Sunday, September 13, 2015

PDP 1- The Cartographer's Mirror

Author Bio:
Arthur Jay Klinghoffer is a retired poli-sci professor at Rutgers University. He attained his M.A. from the University of Michigan in 1962, his Certificate from the Russian Institute at Columbia University in 1964, and his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1966.

Date/Context:
This article is included into Klinghoffer’s book “The Power of Projections” as the first chapter. The book was published in 2006, a fairly recent time period. Its main purpose was to address the once current and trending topic of accurate world representations. The novel explains that each map is a psychological representation of the person, people, or organization that fabricated it.

Summary:
Klinghoffer begins by introducing the idea that maps are not scientific fact, they are the reflection of the cartographer’s experiences. Mapmakers commonly distort the actual depiction of the world because of their own personal agenda, this including making their favorite location a center of the map,  and also painting maps to please those who will be displaying them. The problem of inaccurate representations of the Earth were even worse in times when there was very little (and false) knowledge about the shape, size, location, and placement of the Earth. Another reason for differences in various cartographers’ maps is that the world is constantly changing and looking different throughout time, therefore changing its physical appearance. Names of land features are also constantly changing. War maps often reflect both geography and political and strategical planning. Therefore, a map tells you about the cartographer’s standpoint and views just by viewing it.

Key Quotation:
“Geography is much more than physical description; it is a critical attribute enhancing a country’s power and wealth.”

2 comments:

  1. To start, the context of the document was very well written. This was accompanied with the conicse and correct summary given. To wrap both of these points together, the key quoatation was a good choice in describing most of the document. However with all of these ideas taken into account, another key quotation may have helped to clarify the entire piece. Maybe a sentence from the author that talked about the point of view of maps began with us in the center, similar to a child's point of view. Another point to be made is in the summary, some more could have been written about the topic of the political impact maps have. In conclusion, the context, while it was well written, could have used more information about the author's intent for the document itself. All in all, this was a very well done analysis of the document The Cartographer's Mirror.

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  2. Excellent selection for your quote! You did a fine job identifying the author's argument and explaining the significance of maps. This is a non-fiction text (not a novel). Next time, please change the font color so we can more easily read it on the blog.

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