Preference to freshmen. Through critical essays, maps, and atlases focusing on California, this seminar explores four principal themes: the roots of modern mapping in the rise of the state; maps as commodities; cartographies of race; and counter-mapping (where the marginalized take map-making into their own hands). Students learn to use resources in the Branner Map Library, Stanford digital collections, and the David Rumsey Map Center. The culminating project involves making and annotating your own map of the campus.
4 units · Letter or Credit/No Credit · GER: WAY-SI
Preference to freshmen. Through critical essays, maps, and atlases focusing on California, this seminar explores four principal themes: the roots of modern mapping in the rise of the state; maps as commodities; cartographies of race; and counter-mapping (where the marginalized take map-making into their own hands). Students learn to use resources in the Branner Map Library, Stanford digital collections, and the David Rumsey Map Center. The culminating project involves making and annotating your own map of the campus.
Offered in Autumn 2026 at Stanford University.