CARTOGRAPHY, ETHICS AND SOCIAL THEORY
- 1 June 1990
- journal article
- Published by University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) in Cartographica: The International Journal for Geographic Information and Geovisualization
- Vol. 27 (2) , 1-23
- https://doi.org/10.3138/c211-1512-0603-xj14
Abstract
'Cartography, Ethics and Social Theory' is a sequel to 'Deconstructing the Map' (Cartographica 26 / 2, 1989: 1–20) and to the 'Responses' to that paper (see 'Commentary' Cartographica 26 /3 &4, 1989: 89–121). It is argued that the absence of a social dimension in cartographic theory has led to a neglect of social issues in the content of maps and that together these deficiencies constitute a crisis of representation. The dilemma of cartographic ethics — and the profession's response to it — is discussed in the context of the technological transformation in official topographical mapping being induced by the invention of Geographical Information Systems. A case is made for the retention of topographical maps in their present published form on the grounds that they can offer a democratic and humanistic form of geographical knowledge.Keywords
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