Thematic Mapping: 101 Inspiring Ways to Visualise Empirical Data

Abstract

and cartographic criticism, technological as well as theoretical developments, reflections on current emerging phenomena and reading of historical ones. Of particular significance, to me, is Part I, ‘Situating Cartography: From Craft to Performance’. It articulates the main paradigmatic shifts that occurred in thinking of cartography as first an informational representation to be optimized, then a discourse to be critically deconstructed and, more recently, a practice to be researched and experienced in multiple ways. Importantly, this last approach, which is increasingly embraced in the field of cartographic thinking, does not supersede the more technical and critical ones but gives the opportunity to recognize that today map studies need to be more pluralistic than ever before. Part II, ‘Exploring the Origins of Modern Cartography’, and Part III, ‘Measuring the Earth: From Geodesy to GPS’, provide historical and also cultural perspectives in reading technological changes through the epochs until present times. Part IV, ‘Understanding Cartographic Design: Principle in Practice’, features some basic principles that result in a useful reference for scholars with non-cartographic backgrounds. Part V, ‘Map and Society: Use, Uses and Users’ is more genuinely attached to social and political issues, while Part VI, ‘Reflections on the Future of Mapping and Cartography’, is a tentative reflection, including some ethical questions. I believe that the book also holds particular value for the expanding area of the so-called cartographic humanities, since it intersects technical aspects with reflective interpretation and theoretical issues. Indeed, some chapters devoted to visuality and visual cultures, media convergence, creative issues, ethnographic methods and humanistic perspectives could have been included. However, as the authors recognize in the Introduction, this collection is aimed at stimulating further reviews of the arena of map studies, and it surely succeeds in encouraging similar initiatives that showcase the complex and fascinating facets of current cartographic research.