman from Dominica. Similarly to Cape Verde, which is what my project is about, not many have ever heard of Dominica.

Similar to Cape Verde, Dominica is apart of an archipelago in the Caribbean, off the coast of Venezuela. The purpose and goals of this study is to deepen the understanding to literature while touching a bit on culture of Dominica.

This project was facilitated by a student done by individuals interning with the Create Caribbean Research institute. This methodology is also similar to mine, by gathering data from novels, ArcGIS and interview based data. Overall, this offers a rich exploration of Dominica’s literary geography. Passage also helps get rid of stigmas placed in “under developed” countries like Dominica, and help others see that these countries are also innovative and make a postive difference in history, along wit modern day society. This paper also elevates the benefits that DH has provided for these countries. The outreach granted through these technologies can facilitate growth within these intellectual communities within the Caribbean and others, along with creating unity.

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The Study Of Cape Verdean Demographics

The exploration of Cape Verdean demographics within the United States presents an interesting case of migration patterns and diasporic communities. This research project, inspired by my personal connection to the Cape Verdean-American identity, seeks to dig deeper into the historical and current demographic profiles of Cape Verdeans both in our homeland and abroad, with a particular focus on our presence in Massachusetts. Despite their significant population within this region, Cape Verdeans remain unknown outside of certain locales, suggesting a unique cultural and geographical concentration (Jorgen, 2008).

Cape Verdeans represent a distinctive group whose migration stories and demographic trends offer valuable insights into the dynamics of diaspora and cultural transmission, which was influenced in 1975, when Cape Verdeans gained their independence. My project aims to understand why Cape Verdeans have predominantly settled in Massachusetts as opposed to other areas, which could be linked to historical migration flows, economic opportunities, or social networks that facilitated their relocation and community formation in this state. Another insight that arose throughout the process of my research were the wrongfully made racial categorizations through Data types. Alongside demographics, I plan on extending my focus on understanding the hierarchical status’ of Cape Verdeans in society which influenced by colorism within the Portuguese colonizers. Understanding these factors is crucial for comprehending the broader narratives of migration and settlement patterns of minority groups in America, specifically Cape Verdeans.

References:

(Batalha & Carling, 2008; Halter, 1993; Ramalho, 2011)