The New Historia
The New Historia is an initiative designed to document and promote the achievements of women in history — from poets to scientists, philosophers to soldiers — who have gone unnoticed or unrecognized by our larger society. Led by Gina Luria Walker, a professor of Women’s Studies at The New School, the initiative uses technology, including a searchable digital platform, to connect today’s young women with the unknown female groundbreakers of the past. Inspired by Mary Hays’ collection Female Biography (first published in 1803 and updated in 2013), The New Historia aims to create a knowledge-ordering system that builds on a new wave of historical research, using innovative technologies for representation and delivery.
Featured Profile: Dr. Gina Luria Walker
Dr. Gina Luria Walker is an intellectual historian who investigates alternatives to traditional accounts of the past. She is the director of The New Historia, recently launched at The New School, whose mission is to present authoritative, multidisciplinary scholarship on women’s contributions to society, to broadcast these stories on a pioneering, interactive platform and at public events, and to reveal an alternative history that values the roles women have always played in human endeavors. Dr. Walker is a pioneer in the global project of feminist historical recovery of earlier women.
Her interests include the struggles of female intellectuals to be educated outside the male-only institutions of teaching and learning and recognized in the Republic of Letters; and the diffusion of the Reformation concept of “the right to private judgment” as a pivotal force in the withering of absolutism in church and state.
Featured Project: Women’s History Through Virtual Reality
A major initiative of The New Historia is a new virtual reality project designed to visualize the lifelines of women throughout history. Jamer Hunt, The New School’s Vice Provost for Transdisciplinary Initiatives, and Lisa Strausfeld, a senior research fellow with Parsons School of Design and principal of the design studio Informationart, have recently partnered with The New Historia to bring the stories of women from the past to life.
Using the scholars’ research, Strausfeld created an immersive three-dimensional timeline as a way to explore the histories of these women. Although still in its early stages, Strausfeld’s VR graph shows how the lives and relationships of historical women changed over time in a way two-dimensional graphs cannot. The graph shows the course of each woman’s life as it stretches through the decades. Users can explore the women’s work, publications, and relationships while moving backward and forward in space and time. Strausfeld calls the program a “Google Earth for Knowledge” — a never-before-seen way to experience history.
The New Historia is continually looking for innovative ways to share its extensive research with the world. Through its website, podcasts, and now virtual reality, it will ensure that the lives and impact of women will no longer be forgotten.
Source: New School News