SCRAPPED: Curatorial reflection
We are no longer doing this assignment. Instead, you’ll complete the council district profiles assignment.
In the first half of the semester, you will identify two maps that have something substantive in common and write a short (~500 words) reflection about their cartographic efficacy. I’m flexible on how you define “something substantive in common,” and I’m also generally flexible on how you define “map,” although I do ask that the maps you choose are still (e.g., not digitally interactive). Reflections will address/include the following:
- The two maps
- How the maps are related to one another; e.g., they are both about housing, they both use the same methods, they both depict the same place, they are both located on UR’s campus
- Constrasts between the two maps
- How each map employs (or ignores) cartographic best practices
- What argument, either implicitly or explicitly, the maps are making
- How each map’s design supports (or fails to support) its arguments through design choices
In short, you can think about this as a map “critique”—but I want you to also think about it from the lens of an exhibition curator who is identifying items for inclusion or exclusion in a show. That is, after all, how we’ll end the semester!
Additionally, you must incorporate at least 3 specific class concepts into your reflection (e.g., visual hierarchy, typography, color theory). When the curatorial reflection is assigned, I’ll include a fuller list of topics/concepts that you can use as a starting point when thinking about the maps you select for this reflection. The purpose of this essay-style assignment is to stand in for a midterm examination.