Mappenstance.

On the eve of Columbus Day, 1965, Yale University issued a statement that they possessed a map that disputed the agreed upon fact that Columbus discovered the New World. After this announcement, Yale received visits from many esteemed historians attempting to study the famous Vinland Map. Historians were enthusiastic about the new development of an authentic Viking map; the public’s reaction, far less accepting. The Vinland Map challenged the core knowledge of many Americans’ cultural heritage. Protests occurred and more attention was drawn to the map. As it turned out, more eyes didn’t help. Instead, historians were torn between authenticating the map and decrying it as a fake. All the evidence pointed to the map being forged by someone in the 1950s.

The Vinland map’s heavily debated authenticity is something to focus on. How is it that a map, with glaring falsities—like ink that was created in the post-Atomic era, and depictions of Greenland inconsistent with the beliefs at the time—can still be considered real? To some extent, some blame must be placed on Yale historians: the map was carbon dated to around AD 1434, was bound in an anthology of verified Medieval documents that had been collected by the Catholic church, and the black ink followed the process of yellowing and browning like a document contemporary to the time would (McCulloch). Yale historians saw these markers as undeniable proof and left their analysis of the map at that. The Vinland map would be an amazing collector’s item for Yale: the implications of this map were great enough, ground breaking enough, that despite the evidence against the map the context this map implied should be considered.
Not only are maps considered historical documents, their context regularly remains unquestioned. A map can be found of Jerusalem in the 1200’s that is wildly inaccurate, however it will be taken at its face value. The biases that the mapmaker had go unquestioned because the creators of maps often remain invisible. This phenomenon of the invisible author remains true in modern maps as well—historical maps simply have help write the history of a time period. A map like the Vinland map could very easily shift Viking history as we know it.
The Vikings were a civilization built on maritime travel, but up until the discovery of the Vinland Map it had been assumed that their voyages were done without maps. The Vinland Map verified many things: the use of maps in Viking society, knowledge of America pre-Columbus by the Catholic Church, and settlements in North America almost a century before Columbus. The map was released on the eve of Columbus Day, a publicity stunt by the university, and effectively outraged both American and European citizens alike. Suddenly the world-wide pat on the back that Columbus received was unwarranted (not that it wasn’t to begin with, but that’s another story) and the Americans who traced their lineage back to Columbus’ voyages felt somewhat lost on the importance of their heritage. This map questioned the identity many Americans found in Columbus’ discovery. The Vinland map muddled the authenticity of Spain’s discovery of the New World. Archaeologists questioned their findings in Scandinavia and historians took another look at the texts published on the Viking culture. Sooner, rather than later, archaeologists began new digs in Canada in an attempt to verify the settlement displayed on the map (Smithsonian Channel).
If all maps are biased and do not fully show the reality of the time—then what does a fake map show? As the years have passed more and more historical cartographers have labeled the map a ‘clever forgery’ (Goldstein). In 2008, Ohio State University published a 62-page paper that contained a majority of the evidence against the Vinland Map, and yet… The map continues to be cited to counter the argument of Columbus discovering the New World. Maps are used to interpret and help grasp the vastness of the world around us, in turn they are viewed as the reality. The Vinland Map quickly became the perceived reality of the 1430’s. Without developing news covering the dismantling of the map’s authenticity, the public continued to believe that the Vikings settled in American and the Roman Catholic church knew. Fake as the map was, it became part of their perception of history. As it turns out, even a fake map can impact history.

Secrets? A Viking Map. Documentary. Directed by Kenton Vaughn. 2012. Smithsonian Channel.
Goldstein, Thomas E. Conceptual Patterns Underlying the Vinland Map, (19:4, 321-331). Renaissance News, 1966
McCulloch, Huston. The Vinland Map—Some “Finer Points” of the Debate. Ohio State University. March, 2005.

The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea and other human rights activist groups have used the satellite software, Google Earth, to locate North Korea’s concentration camps. The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea estimates that approximately 120,000 people are held in government owned-military operated concentration and detention camps. In this series of maps of North Korean, different maps show satellite views of the camps, bird’s eye view of the camps, and also the location of nuclear test sites in close proximity to camp sites. It is believed by many activists that prisoners in these detention camps are forced to work in dangerous conditions such as nuclear testing sites and mining for up to 16 hours per day.

North Korean government officials have vehemently denied the existence of detention camps in North Korea however satellite images and witness accounts prove otherwise. Survivors and escapees of these camps claim that the camps are mainly run by the National Security (bowibu) and the People’s Security Agency (anjeonbu) two government organizations. The detention camps are divided into three subcategories, Kwan-li-so political prison camps, Kyo-hwa-so labor education camps, and Jip-kyul-so / Ro don dan ryeon dae regional collection and labor-training camps. Failed attempts to escape North Korea’s concentration camps result in execution.

These maps were created by an organization called Fund for Peace. The Fund for Peace is a non-profit organization that works to promote sustainable security worldwide and prevent violent conflict through research training and education. They focus on the problems of struggling, or failing states and work to create practical and approachable tools to avoid conflict. We discussed the significance of the Fund for Peace and their contribution to promoting sustainability. The main objective of these maps is to promote greater sustainable security, which is the ability of a state to solve its own problems peacefully without an external military or administrative presence. In our presentation, on of the first things students noticed was the color gradient. A “green” country is normally considered more sustainable, so in the map, the color green indicates a more sustainable country. The color red is very bold, so it indicates that the country needs to change what it is doing because it is a failed state. Labelling a state as failed, however, has created many issues. It is argued that it eliminates all hope for future success. Therefore, in 2014, the index was renamed the “Fragile States Index” to imply that the state still has potential and has not completely failed. Although our discussion time was cut short, we still were able to learn some very interesting new things about this breaking news.

-Cynthia and Lauren

The Fragile States Index map provides a unique analysis of the world in its insistence upon numerical data in addition to a colorful approach. Perhaps the most important aspect is the sheer amount of data implicated by the map itself, then through the actual data provided alongside the map to back up its points. The map reflects countless hours of research by its creators, the Fund for Peace. The group plays an important part in full understanding of the map, as they are a nonpartisan, non-profit group based in Washington DC yet with international ties. They view themselves as unbiased creators, yet by creating the map they are asserting opinions into the national field. The group is interjecting the opinion that outside action should be taken in international affairs to better stabilize the world as a whole.

It defied some expectations with a number of nations which are more or less “Fragile” than others. Others met expectations, such as the African countries of Sudan and Somalia which were deemed most fragile, as well as the Scandinavian countries which topped the list as least fragile. The use of colors make the map into this sort of stoplight, where green suggests approval and red gives a dark message to discontinue current actions and change the current situation. As we’ve studied, red was often used in Cold War mapping and suggests an ominous, dark tone. It’s quite alarming that such a relatively low proportion of the world is listed as Sustainable. The use of colors in this way gives the idea that the green or yellow, stabile nations should act as overseers in world affairs and shift the map to become more stabile.

Lastly, the data must be looked at for a complete view of the map, as without it we are simply taking the map for granted. The charts available on the Fund for Peace website give in depth analysis by listing various categories which comprise sustainability, from economic situation to human rights status. It gives each country’s numerical status and appears that the data has been well researched and well composed with the number of data and accompanying research articles. Without directly stating the intentions the creators of the map will use it for, the map and website allow onlookers to make their own conclusions about world politics.

-Ellen Brooks and Mike Olano

There is estimated to be as many as 120,000 people being held in North Korean Prison Camps. 400,000 people have died in these camps from torture, starvation, disease, and execution.  This is a pressing issue that has been brought into the spotlight by two guys, Daniel and Joshua, through their use of Google Earth technology. Their blog, One Free Korea, is a compilation of Google Earth images taken of North Korean Prison Camps. Through the use of Google Earth technology they were able to map out prison camps and show the world that these places really do exist. The significance of this project, aside from the fact that it was able to draw attention to blatant human rights violations in North Korea, is that these two average guys were able to obtain this very sensitive information from Google Earth.

We really liked how our presentation turned out. The class was very responsive and seemed to enjoy some of the elements that we tried to incorporate. One of the first things that got people involved was a video that we showed. In it Shin Dong Hyuk, one of the only people ever to escape from a North Korean prison camp, recounts his life as a prisoner at one of the labor camps in North Korea. Although his explanation of his life included some disturbing moments, it really brought to life the severity of this situation. This led to a discussion about why this issue isn’t more publicized and why a majority of people in the United States have never even heard of these prison camps. The class discussion was lively and engaging, and led to the exploration of other pressing issues. We explored whether or not North Korea was entitled to privacy within their own borders and what were the potential implications of Google Earth technology on national security. For every question we had for the class, it seemed like the class would immediately raise a new question. This back and forth led to a constructive dialogue that emphasized the potential implications of this groundbreaking technology.

Bibliography:

Bielefeld, Daniel. “North Korea’s Largest Concentration Camps on Google Earth.” One Free Korea.

N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. <http://freekorea.us/>.

Dong-hyuk, Shin. “Prison Camp Escapee: North Korea Won’t Change Its Repressive Ways.” CNN. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/27/opinion/

north-korea-prisoner-human-rights/>.

-Sam & Jack

What is a map? Typically people might assume that a map has to be an outright depiction that clearly shows the reader to a destination. Today I present something that might not usually be counted as a map: an image depicting the growth and history of old-world European languages. This image might not appear to be a map on the surface, as it contains very few instances of typical map components, such as landmasses or cardinal directions, etc. However, I believe that this can be considered a map despite its lack of typical map pieces, because the basis behind its main point is to help aid and guide its viewers towards understanding the foundation of language and its originations in Europe. In addition, just as a landmass might signify that a certain group of people would live there, the leaves on the trees of this map similarly describe how a certain linguistic group occupies space together; these groupings can be seen akin to any geographic collection of people. Just as any other “traditional” map’s main focus is to help its readers reach a certain location, such as a country or an island, this map is similarly focused on bringing its readers to realizations regarding its focal point of language. As far as this point goes, its important for the reader to realize how far back they can trace their own linguistic origins, and to see how connected languages that might seem polar opposites, are.

When I first saw this map I was struck by its elegant and effective use of artistic technique, which it uses in order to facilitate the readers understanding of linguistic origins. One particular artistic piece which is most prevalent in this map is the usage of tree-imagery in order to symbolize the growth and breaking off of different sects of languages and dialects, just as branches stem off from the main trunk. For example, through this imagery, one can clearly see the monumental split in language that occurred thousands of years ago, that in turn caused a division between two entirely separate linguistic families; European and Indo-European. This tree illustration also helps the reader better understand the popularity of each language, as the thicker trunks were often more popular language families, leading to in turn, the languages with the highest popularity being accompanied by the larger leaf groups seen at the end of each branch. This effective use of foliage-based imagery aids the reader in their understanding of the map through a number of symbolic pieces. This map was certainly made for the enjoyment of the masses, as it displays a usually complicated topic very succinctly and fascinatingly enough so not to lose the readers attention. The author clearly thought to approach the map less from a scientifically correct stance and more from an artistic map that also gets the point across. A linguist might have lots of points to add to this map, but certainly the existing assumptions the map presents are also factually true.

This map has a unique ability in that it is able to show readers the true “roots” of the languages that we speak today. This map truly allowed me to see how the English I speak today shares common origins with a number of languages that I might consider quite different from English. Through its numerous artistic iconography, this map shows how language has developed, changed and evolved over time, and this stemming off of different linguistic sects allows the reader to wonder and question what might have caused these significant changes, be it cultural, ethnic or other.  This map faces a number of limitations regarding the information it presents. Perhaps the most glaring limitation is the sole inclusion of Indo-European languages in the map. While the title shows that this was the aim of the mapmaker, the addition of African or other similar languages might aid greatly in helping people who might not speak one of the languages on the existing map, find their linguistic roots. In addition, the expansion of actual textual explanation regarding the expansion of languages since 0 AD would be highly beneficial, yet at the same time might jeopardize this maps artistic purpose, as it could clutter and take away from the image.