Cartographic Dramas & the Politics of Place

Welcome to Deep Dives and Drafts! If you're new here, please check out our group page to learn more about us here.

This month, we’re charting new territory (literally) with a deep dive into cartography and all the drama it’s created.

From colonial explorers naming lands that weren’t theirs, to Google quietly adjusting borders depending on who’s searching, maps have always been tools of both knowledge and control.

Themes we might explore:

• Mapping and empire — how colonial explorers and cartographers “discovered” places that were already home to others, renamed them, and redrew the world to fit their ambitions.
• Maps of power — the borders that sparked wars, the gerrymanders that shaped elections, the redlining maps that built modern inequality.
• Science and discovery — from charting the ocean floor to John Snow’s map that helped solve London’s cholera outbreak, to today’s satellite and LiDAR technologies that see what humans can’t.
• Cartographic drama — phantom islands, propaganda projections, and why your childhood world map was a lie.

Expect some juicy map drama alongside deeper conversations about who draws the world — and what that means for the rest of us.

Suggested resources to spark conversation:

Documentaries:

• This is Not an Atlas (2020, mini-doc from a group of “Counter-Cartographists”) [Link](https://youtu.be/T8-GKyy3j6I?si=ad8Y2EJ3lNfez1IA https://notanatlas.org)
• The Map Makers (2004, 3 part series) Link
• Maps: Power, Plunder & Possession (2011, televised mini-series) Link

Podcasts:

• Miguel Álvarez: A Cartographer’s Tale Geomob Link
• Exploring The Library of Lost Maps: Geographical Thinking from Esri Canada Link
• What is Critical Cartography? A Conversation with Dr. Annette Kim Link

Books:

• All Mapped Out: How Maps Shape Us by Mike Duggan
• How to Lie with Maps, Third Edition by Mark Monmonier
• Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World (Politics of Place) by Tim Marshall

Please let me know of any podcasts, docs, books, etc that you'd like me to list here!

How does this group work?
Each month we will select a topic to explore. The meetup will be anchored by a set of recommended readings, podcasts, or other media intended to provide theoretical context and a foundation for discourse. Our aim is to foster intellectual engagement, thoughtful dialogue, and collective learning.
Meetups will be in public spaces (bars) where folks can order beverages if they wish.