Introduction

In this module, we will consider the role of interdisciplinary and cross-cultural relationships in digital storymapping (and storytelling more broadly). Toward the end of the module, we will draw from examples that showcase the affordances and challenges of interdisciplinary research in the geohumanities and spatial humanities.

Although interdisciplinarity is most often associated with academic contexts, in which researchers work within and across different disciplines, the term can also be situated within a broader framework of collaboration, cross-cultural relationships, and community-oriented learning. All of these approaches understand knowledge as hybrid and co-produced. Furthermore, if an interdisciplinary approach involves working across and within different knowledges, then it also involves consideration of multiple methods of research and communication, which can be as challenging as it is (potentially) rewarding for collaborators across the digital and spatial humanities. Although we can only focus on a few specific examples in this module, note that all of the projects we highlight throughout the course could just as easily be used to illustrate interdisciplinarity and collaboration.