Introduction to Critical Cartography and Theories of Mapping

DGT HUM C260 - Introduction to Critical Cartography and Theories of Mapping

<p>Lecture, three hours. Requisite: course 101. Introduction to critical cartography and theories of mapping. Introduction to field of critical cartography and how mapping can be both a tool and a representation of power. Study of how maps are as much an erasure of places and peoples as they are representations of them. By understanding the history and development of cartography as a field, students are able to better apply critical analysis to completed maps, thinking through the perspective of a map-user as well as the mapping process of the mapmaker. Examination of so-called &#34;non-Cartesian&#34; cartography and non-archival forms of mapping such as performance cartography, art, textiles, and more. Students gain understanding of mapping as a practice and cartography as a science of practices, not representations by focusing on several cases around the world and during different historical periods. Concurrently scheduled with course C260. P/NP or letter grading.</p>

Digital Humanities

College of Letters and Science

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DGT HUM C160 - Introduction to Critical Cartography and Theories of Mapping

Identify how these concepts can be and have become utilized in historical, political, andethnographic studies as “data.”

Conduct research in a group and present new knowledge gained on a mapping initiative (oftheir choosing) that applies or ignores the core questions of critical cartography.

Learn how to critically identify the ways power operates and presents in cartographicliteratures and investigate potential avenues for research across multiple forms of mapping.

Study new publications that engage with these concepts in a more in-depth manner,questioning what qualifies as a map, from where does a map source its authority, and therelationship between mapmaker and map user.

Become familiar with key geographic concepts and thinkers as it relates to the history ofcritical cartography and “cartography as an art and science” versus mapping as practice

Gain an understanding for the ways mapping- as a tool and practice - can enrich ourtheoretical and tangible application of spatial data.

General Catalog

Introduction to Critical Cartography and Theories of Mapping

DGT HUM C160

4 units