John M. Flower F'07

ACLS Digital Innovation Fellowship 2007
Associate Professor
Department: History
University of North Carolina, Charlotte
Moral Landscape in a Sichuan Mountain Village: A Digital Ethnography of Place

This project explores the histories, beliefs, livelihoods, and local identities in Xiakou Village, China, in order to understand Xiakou as an evolving cultural landscape, defined as the interwoven field of physical environment, historical memory, and moral agency. The project comprises an online monograph, media archive, and information structures integrating essays, multimedia artifacts, and GIS maps. The project's digital form vividly reveals the interconnected dimensions of village life, highlights the relationship between source and interpretation, opens up non-linear paths through the ethnography, and pioneers digital ethnography as a widely applicable model for the presentation of humanities research.