Landmarks of mapmaking: An illustrated survey of maps and mapmakers

Abstract

As narrowly understood among academic geographers and cartographers, critical cartography is a recent academic phenomenon. But criticism, more broadly defined and understood, has been part of mapmaking from its earliest days. Criticism is inherent in practice, in which even the most fundamental forms of field mapping involve the self-conscious resolution of conflicting reality claims. It is anticipated that the critical claims making of nonprofessional mapmakers will increase exponentially as the mapping technologies developed over the past century and a half by the professionals are increasingly embedded in accessible online mapping and mapmaking tools. It may not be anticipating too much to look forward to the day when mapmaking remakes itself into a completely critical practice.