Boston Research Center Phase One Overview

In 2018, the Boston Research Center worked with seven project groups on Northeastern’s campus to identify innovative ways to support historical exploration and research. These pilots were spread across different disciplines, time periods, and neighborhoods in Boston. These initial collaborations built on the strengths of Northeastern faculty, staff, and graduate student research, and allowed us […]

Boston Research Center Receives $650,000 from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

(Originally published on Library News, the Northeastern University Library blog.) The Library is pleased to announce that it has received a $650,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to implement the next phase of the Boston Research Center (BRC). The Boston Research Center is based in the Northeastern University Library and is dedicated to the study of Boston, enabling researchers […]

Georeferencing 17th Century Maps using ArcGIS

by Molly Nebiolo, PhD student, Birth of Boston Project   There are some challenges that come with trying to translate 17th century primary sources into a digital humanities project. In previous posts, Chris Parsons has discussed the pedagogical background of this project as it has come to fruition, and Matt Bowser has written about some […]

Historical Data in the Birth of Boston project

by Matthew Bowser, PhD student, Birth of Boston Project   When looking at archival property records, the timeless blandness of legalese can make it very easy to forget what century one is looking at. As I pored through records of landholders in 1648 Boston, copying down their names, occupations, property records, and other relevant information […]

Introducing The Birth Of Boston

by Dr. Chris Parsons, Project Lead and Faculty, Northeastern University History Department   How can it be hard to find Boston’s history? Surely, when we walk the freedom trail, tour the common, or visit one of the many historic house museums in the Boston area, we are enjoying a city that celebrates its history as […]

Introducing the Boston Research Center’s Projects

The Boston Research Center is excited to announce the first set of project prototypes in development, summer 2018. These projects build on the existing expertise and strengths of Northeastern faculty, staff, and graduate student research, presenting a broad array of data types and design challenges. The BRC has been working with project groups to identify […]