Featured Favorite: Gerrymandering Story Map
Guest author and DSL tutor, Emmy Heeney, describes her favorite DS find.
Geographer Jory Fleming created a virtual map project titled “Gerrymandering: A Nation Divided, but Who’s Drawing the Lines” to visually explain gerrymandering and its negative effects on our country. Gerrymandering is the manipulation of electoral districts by giving an advantage to a political party with the power to choose district lines. Although this practice is technically illegal according to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, only 21 states currently have limitations on politicians redistricting. But most voters in the United States do not understand or are not even aware of this issue that can limit their voice in the government.
This project explains gerrymandering’s effects through a series of simple, color-coded charts and maps. By using these graphics, Fleming ensures that all types of visual learners can understand the impact of this illegal practice. His project is necessary to stimulate more conversation about gerrymandering and how it limits minority rights in government. It not only explains gerrymandering but demands readers take action by creating awareness of the issue and informing their government of its detrimental effects. It explains the history of gerrymandering, what redistricting can look like, how this process is unfair, and how to make your voice heard.
Fleming created this project through Story Maps. Story Map allows users to create maps with text, images and multimedia content. It is unique because it is scrollable like a website. This feature benefits users because it does not limit how much information can fit on a slide, for example. Users can break content into sections for quick and easy organization. In addition, users can add more complicated multimedia to a project to help better explain a topic. For this project in particular, Fleming created the graphics with public domain images. By researching data, he was able to generate his own diagrams using Story Maps.
When your topic and data are complicated to explain, Story Maps can help simplify the content for audiences by allowing users to incorporate movable images and diagrams to support their text.
If you need help with your next Story Maps project, visit the Digital Scholarship Lab for support from our tutors. We’re available Monday through Thursday from 4–8pm.
