GIS in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for Humanities and Social Sciences
GIS (Geographic Information Systems) is a digital tool for recording, storing, presenting, and analyzing locations. For Humanities and Social Sciences students in particular, GIS is a powerful toolkit for discovering and displaying human relationships through time and across space.
Using GIS, you can:
- Map modern or historical subjects – events, people, man made structures, etc.
- Display a scanned historical map on top of modern-day satellite or street data
- Model invisible or visible areas of land, based on where someone stands
- Model different travel routes, based on natural or manmade obstacles
- Where do we find certain sociocultural and/environmental factors happen? Can we make connections between them?
Learn GIS at Brandeis
There are a number of different GIS software packages. ESRI’s ArcGIS software is arguably the most popular and you can learn it at Brandeis.
- Contact the Brandeis GIS librarian (this position is currently open)
- Enroll in a Brandeis GIS course
- Teach yourself. Here’s how:
- Make an ArcGIS Online account.
- Decide whether you want to start learning on ArcGIS Online or ArcGISPro.
ArcGIS Online vs ArcGIS Pro
Click here to view the chart below as an accessible PDF.
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ArcGIS Online |
ArcGIS Pro |
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Cost |
Free for Brandeis community |
Free for Brandeis community |
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Hardware Requirement |
Online |
PC or virtual machine on your Mac |
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Tutorial |
Open Source Options
GRASS GIS is an open source (i.e. free) software package. Brandeis does not formally support GRASS GIS training, but there are teach-yourself options available.
- GRASS GIS software download and tutorials
GIS Staff
GIS Librarian position is currently open.