This is an invitation to be part of a multidisciplinary, international network of researchers interested in the cultural and historical importance of mapping in the Nordic Countries. The kick-off will be a workshop in Oslo from December 7th to December 9th, 2012.
The main goal of the workshop is to present and discuss the many ways in which maps are used to order space and frame a potentially chaotic nature. The idea of space and its relation to nature is historical and complex, and mapping is a major and still under-explored practice in this construction of space.
We want to explore how changing perceptions of “space”, “nature”, of topography and landscapes shape the practice of mapping and cartographic work, and vice versa: how people’s relation to their environment changes through social negotiations of mapping. A central question concerns the history of the idea of space as a changeable entity, and the relationship between spatialization and the modern regimes of harvesting the potentials of nature, transforming it from an alien and threatening other to a subdued and exploitable resource.
Focus is directed at “The Northern Countries”, a European border region which has been seen for a long time as possessing particular cultural qualities due to its position, topography, and natural resources. The period of investigation is from around 1720 until today. The starting point is the end of the Great Northern War, which marked the beginning of a new phase in the consolidation of the Nordic countries. Cartography was a vital aspect of the scientific and epistemological construction of these nations.
Three central queries emerge from our research interests:
1. Negotiating. How do changing perceptions of space, landscapes and places impact the practice of mapping and cartographic work? What do the maps show? What do maps display and what do they leave out? What is given a peripheral position and what is in the center? What issues are at stake when maps are made?
2. Arranging. The workshop will also integrate developments made in practice theory and performance theory with the goal of “folding back” maps and the spatialities they impress on those who use them. How do people’s relation to the natural environment change through processes of mapping? How do maps restrict approaches to space, landscape and representation? We will examine the relations between aesthetics of maps in a classic sense and more recent inquiries into the perceptual quality of aesthetics, the aisthesis of maps, in a political and scientific context.
3. We want to investigate the close relationship between cartography and the State. How did mapping become constitutional to the Nordic nations? What happened to mapping when the concept of the “nation” lost its power during the course of the twentieth century, as competing supranational institutions, regional processes and globalization entered the discourse?
Call for Papers
We invite papers or posters from historians, geographers, cartographers and other researchers interested in the historical, cultural and political importance of mapping. We want to explore and discuss different theoretical, empirical and methodological perspectives across disciplines and national boundaries. Moreover, we want to think about further research and collaboration.
We want everyone to hear everyone. We have time for roughly 10 20-minute papers. In addition, we invite short presentations of ongoing or planned research projects (posters and 5 minutes presentation to the plenum). Proposals should include name, email address, title, an abstract of no more than 100 words and presentation format (poster or paper). The deadline for submitting abstracts is August 31st, 2012.
Limited funds for reimbursement of travel expenses and accommodation may be available. Workshop fee: NOK 500, including lunch and a dinner.
Abstracts should be sent to Marie-Theres Fojuth, Humboldt University Berlin: mfojuth@gmail.com. She will also answer questions and/or provide further information. Welcome to Oslo!
Workshop organization
The workshop is organized by The Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History at the University of Oslo (IAKH) and The Department for Northern European Studies at Humboldt University, Berlin (DNES), in cooperation with the Map Collection of the National Library in Oslo. “Negotiating Space, Arranging the Land” is funded by The Norwegian Research Council (programme SAMKUL – Cultural conditions underlying social change).