Mapping: A Critical Introduction to Cartography and GIS: 5 (Critical Introductions to Geography) - Hardcover

Crampton, Jeremy W.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1405121726 ISBN 13: 9781405121729

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010

Synopsis

Mapping: A Critical Introduction to Cartography and GIS is an introduction to the critical issues surrounding mapping and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) across a wide range of disciplines for the non-specialist reader. * Examines the key influences Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and cartography have on the study of geography and other related disciplines * Represents the first in-depth summary of the "new cartography" that has appeared since the early 1990s * Provides an explanation of what this new critical cartography is, why it is important, and how it is relevant to a broad, interdisciplinary set of readers * Presents theoretical discussion supplemented with real-world case studies * Brings together both a technical understanding of GIS and mapping as well as sensitivity to the importance of theory

About this title

From the Back Cover

The use of maps as a means of conveying geographical information hasn't changed much since ancient times. But the methods of gathering data for map-making, of course, have changed drastically. Mapping: A Critical Introduction to Cartography and GIS examines the critical role that Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and cartography play in the study of geography and a wide range of disciplines. By exploring topics such as race and identity, the politics of GIS, the mapping of cyberspace, surveillance, and map art, we discover exactly what it means to “use” maps and GIS critically in today's world.

The book also examines the historical development of mapping, reviews the emergence of thematic mapping in modern Europe, and explores how maps produce space and place. Several real-world case studies illustrate key concepts and provide readers with a practical context for the theoretical approaches and ideas being presented. Mapping: A Critical Introduction to Cartography and GIS firmly situates mapping at the heart of thinking geographically and provides readers with a solid conceptual foundation in the basic principles of cartography and the technological advances that have changed the face of map-making.

Synopsis

There is often a perception that GIS and cartography are 'techniques' or applications. A high degree of skill may be needed, the thinking goes, but they are quite untouched by the problematizing currents of critical theory. Jeremy Crampton demonstates the naivety of such an assumption. He not only situates critical thought at the centre of the mapping enterprise, he convincingly links GIS and cartography with critical thought in geography and allied disciplines as a source of spatial knowledge. Dividing his book into four parts, Crampton considers in turn the historical development of mapping: the competing answers available to the seemingly straightforward question 'why use maps?': the idea that maps produce space and place: and finally the politics of mapping. An 'interlude' in each of the first three parts gives the reader an opportunity to encounter the issues through examination of particular case-studies.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1405121726
• ISBN 13: 9781405121729
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240