Throughout history, man has seen and experienced what humanities scholars call “quantitative”, “linguistic”, “cultural”, and “animal” turns. Currently, focus has shifted to “landscape” and “spatial” turns. This begs the question of: what is the spatial turn? Scholar Jo Guildi, in his essay “What is the Spatial Turn?”, attempts to answer just that.

By turning, he proposes that the spatial turn initiates “historic conversations about land use and agency”. It addresses our attempt to reflect on our nature as beings situated in space. He provides fitting examples of the work of early scholars in proposing theories of spatial experience which led to an attempt to coin a “universal language for describing spatial experience and its artificial manipulation”. In keeping with the theme of earlier readings such as “Archives in Context and as Context”, I (ironically enough) have noticed the trend within the humanities field for a lack of standardized vocabulary despite the obvious importance that scholars seem to place on having a standard set of terminology. Nevertheless, scholars continued to draw attention to urban history and environmental studies so as to develop new theories and expand on old theories about the “microcosms of everyday life and the macrocosms of global flows”.

Guildi then went on to reflect on the impact that digital tools, like GIS, have had on examining spatial turns. From the brief view of ArcGIS that I have gained from class, I can better appreciate how these tools can enhance the clarity with which scholars can speak of spatial problems. The clear crisp visuals of various landscapes offered by these sophisticated mapping tools provide a sense of realism that lends itself to an enhanced ability for viewership analysis and synthesis.

Further, these tools better enable me to appreciate the works of Vincent Brown in the project Slave Revolt in Jamaica, 1760-1761, where he positioned “new tools against [the] old question” of what happened, where and when during the aforementioned uprising in Jamaica. Moreover, I believe that the advent of these digital tools has ushered in a new era for analyzing spatial turns by bringing to light new ideas and theories that perhaps would not have been recognizable using older technologies, as evidenced by Brown’s ability to challenge previously held notions about the revolt through his work on the project.

Generally, the spatial era of GIS appears to be a discipline wherein various types of products can be produced. It makes me begin to wonder about the stories, beyond that briefly discussed in textbooks, that my own local Dominican landscape can tell about our historical events and people like the maroons and the urbanization dynamics of the country. Despite having zero discernible experience in considering the way landscapes have shaped aspects of our lives prior to this introduction by Guildi and Dr. Esprit, I find myself very fascinated by the topic and eager to learn more about it.