A recent digital humanities project employed data visualisation in support of literary inquiry on Italo Calvino. Among the different outcomes, there is the “Archipelago of Names”: a network visualization that shows Calvino’s mentions of important personalities within his non-fictional writing (essays). The visualization is currently static, but the available material calls for the production of an interactive version (additional features). The student following this thesis proposal will demonstrate competencies in selecting and applying methodologies for the design of interactive data-driven artifacts and will interact with the researcher(s) in the field of literary studies. The student pursuing this thesis fluently speaks Italian, and coding skills are nice to have.
for more information write to tommaso.elli (at) polimi.it
RAWGraphs is used in many academic resources. In many of them it is directly cited, in others just mentioned. This allows us to check who used the software, in which field, with what purpose, and using which visual model.
The thesis aim is to assess the current adoption of the tool, by analysing the areas, usages, and visual models. The expected outcome is a curated dataset of cases and its representation as a digital or static collection of visualisations.
For more information write to michele.mauri@polimi.it
With data and visualization becoming ubiquitous in many disciplinary fields, we realize how it is important to reflect on their role in perpetrating unbalances and discriminations. Or in contrasting them. Thesis in this area reflects on alternative ways to employ data and visualization, by (1) formulating a review of the most relevant scientific literature and designerly experience, and (2) conducting a project proposed by the student pursuing this thesis theme. Examples include visualization of data with a strong qualitative nature, visualizations fostering pro-social behavior, methodologies for data collection, and visualization in support of minority groups.
To know more about the theme you can have a look at the following:
Dörk et al. 2013 – Critical InfoVis: Exploring the politics of visualization
D’Ignazio & Klein 2016. Feminist Data Visualization
D’Ignazio & Klein 2020. Data Feminism
Correll 2019. Ethical Dimensions of Visualization Research
Viégas & Wattenberg 2007. Artistic Data Visualization: Beyond Visual Analytics
For more information write to tommaso.elli (at) polimi.it
Art historians have to deal with a high level of uncertainty when studying sketches and preparatory drawings of masterpieces: they are often not signed, nor have clear inception. Art historians leverage their knowledge to visually associate such drawings.
The thesis will have the goal of producing a web artifact able to show the result of this kind of analysis, in collaboration with an art historian working on masterpieces of 1700.
Coding and quick prototyping skills are required. Proficiency in Italian is required.
For more information write to michele.mauri (at) polimi.it
This track investigates and explores ways to make visible the systems, infrastructures, and power relations that exist around the actors and entities that control and use personal data, in order to design communication artifacts that inform a broad public. Based on data and research, this track experiments with data visualization and narratives for engaging and informing diverse publics.
Rather than giving specific topics, this line of research is open to students with like-minded interests and motivations.
Some example of previous thesis are:
research thesis
consolidation thesis
For more information write to mariade.briones (at) polimi.it