A collection of resources on medieval travel to the Americas was first proposed by colleagues at the The Global Middle Ages. Lynn Ramey created the first website and began project development in 2008. In spring 2012, the graduate students and faculty of a seminar at Vanderbilt on research methods in the digital humanities moved this collaboration to a different level as they used this project as a laboratory to explore ways that current computing applications can help humanities scholars understand what they are studying in new and fruitful ways. As we explored areas of the digital humanities and evaluated them for their effectiveness, we used this portal to discover suitable (and some unsuitable!) applications for the study of pre-modern travel.

Credits:

The following people have worked on this project:

• Lynn Ramey – design and concept, organization, 3D modeling, content development (2008-present)
• Todd Hughes – design and concept, maps (2012-present)
• David Fredrick – grantwriting, concept (2014-present)
• Steven Wenz – 3D modeling (2013-present)
• Dana Rakhimzhanova – website content (2014)
• boards of advisors for the general project (see below) and for specific projects (see the web pages for those projects) are consulted for their input

Ultimately our goal is to involve the global community in this effort, with the aim of best reaching what pre-modern travel meant to all areas of the world, understanding that global interaction began long before the “Age of Discovery.” If you are interested in being a part of this scholarly community, please email Lynn Ramey at Vanderbilt University.

Board of Advisors:

• Liam Brockey (Michigan State – History)
• Derek Bruff (Vanderbilt – Director, Center for Teaching)
• Elsa Filosa (Vanderbilt – Italian)
• Verena Hoefig (UC Berkeley – Old Norse)
• Scott Juall (UNC Wilmington – French)
• Peter Lorge (Vanderbilt – History)
• Tracy Miller (Vanderbilt – Art History)
• Marguerite Ragnow (Minnesota – Curator, Bell Library)
• Holly Tucker (Vanderbilt – French)