Maps II Assignment (1102)
Learning Outcomes
Students will:
1. Recognize how maps organize our ways of understanding the world beyond point to point directions.
2. Provide examples of how they use maps in their lives.
3. Find a PISA credible map on the 19th century (city, region, national, or world).
4. Post well considered reflection on what their map argues and what the map tells us about the 19th century.
Assignment
When we think of maps, we often focus on practical maps that get us from one place to another. Google maps are primarily used for directions.
As historians, we rarely use maps for this purpose. That is, most of our use of maps is to understand claims on land and other resources. For example, we might chart the route Sarah Bartmaan took from South Africa to London to Paris and mark the amount of money she had at each point. For historians, every map has a thesis in it, one that argues for a particular point of view. We need look no farther than the recent election maps and the flailing attempts at experts to explain who voted for whom to see the use of maps as arguments. Two people may look at the same map and reach different conclusions, based on how they draw conclusions.
Your assignment for this week is in two parts:
I. How do you use maps in history? Consider maps of buildings, genealogical maps, maps that represent data, even metaphorical maps (such as a the road to your career). You may want to search around your life a bit before answering. Three sentences minimum.
II. Find a a PISA credible map from the 19th century and explain one argument you think is embedded in the map. To be clear, the argument (thesis) will likely NOT be the title of map. A map titled “Ethnicities in 19th century Ghana” at a minimum has a thesis that there were different ethnicities in Ghana in the 19th century. That’s a weak argument, but you can see how I took information from a map and turned it into a statement arguing in favor of a particular position.
A. Post a URL of Map
B. Post a 4 sentence explanation of what thesis is embedded in the map and what that tells us about the 19th century. There may be multiple theses in a map.
C. Put both documents into a file and upload it to the Maps II Assignment Submission Folder by Friday at 8 pm.
Grading Criteria
- Student answered question I with a best faith effort on how s/he uses maps.
- Student posted a PISA credible map.
- Student posted a well considered reflection on what their map argues and what the map tells us about the 19th century.
