FYS 53 How to understand the world, and lie, with maps
"You can't use an old map to explore a new world." -- Albert Einstein Maps have powerful effects on people, and knowing where things are, and why, is essential to rational decision making. Changes in mapping technology and the rapid expansion of different types of geographic information will affect your future in significant, sometimes unanticipated, ways. In this course, you will develop an appreciation for maps and map-like images, and learn skills to both create and interpret them. You will learn different mapping techniques and make your own maps using computer and internet-based tools, interpret maps made by others, and see how different types of bias affects what a person sees, or thinks they see, on a map. You will evaluate real and imagined spatial relationships, the psychology of cartography, how all maps lie (they have to) and their use as propaganda, examining topics including racial segregation, disease clusters, natural hazards, crime and safety, and metrics of environmental quality.