Visualizing data with ggplot2

16 February 2026

This week we dive into programming with R by learning to create visualizations with ggplot2 and learn how to run R code in RStudio.

Reading

• Kieran Healy, Data Visualization: A Practical Introduction (Princeton University Press, 2018), Chapter 1: Look at data.
  • The second edition is now available in preview.
• Claus Wilke, Fundamentals of Data Visualization (O’Reilly, 2019), Chapters 2 and 5.
• John Theibault, “Visualizations and Historical Arguments,” in Writing History in the Digital Age, ed. Jack Dougherty and Kristen Nawrotzki (University of Michigan Press, 2013), https://doi.org/10.3998/dh.12230987.0001.001, 173–185.

Watch

Kieran Healy’s keynote presentation at last year’s Posit conference on Trustworthy Data Visualization:

Assignment

• Download R and RStudio
  • See Resources: Installing R and RStudio for details.
  • If you want to do more to set up RStudio, go through Resources: Setting up RStudio. We will go over this next week in class so do not feel obligated.
• Commonplace book writing: Reflect on the use of visualization in the humanities.

Activities

• Visit from Bipasha Banerjee, AI Research Scientist at University Libraries.
• Worksheet: Getting started with visualization
• Intro to RStudio and getting RStudio set up for success
• Visualization with ggplot2 in RStudio

Resources

Working in RStudio

• Resources: Installing R and RStudio
• Resources: Setting up RStudio
• Resources: Using R in RStudio
• Wickham et al., R for Data Science, chapters 2, 6, and 8.
• RStudio User Guide

Visualization

Go to Resources: Visualization with ggplot2 for more background and resources.

• Make sure to look at the ggplot2 website. It is full of great documentation and examples.
• ggplot2 cheat sheet.
• The Royal Statistical Society Data visualization Guide
• Wickham et al., R for Data Science, chapters 1, 9, 10, and 11.
• If you want some inspiration, look at Nicola Rennie’s visualization projects.