https://www.transcript-verlag.de/shopMedia/openaccess/pdf/oa9783839445198.pdf
The atlas I chose for this week’s blog post is This Is Not an Atlas: A Global Collection of Counter-Cartographies by Kollektiv Orangotango. Contrary to the title, this collection features a wide variety of cartographic works that exemplify how maps can serve as a voice and point of advocacy for the powerless, a topic we have discussed at great depth in class. Ranging from sexual harassment incidents in Egypt to the anti-eviction struggle occurring in the San Francisco Bay Area, an issue we’ve discussed in class, this collection highlights the power maps hold in creating social change and questioning those in positions of authority.
The choice of this particular atlas is a very intriguing one. I’m interested in taking a look at it for myself. I personally believe the title of the atlas is a perfect representation of our class and sums it up in great detail what we’ve been talking about this semester. The title of, ” This Is Not An Atlas,” is a powerful statement as we’ve learned in our class that maps are simply way more than a brief representation of a location and its features. Maps instead represent stories for us to figure out, by gathering information and inferring sometimes on its historical context, implications, silences, and biases. Maps are great tools of power which is what I believe the title is getting at, as they offer much more as we’ve learned in class thus far.