Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Analysis
in Byzantine Studies
Postgraduate Programme — Level 7
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon completion, students will be able to:
1)
Navigate the QGIS interface and apply fundamental GIS concepts including coordinate reference systems and cartographic projections to historical spatial data.
2)
Create, edit, and manage geospatial datasets by digitizing historical features, georeferencing pre-modern maps, and constructing attributed databases from archaeological and textual sources.
3)
Apply spatial analysis methods — including proximity analysis, buffer operations, density mapping, and terrain modelling — to formulate and answer original Byzantine research questions.
4)
Produce temporal GIS layers representing change over time and use them to analyse patterns of Byzantine territorial, ecclesiastical, and monastic expansion and contraction.
5)
Compose cartographic outputs using QGIS print layout tools that meet scholarly standards of legibility, accuracy, and visual clarity.
6)
Critically evaluate the epistemological assumptions embedded in spatial representation and articulate what any historical map includes, excludes, and distorts.
7)
Communicate AI-assisted research results responsibly to academic and non-specialist audiences, distinguishing evidence from interpretation and speculation.
8)
Design and execute an independent spatial humanities project on a Byzantine topic, communicating methods and findings in both cartographic and written form.
COURSE SYLLABUS
13 Modules
Week 01 | Introduction to GIS theory and the QGIS environment:
Students are introduced to the theoretical foundations of Geographic Information Systems and their applications in historical and humanistic research. The session covers the basic concepts of spatial data, map layers, and the logic of GIS as an analytical framework. Students become familiar with the QGIS interface, including project setup, layer management, and basic navigation tools.
Week 02 | Coordinate systems, projections, and base maps
The session addresses the mathematical foundations of how geographic space is represented digitally, including coordinate reference systems (CRS), geodetic datums, and cartographic projections. Students learn to manage CRS settings in QGIS and load georeferenced base maps appropriate for historical research in the eastern Mediterranean.
Week 03 | Vector data and attribute tables
Students explore the structure of vector data (points, lines, polygons) and learn to create, edit, and query attribute tables. The session introduces the relational logic connecting spatial features to their descriptive data, and covers basic data import from external sources.
Week 04 | Georeferencing historical maps
This session introduces the process of aligning non-georeferenced historical cartographic sources to a modern coordinate system. Students learn to identify and place ground control points, evaluate transformation accuracy, and reflect critically on the interpretive choices involved in fitting a pre-modern map onto a contemporary spatial framework.
Week 05 | Digitizing and data quality; data accuracy and uncertainty in historical GIS
Students learn to create new vector datasets by digitizing spatial features from historical sources. The session also addresses the epistemological challenges specific to historical GIS: incomplete records, imprecise locations, and the need to represent and communicate spatial uncertainty in a scholarly responsible way.
Week 06 | Spatial queries and selection
The session covers the tools for interrogating spatial datasets through both attribute-based and location-based queries. Students learn to select features by attribute value, by spatial relationship to other layers, and through combinations of both, using these methods to extract meaningful subsets of data for analysis and visualization.
Week 07 | Buffer analysis and proximity
Students are introduced to proximity-based spatial analysis, including the creation of buffer zones around selected features and the measurement of distances between spatial objects. The session explores how these tools can be applied to questions of accessibility, territorial organization, and spatial relationships in historical contexts.
Week 08 | Density mapping and heatmaps
This session covers methods for visualizing the spatial concentration and distribution of point datasets, including kernel density estimation and choropleth mapping. Students learn to interpret density surfaces critically and consider how the choice of parameters shapes the analytical conclusions that can be drawn.
Week 09 | Terrain analysis and viewshed. Digital Elevation Models (DEM), slope, aspect, and viewshed analysis
Students are introduced to raster-based terrain analysis using Digital Elevation Models. The session covers the derivation of slope, aspect, and hillshade surfaces, as well as viewshed analysis for assessing lines of sight across a landscape. Attention is given to the relationship between topography and historical human activity.
Week 10 | Temporal GIS and change over time
The session addresses strategies for incorporating a time dimension into GIS projects, including the use of time-stamped attributes, sequential map series, and animated layers. Students consider the methodological challenges of representing historical change (e.g. territorial, demographic, or institutional) through spatial data.
Week 11 | Critical cartography and map composition
Students learn to produce finished cartographic outputs using the QGIS print layout environment, including the design of map elements such as legends, scale bars, north arrows, and annotations. The session also steps back to examine the politics of cartographic representation: what any map includes, excludes, and implies, and how these choices carry interpretive and ethical weight.
Week 12 - 13 | Final project
Students undertake an independent spatial analysis project on a research question of their own choosing, drawing on the skills and methods developed throughout the course. The deliverable consists of a cartographic output produced in QGIS and a written methodology statement. The final sessions include peer presentation and critique of project work.
ASSESSMENT
Student Evaluation
20%
Assignment 1
20%
20%
30%
10%
Workload — ECTS Distribution
250 Hours Total
Lectures
39
36
60
75
40
Course Total
250
Recommended Bibliography
Suggested bibliography:
- D. J. Bodenhamer, J. Corrigan, and T. M. Harris, Eds., The Spatial Humanities: GIS and the Future of Humanities Scholarship. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2010.
- L. Roberts et al., Toward Spatial Humanities: Historical GIS and Spatial History. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2014.
- J. W. Crampton, Mapping: A Critical Introduction to Cartography and GIS. Malden, Mass: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.