The slides from my talk at the University of Alabama's Digital Humanities Center, November 7th, 2012.

1. The History and Future of Data Visualization:
Archival Silence, Digital Humanities, and James Hemings
University of Alabama
Digital Scholarship Center
November 7th, 2012
Lauren Klein, Ph.D.
Georgia Institute of Technology
lauren.klein@lmc.gatech.edu

2. “You mentioned to me in conversation here that you
sometimes saw my former servant James, & that he
made his engagements such as to keep himself
always free to come to me. Could I get the favor of
you to send for him & tell him I shall be glad to
receive him as soon as he can come to me?”
Thomas Jefferson, “Letter to William Evans.” February 22, 1801.

3. “You mentioned to me in conversation here that you
sometimes saw my former servant James, & that he
made his engagements such as to keep himself
always free to come to me. Could I get the favor of
you to send for him & tell him I shall be glad to
receive him as soon as he can come to me?…
The truth is that I am so much embarrassed in
composing a good houshold [sic] for myself, as in
providing a good administration for my country.”
Thomas Jefferson, “Letter to William Evans.” February 22, 1801.

4. Copy press, ca. 1786. More information at:
http://www.monticello.org/site/house-and-gardens/copying-press

5. The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition

6. “Silences enter the process of historical production
at four crucial moments: the moment of fact
creation (the making of sources); the moment of
fact assembly (the making of archives); the moment
of fact retrieval (the making of narratives); and the
moment of retrospective significance (the making of
history) in the final instance.”
Michel-RolpheTrouillot, Silencing the Past: Power and the Production of
History (Boston: Beacon Press, 1995): 24.

7. “You mentioned to me in conversation here that you
sometimes saw my former servant James, & that he
made his engagements such as to keep himself
always free to come to me. Could I get the favor of
you to send for him & tell him I shall be glad to
receive him as soon as he can come to me?.”
Thomas Jefferson, “Letter to William Evans.” February 22, 1801.

8. Screencap of a name search for James Hemings in The Papers of Thomas
Jefferson Digital Edition.

9. Thomas Jefferson, “Letter to William Evans.” February 22, 1801.
The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.

10. Thomas Jefferson, “Letter to William Evans.” February 22, 1801.
The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.

11. Keyword search for “James Hemings,” The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital
Edition.

12. Arc diagram of correspondents in letters concerning James Hemings and his family,
as noted in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.

13. Jefferson and
his family
Arc diagram of correspondents in letters concerning James Hemings and his family,
as noted in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.

14. Jefferson and Political
his family correspondents
Arc diagram of correspondents in letters concerning James Hemings and his family,
as noted in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.

15. Jefferson and Political Virginia
his family correspondents friends
Arc diagram of correspondents in letters concerning James Hemings and his family,
as noted in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.

16. Jefferson and Political Virginia International
his family correspondents friends correspondents
Arc diagram of correspondents in letters concerning James Hemings and his family,
as noted in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.

17. Jefferson and Political Virginia International Enslaved
his family correspondents friends correspondents plantation staff
Arc diagram of correspondents in letters concerning James Hemings and his family,
as noted in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition

18. Jefferson and Political Virginia International Enslaved Free
his family correspondents friends correspondents plantation staff plantation
staff
Arc diagram of correspondents in letters concerning James Hemings and his family,
as noted in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.

19. Jefferson and Political Virginia International Enslaved Free Unknown
his family correspondents friends correspondents plantation staff plantation
staff
Arc diagram of correspondents in letters concerning James Hemings and his family,
as noted in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.

20. Arc diagram of correspondents in letters concerning James Hemings and his family,
as noted in The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition

21. Francis Say, “Letter to Thomas Jefferson.” February 23, 1801.
The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.

22. William Evans, “Letter to Thomas Jefferson.” February 27, 1801.
The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.

23. William Evans, “Letter to Thomas Jefferson.” November 5, 1801.
The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.

24. Arc diagram of people mentioned in letters concerning James Hemings and his
family, as mined from The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.

25. Chord diagram of people mentioned in letters concerning James Hemings and his
family, as mined from The Papers of Thomas Jefferson Digital Edition.

26. William Playfair Johann Heinrich Lambert
1759-1823 1728-1777
Image credit: Wikipedia

27. Image credit: Edward Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information

28. “Information, that is imperfectly acquired, is generally as
imperfectly retained; and a man who has carefully investigated
a printed table finds, when done, that he has only a very faint
and partial idea of what he has read; and that like a figure
imprinted on sand, is soon totally erased and defaced.
“The amount of mercantile transactions in money, and of profit
or loss, are capable of being as easily represented in drawing,
as any part of space, or as the face of a country; though, till
now, it has not been attempted. Upon that principle these
Charts were made; and, while they give a simple and distinct
idea, they are as near perfect accuracy as is any way useful.
“On inspecting any one of these Charts attentively, a
sufficiently distinct impression will be made, to remain
unimpaired for a considerable time, and the idea which does
remain will be simple and complete, at once including the
duration and the amount.”
William Playfair, The Commercial and Political Atlas, 3rd edition. New York:
Cambridge UP, 2005 [1801]: 11-2.

29. Image credit: Edward Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information

30. Image credit: Edward Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information

31. “A Comparative View of the Quadrupeds of Europe and of America.” Notes on the
State of Virginia, 1781-5. Image courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society.

32. “Vegetables.” Notes on the State of Virginia, 1781-5. Image courtesy of the
Massachusetts Historical Society.

33. “Birds of Virginia.” Notes on the State of Virginia, 1781-5. Image courtesy of the
Massachusetts Historical Society.

34. A page of Thomas Jefferson’s Farm Book, ca. 1774. Image courtesy of the
Massachusetts Historical Society.

35. The History and Future of Data Visualization:
Archival Silence, Digital Humanities, and James Hemings
University of Alabama
Digital Scholarship Center
November 7th, 2012
Lauren Klein, Ph.D.
Georgia Institute of Technology
lauren.klein@lmc.gatech.edu