Disputes and Propaganda : Mapping Borders and Territorial Claims

Every map is an interpretation. Sometimes, political interest and bias can lead to very different interpretations of the same territory, and maps reflect this in an interesting way.

In this meetup, we'll see the techniques mapmakers (including Google Maps) use to depict disputed borders and territories. We'll see a decorative map on a Chinese passport with a broad view of China (extending into India, Vietnam, and the Philippines!). We'll look at borders drawn with rulers, and two contradictory maps of Arctic Canada made by explorers.

As always, if anyone finds any good maps to bring along, please do!