IN 357 - Cartography

Credits: 4
Drawing‬‭ on‬‭ history,‬‭ human‬‭ geography,‬‭ and‬‭ statistics,‬‭ this‬‭ course‬‭ investigates past‬‭ cartographic‬‭ cultures,‬‭ how‬‭ people‬‭ currently‬‭ portray‬‭ spatial‬‭ information,‬‭ and‬ mathematical‬ choices‬‭ involved‬‭ in‬‭ map‬‭ design.‬‭ Topics‬‭ include‬‭ medieval‬‭ mappae‬ mundi,‬‭ portolan‬‭ charts,‬‭ Aztec‬‭ mapping‬‭ techniques,‬‭ the‬‭ modern‬‭ problem‬‭ of‬ gerrymandering‬‭ in‬‭ the‬‭ USA,‬‭ the‬ mathematics‬‭ of‬‭ map‬‭ projections,‬‭ and‬ experimentally‬‭ determining‬‭ our‬‭ latitude‬‭ and‬‭ longitude.‬‭ We‬‭ will‬‭ discuss‬‭ how‬‭ maps‬ make‬‭ meaning‬‭ and‬‭ how‬‭ we‬‭ can‬‭ better‬‭ read‬‭ authorial‬‭ arguments‬ and‬‭ assess‬‭ the‬ truth‬‭ claims‬‭ embedded‬‭ in‬‭ maps.‬‭ Students‬‭ also‬‭ learn‬‭ GIS‬‭ mapping‬‭ techniques‬ and visualization techniques for mapping spatial data.‬

Course Restrictions: Junior or Senior standing required
Liberal Arts Perspective(s): Interdisciplinary