Year: 2007
Type: article
Abstract: Eighteenth‐century cartographic studies is a interdisciplinary field that has been and continues to be shaped by the Foucauldian approach popularized by J. B. Harley, who argues for a decidedly political and ideological interpretation of the map and its history. Within this theoretical paradigm, the map is seen as a form of knowledge that facilitates the hegemonic and unilateral exercise of power, especially as it relates to the formation of the British nation‐state and its colonies. Recent work, however, has called this approach to the history of cartography into question by arguing for a more expansive and pluralistic understanding of the map and its place within eighteenth‐century British society. Works exploring the intersection of cartographic and literary studies have broadened the field by moving away from the previous model in which the map was seen only as an expression of British national and imperial power.
Source: Literature Compass
Author: Adam Sills
Institution: Hofstra University
Language: English
Subfield: Geography, Planning and Development
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W1983673895