Maps, Myths, and Reality

Catalog description

We usually think of maps as objective depictions of the elements (streets, towns, rivers, etc.) that make up the natural and cultural terrain. However, the stories told by maps, like those told by history, are inherently selective. In addition -- again like history -- the features that are depicted on maps sometimes have no basis in reality. This is especially true of maps that attempt to describe places and people that were recently discovered, or that have not been extensively explored. When their subjects are unknown or poorly understood lands and people, maps can become playgrounds for the interaction of geographic fact, speculation, and myth. This course is an exploration of maps produced by European cartographers during the Age of Exploration, from roughly 1450-1700 A.D. (and brief consideration of the 18th and early 19th centuries), with particular attention to what maps of these periods can tell us about the evolving European understanding of the lands and cultures that lay beyond their own continent.