This applied history course is a study of the historical evidence that may be derived from spatial relationships and an examination of the tools used to examine, manipulate, and present those relationships.  It is taught by Dr. Paula Petrik, who maintains an excellent archive of past course syllabi and content.  The syllabus for the Fall 2015 version of this course is here.

I am taking this course because I have found maps and spatial relationships to be key to nearly any subject under study in my professional and personal research careers.  Despite a decent competency in most things digital, my own attempts at manipulating and creating digital maps (as evidenced elsewhere on this site) have been rudimentary at best.  My expectation for this course is that I will earn a more sophisticated understanding of cartography (both technical and philosophical) and expand my technical capabilities sufficiently to effectively communicate my research and analysis.