Author: matthev

The TypeOsphere and the Preservation of Print Culture in St. Louis

Observation / Background / Context
The TypeOsphere is a public letterpress studio dedicated to preserving traditional printing methods while engaging modern audiences. What initially drew my attention to the TypeOsphere is how it blends historical craftsmanship with contemporary creativity. In a world dominated by digital media, spaces like this feel almost out of place—yet they continue to attract community interest. This raises important questions about why analog practices still matter and how they shape local identity in St. Louis.

Problem / Research Question
How does the TypeOsphere contribute to preserving and reinterpreting print culture in St. Louis, and what role does it play in connecting contemporary audiences to the city’s historical identity?

Frame (Approach / Point of View)
I will approach this project through a cultural and digital humanities lens, focusing on material culture and community engagement. Rather than treating the TypeOsphere solely as a historical site, I will analyze it as an active cultural space where history is experienced through hands-on interaction. My perspective emphasizes how physical engagement with print technology can deepen understanding of local heritage and create meaningful connections between past and present.

Example Sources
Primary Source:
“Typewriter Poetry Workshop.” Eventbrite, hosted by LA Marler, St. Louis, MO.

Secondary Source:
Eisenstein, Elizabeth L. The Printing Press as an Agent of Change. Cambridge University Press, 1979.

Proposed Technology
I will use StoryMapJS, a free and beginner-friendly digital storytelling platform developed by Northwestern University’s Knight Lab. StoryMapJS allows users to create interactive, map-based narratives by combining text, images, and geographic points without requiring advanced technical skills or paid subscriptions.

This tool is particularly useful for student projects because it only requires a Google account and supports embedding multimedia content alongside mapped locations. I plan to use it to map the TypeOsphere within St. Louis while incorporating historical context, images of letterpress work, and possibly other relevant sites tied to printing history in the region. This approach will allow me to visually demonstrate how one local space connects to broader cultural and historical patterns while keeping the project accessible and easy to build.

The Illinois Landcover in the Early 1800s dataset was developed by the Illinois State Geological Survey, part of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois. Most contributors are scientists and researchers with backgrounds in geology, ecology, or GIS.

The data comes from historical records, especially early surveyors’ notes from the Public Land Survey System. These notes recorded vegetation, soil, and land features as Illinois was mapped before major settlement. The dataset helps reconstruct past ecosystems and serves as a baseline for tracking environmental changes over time.

This dataset has been used in ecological research, land management planning, conservation efforts, and historical analysis. Researchers and policymakers rely on it to understand how Illinois landscapes have changed due to agriculture, urbanization, and other human activities. The dataset is typically provided in compatible formats such as shapefiles, making it suitable for spatial analysis and mapping.

In terms of structure, the dataset organizes land cover into categorized types such as prairie, forest, wetland, and water systems. Each geographic unit includes attributes describing vegetation type and sometimes soil or ecological characteristics. This structured, categorical approach makes it highly useful for large-scale spatial comparisons, but it may oversimplify complex ecosystems by forcing them into discrete categories. Subtle ecological variations might be lost as a result.

The creators do describe some of their data processing methods, particularly how they interpreted historical survey notes and translated them into modern classifications. However, this process inherently involves interpretation. Surveyors in the early 1800s were not ecologists, and their descriptions were often subjective or inconsistent. As a result, the dataset reflects both historical observation and modern reconstruction decisions, which may introduce uncertainty or bias.

The identities and goals of the creators—scientists focused on environmental research and conservation—likely shaped the dataset to highlight natural land cover patterns rather than human land use. This focus is useful but may unintentionally downplay Indigenous land management practices that existed before European settlement.

I would use this dataset to analyze long-term environmental change, particularly by comparing historical land cover with present-day satellite data. It could also support conservation planning by identifying areas that were once ecologically significant and may be candidates for restoration. Overall, while the dataset is incredibly valuable, it should be used with an understanding of its interpretive nature and historical limitations.

Matthew Evans

Margaret Smith

DHSS-HUM-230

6 April 2026

Bulldozing a Path – North Saint Louis and the NGA

This is a documentary that examines the construction of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) campus in North St. Louis and its impact on the local community. This was created by independent filmmakers and researchers, the project combines historical research, archival materials, and oral history interviews to explore how urban development projects can displace residents, erase community history, and reshape neighborhoods.

The primary goal of the project is to document the experiences of residents affected by displacement in North St. Louis. By highlighting both the social and cultural consequences of such projects, the documentary asks critical questions about who truly benefits from development and what is lost when neighborhoods are demolished. It emphasizes the tension between economic goals and the well-being of long-standing communities.

The intended audience includes scholars and students of urban history, race and inequality, and geography, as well as St. Louis residents and members of the general public, urban planning, and community preservation. Through a combination of interviews with residents, archival research, the filmmakers are able to provide a layered perspective that connects the historical sense of communities with the present-day effects of large-scale development.

The project concludes that, while the NGA campus has been promoted as revitalization, it exemplifies a recurring pattern of displacement in North St. Louis. Neighborhoods, particularly those historically populated by Black residents, are cleared, and cultural memory is often lost along with the physical homes. Despite this, the documentary highlights the resilience and resistance of affected communities, showing that even in the face of  displacement, local identities persist.

Strengths of the documentary include its use of firsthand accounts and archival materials, which lend authenticity and historical depth, as well as its ability to situate one development project within a larger pattern of urban transformation. Weaknesses include limited discussion of potential economic benefits and a relatively short format that constrains the depth of its history.

Overall, Bulldozing a Path enhances understanding of North St. Louis by adding historical context to display urban development, emphasizing both the promises of investment and the human and cultural costs of redevelopment. The project provides knowledge of the region, providing familiar narratives about revitalization and challenging viewers to consider the real impacts of large-scale development on communities.

The first story I read was “The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury. Overall, this was a very interesting read about how normal human behavior could be different in the future. The main protagonist goes about his daily routine. Later that night, he decides to go on one of his nightly walks out in the street. Not long after, he is strolling down the street when he is stopped by high beams and the sound of a megaphone questioning everything about him. His name, his occupation, and even why he is walking in the first place. He is then asked to get into the police vehicl which has no one in it. It is implied that he was then taken to a psychiatric institution of some kind for treatment. It is rather interesting how the timeline creates this sense of futuristic technology, but also this sense of apocalyptic dread. Like, why are other people not out in the street? Why does the self-driving police car think there is something wrong with a man who wants to go for a walk? Overall, a story I would have liked to have seen carried further. I see this relating to the use of AI in today’s society. Just as the main character of this story is nervous about the driverless cop, people are nervous about the control that AI could and will have on today’s world.

The second story I read was “When Robot and Crow Saved East St. Louis” by Annalee Newitz. This is a story about a robot that was created by the CDC, but unfortunately has been abandoned. The robot no longer gets any orders for updates from the CDC, so it does everything it can to help get samples of people who are potentially ill. The robot goes from door to door to see several people. Some dismiss the machine almost instantly, and others ask questions or follow the program that this robot requests. I think this goes to show how the rise and fall of new or old technology can majorly affect people’s trust in it. Not everyone is as open to new things as others. People need time to accept change and adapt to how technology plays a role in the world we know today.

 There are several things that the app does well. Starting with the layout of the webpage. All the title headings are listed at the top of the page and make this easier for new users to located the different categories of information. Next the page provides a augmented reality tour of the civilization. Offering you a inside look at what life could look like if you were there during this time period. This enhances access to people who may have a tighter schedule and less time compared to other who are able to physically go see the remains. They even provide a brief video going over the history of Cahokia. This more excludes people who may want to see the ruins of this civilization for what it is today. Many people find more enjoyment in seeing what remains now than a mirrored projection of what it could have been. On the plus side the webpage provides you with a way to schedule a visit to see this wonderful place. Overall the webpage has more positives than negatives, and provides the user with well formatted information. I would give this page a 9/10 in terms of having user friendly interphase and containing interesting and valued info.

SIUE Academics page

• Issues include, 3 redundant links, 1 skipped heading level, 2 sets of small text, and 1 tab-index.
• Students, Instructors, and Counselors.
• Issues like small text and redundant links can make it difficult for students to find the requirement for certain criteria.
• By keeping things organized. Meaning don’t add several links that lead to the same information. This makes navigation difficult. As well as organizing information or instructions to find said info easier.

Imagine this, you are on the main road in the town of Mascoutah. You look up and see a giant mural of the native tribes that used to live in this wonderful place. You see several places as well, such as homes, the Night Deposit, which used to be an old bank that is now a bar. Now, why might I be telling you about this sleepy town? Well, funny enough, that is Mascoutah’s nickname. And I am here to inform you just briefly about this place. Now the town has several activities to do, but Mascoutah also provides major housing to Scott Air Force Base. Now, why might you all care about something like this? As we all know, the housing market has not been the greatest. Prices keep going up due to companies like BlackRock and several others that are buying up family homes. This is so they can shrink the housing market supply and increase prices to whatever they want. If there are not many houses to choose from, then it becomes an issue for the people who need a place to live. Especially when set in a specific area. This is interesting, as it contributes to the ongoing problem. This has incentivized more people to join the military because they are provided a home, whether they are active or not, by the military. This has pushed some of these companies away from Mascoutah because the majority of the people are there for the military work. So building homes in this town has become somewhat of a joke. AKA calling it a sleepy town because military people live there for work rather than other activities.

Hello everyone. My name is Matthew Evans and I look forward to working with you all. I am studying here at SIUE to pursue a major in business and specializing in supply chain management. I find that technology is an amazing addition to our future. Making work, school, and many other things much easier to manage in our every day lives.

At the end of the day it is up to us to determine how to use these advancements. It is in my best hope that we can use what we have to determine the pros and cons to what these tools will bring.