Digital Project Update

I have decided for the digital portion of my thesis to do a mapping project–location and travel are a huge part of the novels, and I would like to track the movement of the women I examine in my paper. Obviously, this project demands that I pay close attention to detail, so for now, I’m focusing on two major characters: Arya (who serves as a link between Westeros and Essos, east and west, two continents, etc.) and Daenerys, who also does a significant amount of traveling. The other characters–Cersei, Catelyn, and Sansa–stay within Westeros, with less significant travel (Cersei hardly leaves King’s Landing; Catelyn never leaves Westeros, though with the Lady Stoneheart storyline coming up, who knows what’ll happen; and Sansa does some substantial travel within Westeros). Most of what I’ve done so far is starting to plan out Arya and Dany’s travels–going through their chapters, starting from the first novel, and tracking their movement (and how it is significant to their storylines, their characterizations, etc.).

My highest priority would be figuring out what medium to use to do my maps–choosing the mapping software that allows me to use maps of the (fictional) Westeros and Essos, as well as what website platform I would want to use. I think that–and this is partially thanks to the Game of Thrones TV show–explaining my project to other people wouldn’t be difficult. Mapping and epic fantasy also have had a strong connection since Lord of the Rings, so my project isn’t too far out (I think).