History 593MP - S-Maps, Politics & Power

In the 21st century we take maps for granted. Many of us use maps on a daily basis (think of Google Maps or GPS devices) and it has become increasingly easy for 'ordinary' people to create their own maps. But what is a map? How have maps, and the purposes that they serve, changed over time? And why should historians be concerned with the study of maps? In the first part of the writing seminar we will take a broad look at the history of cartography, focusing in particular on Europe and the Americas. In the second part of the seminar we will consider how maps and map-making have been connected, in different places and at different times between the sixteenth and the twentieth century, to politics and the exercise of power in society.

Open to Seniors and Juniors in History, Middle East and Judaic, and Geography majors only. Fulfills the junior year writing requirement for History majors.