The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) can naturally be found worldwide. Amongst the 80,000 (approx.) alive today, there are 14 distinct population groups. These are defined by mitochondrial DNA differences, but some can be clumped into larger cultural groups based on their song dialects. This creates different "cultures" in different regions of the world. In this context, the ocean can be viewed as a country with distinct cultural nations within it. This is something that exists in the real world within the United States.
All of my research and work for this project is displayed on the infographic map below.
The map was the end goal and final part of the project. The road to it was...umm...interesting.
"The Culture of Cetaceans" was not the original project idea for Project Two. I had another idea that I fleshed out and began working on for a couple of days. However, I found out that it was a difficult topic to find information on, and the type of project I desired to create needed a strong backbone of research. I threw out this first idea and began working on "The Culture of Cetaceans".
Much like the previous project, I began with the research. To my surprise, this subject also had sparse and little information on it on the web. I couldn't turn back to square one again, so I collected as much as I could. During my research period, I learned of the 14 distinct humpback populations and song dialects in male humpback songs unique to different regions of the ocean. I was looking forward to knowing specific details about each dialect, but I was unable to find anything of the sort. I also found a map identifying 11 cultural nations within the United States and used it's origin site as the source of information for the U.S. part of the project. After that, the research was finished, and it was time for the map.
After making the bibliography, I began working on the map. I wanted a simplistic map that shared only what it needed to. The humpback populations are highlighted in blue and the U.S.' cultural nations are outlined on the North American continent. Descriptions of the nations are provided.
This map was very straightforward to make and only took me around three work days. The initial idea was to make a large printout, but I experienced trouble fitting the pieces together and moved on to the smaller scale of the final product.
Much like the previous project, I began with the research. To my surprise, this subject also had sparse and little information on it on the web. I couldn't turn back to square one again, so I collected as much as I could. During my research period, I learned of the 14 distinct humpback populations and song dialects in male humpback songs unique to different regions of the ocean. I was looking forward to knowing specific details about each dialect, but I was unable to find anything of the sort. I also found a map identifying 11 cultural nations within the United States and used it's origin site as the source of information for the U.S. part of the project. After that, the research was finished, and it was time for the map.
After making the bibliography, I began working on the map. I wanted a simplistic map that shared only what it needed to. The humpback populations are highlighted in blue and the U.S.' cultural nations are outlined on the North American continent. Descriptions of the nations are provided.
This map was very straightforward to make and only took me around three work days. The initial idea was to make a large printout, but I experienced trouble fitting the pieces together and moved on to the smaller scale of the final product.
That's about it for Project Two. I think it is my weakest project out of the four. Looking back, I can tell that is it a disconnected idea. It could be because of the project switch in the beginning, the lack of available information, or both. However, the reason does not matter. The process taught me that I need to be more proactive in coming up with connections to American Studies for the type of topics I like to choose. I can come up with an idea, but it doesn't always mean it's compelling or I'm satisfied with it. Thus, there is experience to be gained from Project Two. I retained this experience and took it with me as I dived into Project Three.