Analysing and understanding spatial dynamics raises, in the context of historic sciences, a number of open issues, both methodological and technological. The very nature of inputs handled in historical investigations – imperfect raw data, pieces of information, pieces of knowledge - often undermines efforts to produce reasoning, or to implement instruments for analysis.

These issues are naturally primarily raised in disciplines in and around history, where analysts try to depict spatial dynamics that cover long time spans - may they concern anthropic changes or a natural phenomenon. But they in parallel question the biases, formalisms and solutions offered today by informatics and information sciences.

The “Modelling and visualising spatial dynamics” thematic school offers scientists from various communities an opportunity to discuss theoretical and practical approaches that remain today often distributed across independent communities, thereby often invisible to one another.

The event should allow researchers, teachers cum researchers, PhD students and practitioners with the above background to better circumscribe some of the conceptual / technological solutions available today when handling spatial dynamics that cover long time spans, in the context of irreducible uncertainty.

A “thematic school” is originally a continuing education seminar-like event funded by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) for its staff. Yet it is open more widely to all scientists interested by the theme, its aim being to foster close scientific exchanges and transfers of knowledge and know-how.

Discussions will focus on two issues:
- Understanding and modelling the time variable: how can time-related doubts and uncertainty be clarified and instrumented?
- Bridging the gap between spatial dynamics and Information Visualisation: how can insight into dynamics of change be gained, in the specific context of historical sciences, using concepts & means from the Information visualisation & visual analytics communities?

The event’s theme and programme should allow participants to better identify and measure similarities and differences in the way events, processes, and transformations are handled across various disciplines, with various real cases, datasets and research goals. Theoretical approaches, records of experiences, practical classes should shed an interdisciplinary light on how dynamics of change on long time spans, with and multiple heterogeneous uncertainty, can be dealt with.

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