What are we looking for when we look at a map? According to Jerry Brotton maps are far from being purely objective documents, they are inevitably subjective expressions of the people who created them, tied to the views and agendas of particular times and places.
From Ptolemy's Geography to Google Earth, from cuneiform to computer screens we will study the environments and circumstances of the communities in which those maps were made.
The twelve world maps that we will analyze are taken from different cultures and moments in world history. We will examine the creative process through which those cultures tried to resolve the problems faced by their makers, from perception and abstraction to scale, perspective, orientation and projection.
1. Introduction - Scientific approach
2. Celebrating religious faith
3. The Kangnido World Map
4. The age of discovery and globalism
5. Projection breakthrough: Mercator
6. XVII century: Joan Blaeu
7. The French Revolution, the Cassini family saga
8. Geopolitics
9. The Information Era, maps in our daily life
10. What is next?
Jerry Brotton: A History of the World in 12 Maps