Today, in preparation for Judit Hersko's visit , we starting thinking about maps. Like The Peters Projection map, and Lewis Carroll's Ocean Chart from The Hunting of the Snark.
We also had some readings from You Are Here: Personal Geographies and other maps of the imagination
Then we performed our own maps for each other on the overhead projector:
Chris, Route to Breckinridge
David, Crestone
Nate, Map of a Dream I Remember
Connor, The Map to Balto
Josh, Map to Nowhere
Colton, Trip to the Moon
Michelle, Walk to Work
Katie, Path to Lighthouse
Charlie, Bike Path
This was incredibly entertaining. I think it's interesting how it showed just how differently everyone's minds interpret, process, and visualize geographic information. I never really thought of a map as being narrative before... but when geography is "presented" rather than just "represented" it really can be a narrative experience and still hold informative qualities -- crazy.
ReplyDeleteLast night I was sitting next to someone studying for their "Immunology" exam (an MCDB course at CU) and they kept watching the animated videos of our immune system fighting off viruses and bacteria and such. I was strangely captivated... first of all, they were really nice and clear animations, which even I was able to understand. But second, it was interesting to see the path that a defensive cell takes in order to protect our bodies. It felt a lot like our map presentations -- there was a route and a story to go along with each video. I wonder if the MCDB majors appreciate these animations as much as I did. Hmmmm.
Yes exactly, you were all performing visualizations in real time--great practice for your illustrated lectures no?
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