260 – Introduction to Critical Cartography and Theories of Mapping

Lecture, three hours. 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 “non-Cartesian” 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 C160. S/U or letter grading.