The Center and the Institute for Digital Intermedia Arts (IDIA) Lab will host a workshop devoted to the Deep Mapping Middletown project. The aim is to devise a framework for a set of “deep maps” on Muncie derived from the extensive archive of research materials generated through research on the city as “Middletown.” Deep maps employ techniques derived from literary study, history, anthropology, geography and art to create a “detailed multimedia depiction of a place.”  The workshop will gather, in person and virtually, 14 researchers with experience developing deep maps and comparable projects.  They will review a sampling of Middletown research data and consider the technical and intellectual challenges facing such an effort.

Deep Mapping Middletown aims not only to capitalize on the rich archive of materials documenting life in Muncie over the past century but also to take advantage of the expertise in three-dimensional simulations housed at the IDIA Lab.  To date, most deep maps have taken 2-D form and part of our goals is to advance work in this area by introducing 3-D approaches.

The initial phase of the workshop will take place August 15-16, 2022, with asynchronous discussion and follow up in subsequent weeks. Please check back later for more details in this new initiative.

The Deep Mapping Middletown Workshop is sponsored by Ball State’s Sponsored Projects Administration and the George and Frances Ball Foundation.